MILAN: Runaway leaders Inter Milan drew 1-1 with visitors Napoli in Serie A on Sunday after Matteo Darmian’s first-half goal for the hosts was cancelled out by a late header from Juan Jesus.

The result ended Inter’s run of 10 consecutive Serie A victories and moved them to 76 points at the top of the table, 14 ahead of AC Milan in second place after 29 matches. Napoli are seventh with 45 points.

Leaders Inter still need 14 more points from their remaining nine fixtures to claim the Scudetto after their huge advantage on AC Milan was cut with their local rivals winning 3-1 at Verona.

It was another disappointing result for Simone Inzaghi’s Inter following a painful exit from the Champions League at the hands of Atletico Madrid on Wednesday, as their league winning streak ended at 10 matches.

“We’re disappointed how the match went... We were really good in the first half and at the start of the second and after that we dozed for the goal which cost us the win,” said Inzaghi to DAZN. “Napoli had more of the ball but [goalkeeper Yann] Sommer had basically nothing to do.”

Inter broke the deadlock two minutes before the break when Alessandro Bastoni delivered a cross into the box and an unmarked Darmian finished first time.

While Inter controlled most of the match, their usually watertight defence slipped up in the 81st minute as a Napoli corner was deflected to an unmarked Jesus who headed in the equaliser to grab a share of the spoils.

Goals shortly before and after half-time by Theo Hernandez and Christian Pulisic put Milan two ahead at Verona before Samuel Chukwueze volleyed the away side out of sight with 11 minutes remaining.

Sunday’s win moved Milan three points ahead of third-placed Juventus, who were held to a goalless draw by Genoa, in the race for Champions League football.

Stefano Pioli’s side sit 11 points above fifth-placed AS Roma who without injured talisman Paulo Dybala beat Sassuolo 1-0 thanks to Lorenzo Pellegrini’s strike four minutes after half-time.

And with Italy favourites for an extra place in the Champions League next term the seven-time European champions have a big cushion with nine fixtures remaining.

“We played very well as a team and we created a huge amount. It was a really positive performance,” said Pioli to DAZN after his team’s fifth straight win in all competitions.

Juve meanwhile continued their poor run of recent form with a largely uninteresting draw with Genoa in Turin.

Massimiliano Allegri’s side were league title contenders in January but one win in their last eight matches has left them 17 points behind Inter.

Juve were frustrated by their stubborn opponents and were booed off by home fans at both half-time and the final whistle, with striker Dusan Vlahovic sent off in added time.

Atalanta’s match against Fiorentina was postponed on Sunday after Fiorentina director Joe Barone collapsed as the team were departing the hotel. The fixture will be rescheduled for a later date.

Fiorentina said that Barone’s condition remains critical but stable.

Published in Dawn, March 19th, 2024