The Fort Worth Press - Inter on course to retain Serie A title with win at Atalanta

USD -
AED 3.672695
AFN 70.672969
ALL 91.360486
AMD 391.906479
ANG 1.804168
AOA 912.000305
ARS 1066.178885
AUD 1.576703
AWG 1.8
AZN 1.696439
BAM 1.796743
BBD 2.02123
BDT 121.632484
BGN 1.79948
BHD 0.376748
BIF 2966.215751
BMD 1
BND 1.33612
BOB 6.917618
BRL 5.776694
BSD 1.001061
BTN 87.013279
BWP 13.638389
BYN 3.276085
BYR 19600
BZD 2.010776
CAD 1.43611
CDF 2876.000143
CHF 0.883485
CLF 0.024278
CLP 931.660355
CNY 7.23785
CNH 7.24011
COP 4130.63
CRC 500.121723
CUC 1
CUP 26.5
CVE 101.297628
CZK 22.9799
DJF 178.256296
DKK 6.85458
DOP 62.946988
DZD 133.24606
EGP 50.500369
ERN 15
ETB 131.48461
EUR 0.918735
FJD 2.28735
FKP 0.772807
GBP 0.772515
GEL 2.775055
GGP 0.772807
GHS 15.51641
GIP 0.772807
GMD 71.999842
GNF 8656.668427
GTQ 7.717783
GYD 209.439379
HKD 7.77113
HNL 25.601382
HRK 6.921904
HTG 131.287752
HUF 367.197038
IDR 16418.2
ILS 3.656925
IMP 0.772807
INR 86.828504
IQD 1311.407639
IRR 42099.999947
ISK 134.397378
JEP 0.772807
JMD 156.770338
JOD 0.709096
JPY 148.872501
KES 129.489599
KGS 87.450108
KHR 4010.932225
KMF 451.850117
KPW 900
KRW 1448.755027
KWD 0.30804
KYD 0.834248
KZT 501.706438
LAK 21685.3081
LBP 89694.678579
LKR 296.713443
LRD 200.203023
LSL 18.213821
LTL 2.95274
LVL 0.60489
LYD 4.819277
MAD 9.688432
MDL 17.814014
MGA 4667.741506
MKD 56.526033
MMK 2099.984052
MNT 3472.481905
MOP 8.013872
MRU 39.78099
MUR 45.050396
MVR 15.410038
MWK 1735.819243
MXN 19.94443
MYR 4.448018
MZN 63.896786
NAD 18.213821
NGN 1538.329746
NIO 36.838842
NOK 10.581685
NPR 139.221063
NZD 1.731615
OMR 0.384954
PAB 1.001079
PEN 3.672217
PGK 4.114705
PHP 57.294982
PKR 280.415784
PLN 3.838189
PYG 7948.224465
QAR 3.648607
RON 4.572301
RSD 107.635956
RUB 84.349999
RWF 1406.201914
SAR 3.750569
SBD 8.411149
SCR 14.377897
SDG 601.00028
SEK 10.11593
SGD 1.33386
SHP 0.785843
SLE 22.830338
SLL 20969.501083
SOS 572.145131
SRD 36.318994
STD 20697.981008
SVC 8.75956
SYP 13001.94068
SZL 18.219734
THB 33.630238
TJS 10.911555
TMT 3.51
TND 3.092809
TOP 2.342097
TRY 36.685265
TTD 6.797272
TWD 33.001973
TZS 2655.493997
UAH 41.525904
UGX 3669.185366
UYU 42.663041
UZS 12967.088491
VES 64.106483
VND 25535
VUV 122.957433
WST 2.818496
XAF 602.605337
XAG 0.029659
XAU 0.000335
XCD 2.70255
XDR 0.749448
XOF 602.599801
XPF 109.561103
YER 246.750032
ZAR 18.190697
ZMK 9001.198067
ZMW 28.655027
ZWL 321.999592
  • RBGPF

