Inter 2 SPAL 0: Injury-hit Nerazzurri end winless streak

Inter secured its first Serie A victory in almost a month as second-half strikes from Matteo Politano and Roberto Gagliardini beat SPAL.

Published : Mar 11, 2019 01:13 IST

Matteo Politano celebrates scoring for Inter
Matteo Politano celebrates scoring for Inter
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Matteo Politano celebrates scoring for Inter

Matteo Politano and Roberto Gagliardini scored in the second half as Inter Milan beat SPAL 2-0 on Sunday to revive its Champions League chase before next week's derby showdown with local rival AC Milan.

Inter had taken just a point from its last two games, falling at Cagliari last time out, and desperately needed a morale-boosting win to keep pace with AC Milan before next week's Derby della Madonnina.

The win keeps Inter one point behind third-placed AC Milan which beat bottom club Chievo 2-1 on Saturday for a fifth league win in a row.

Argentina star Mauro Icardi remained on the Inter sidelines and has not played since being stripped of the captaincy a month ago.

Luciano Spalletti's side was frustrated in the first half by SPAL which is just two points above the relegation zone.

Lautaro Martinez looked to have given Inter the lead after half an hour on front of 61,000 fans in the San Siro but a VAR review awarded handball.

The host also lost Croatian midfielder Marcelo Brozovic, who limped off and was replaced by Antonio Candreva.

Politano finally broke through after 68 minutes with Gagliardini turning in a Cedric assist nine minutes later.

The race for Champions League football remains tight with Roma, Torino and Atalanta six points behind fourth-placed Inter Milan.

Torino continued its impressive form with Andrea Belotti bagging a brace to extend its winning run to three games with a 2-1 win at Frosinone.

Walter Mazzarri's side move sixth and into the Europa League places, level on 44 points with Roma, who play at Empoli on Monday under new coach Claudio Ranieri, and Atalanta who beat Sampdoria 2-1.

Colombian Duvan Zapata broke through for the Bergamo outfit on 50 minutes and Robin Gosens scored the winner after 77 minutes.

Fabio Quagliarella had equalised for Sampdoria from the spot on 67 minutes as the 36-year-old went top of the Serie A goal-scoring charts with 20 in 27 games, one more than Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo.

Bologna earned a valuable three points with a 2-0 win over relegation rival Cagliari.

Erick Pulgar converted a 34th-minute penalty with Roberto Soriano adding a second on 77 minutes to give Bologna just its fourth win of the season.

Bologna remains third from bottom with Cagliari just six points clear of safety.

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