    66.0200

    66.02

    +100%

  • CMSD

    0.1500

    23.35

    +0.64%

  • CMSC

    0.0500

    23.22

    +0.22%

  • GSK

    0.2600

    39.49

    +0.66%

  • NGG

    0.8900

    63.21

    +1.41%

  • BTI

    -0.0200

    41.36

    -0.05%

  • RIO

    1.8400

    63.04

    +2.92%

  • RYCEF

    0.0500

    10.4

    +0.48%

  • VOD

    0.0500

    9.55

    +0.52%

  • SCS

    0.2000

    10.99

    +1.82%

  • RELX

    1.1200

    48.93

    +2.29%

  • BCC

    2.9700

    99.35

    +2.99%

  • JRI

    0.0335

    12.83

    +0.26%

  • AZN

    1.0900

    77.6

    +1.4%

  • BCE

    -0.1990

    23.47

    -0.85%

  • BP

    1.0200

    33.39

    +3.05%

Inter on course to retain Serie A title with win at Atalanta
Inter on course to retain Serie A title with win at Atalanta / Photo: © AFP

Inter on course to retain Serie A title with win at Atalanta

Inter Milan moved three points clear at the top of Serie A on Sunday after winning a big title clash at Atalanta 2-0, while Thiago Motta avoided the sack despite Juventus being thumped 3-0 at Fiorentina.

Text size:

Carlos Augusto and Lautaro Martinez scored the goals which ensured Inter took a big step towards retaining the league title in a tetchy match which ended with both teams down to 10 men and Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini sent to the stands.

Simone Inzaghi's Inter have pulled further clear of closest rivals Napoli who could only manage a goalless draw at lowly Venezia in the day's early kick-off.

And Atalanta's dream of winning their first ever Scudetto is fading as Gasperini's side stay third and now trail Inter by six points with nine matches remaining.

Atalanta haven't won at home in Serie A since before Christmas, failing to score in three league fixtures in Bergamo, and Inter were deserved winners thanks to a performance which highlighted why they are widely considered Italy's best team.

Inter could have been ahead as early as the seventh minute when Marcus Thuram sprang the offside trap before rolling in a low finish which hit the inside of the post and somehow squirmed away from the Atalanta goal.

Carlos Augusto took advantage of distracted Atalanta defending immediately after a five-minute pause in the match for a fan who needed medical assistance.

The Brazilian headed home Hakan Calhanoglu's corner eight minutes after half-time to give Inter the lead and the champions never looked back from that point.

Inter's cause was helped by Ederson being booked twice within a matter of seconds for dissent and leaving Atalanta a man down from the 81st minute.

Martinez rammed home his 18th goal of the season six minutes later and soon after a livid Gasperini, who was still raging at Ederson's sending-off, was dismissed by referee Davide Massa.

That wasn't the end of the action however as with 11 minutes of added time due to the fan previously needing help in the stands, Alessandro Bastoni was punished for a series of fouls with the match's third red card.

- Motta safe, for now -

Motta's job at Juventus is safe for now but he remains under immense pressure to turn around results after a second heavy defeat in as many weeks.

The Turin giants barely laid a glove on eighth-placed Fiorentina who ran riot in front of delighted supporters -- including iconic former striker Gabriel Batistuta -- at the Stadio Artemio Franchi.

Robin Gosens and Rolando Mandragora put Fiorentina two ahead within 18 minutes, before Albert Gudmundsson made sure of the points seven minutes after the break with a thunderous shot, of which Batistuta himself would have been proud.

The nature of Sunday's defeat, and the fact it came after last weekend's four-goal home hammering by Atalanta, has left Motta in a precarious position, even if Juve's sporting director said they were focussed on a "long-term project".

"Right now we need to be united because you get out of a crisis by sticking together. We're obviously disappointed, we put in two bad performances in what has been an up and down season," said Cristiano Giuntoli to Sky.

"But we're convinced that we can get out of this all together."

To make matters worse for Motta, his old team Bologna have moved one point above his current club into fourth place after a thumping 5-0 win over sixth-placed Lazio, who are only a point behind Juve.

Roma are also in the hunt for the Champions League after a 1-0 win over Cagliari, which eased the pain of being dumped out of the Europa League by Athletic Bilbao midweek.

G.George--TFWP