Serie A: Inter-Fiorentina ends in stalemate, Parma stuns ineffective Napoli

Inter Milan and Fiorentina played out a 0-0 stalemate at the San Siro Stadium and Napoli suffered a shock loss, while Roma cruised to 6-1 win against SPAL.

Published : Jul 23, 2020 03:43 IST

Inter's draw against Fiorentina means Juventus has a chance to seal the title on Thursday when it meets Udinese.
Inter's draw against Fiorentina means Juventus has a chance to seal the title on Thursday when it meets Udinese.
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Inter's draw against Fiorentina means Juventus has a chance to seal the title on Thursday when it meets Udinese.

Inter Milan twice hit the post and was also foiled by goalkeeper Pietro Terracciano as it was held to a 0-0 draw by Fiorentina on Wednesday, while Parma handed an ineffective Napoli a shock 2-1 defeat in a Serie A match in which all the goals came from penalties.

Inter forward Romelu Lukaku headed against the post in the first half and Alexis Sanchez also saw a shot touched onto the upright by Terracciano in the second half.

The result meant that Juventus, which leads with 70 points and have four games left, can wrap up a ninth successive title by winning at Udinese on Thursday.

HIGHLIGHTS: INTER HELD TO 0-0 DRAW

Atalanta, second with 74 points, and Inter, third with 73, have three games each to play and Juventus has a better head-to-head record with both of them.

Despite its unlucky breaks, it was generally a tired and uninspired performance from Antonio Conte's side which relied mainly on lofting crosses into the area aimed at Lukaku.

Terracciano made a double save early on to prevent Martin Caceres scoring an own goal and also blocked Lukaku's effort from the rebound.

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Lukaku smacked a header against the post and Terracciano then diverted a close-range shot by the Belgian with his outstretched leg.

Fiorentina should have gone ahead before halftime when Franck Ribery's free kick found German Pezzella unmarked at the far post but the Argentine headed over.

Inter's best second-half move featured a powerful run by Lukaku who found Sanchez and the Chilean's shot was touched onto the post by Terracciano and rebounded back into the arms of the grateful goalkeeper.

-Parma hands Napoli shock-

Napoli, which lost for only the second time since the season restarted, had 65% of possession on a sweltering evening at the Ennio Tardini but struggled to turn that into chances, a failing which has frustrated coach Gennaro Gattuso all season.

Tenth-placed Parma, which last won at home on Jan. 26 when it beat Udinese 2-0, ended a seven-match winless run.

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Gianluca Caprari put Parma ahead in first-half stoppage time from a soft penalty after Mario Rui caught Alberto Grassi with his trailing foot.

Lorenzo Insigne replied in the 54th minute after a powerful Fabian Ruiz shot hit Grassi's arm at close range and the referee pointed to the spot after a VAR review.

But Parma won the game when substitute Dejan Kulusevski went over as he was challenged by Kalidou Koulibaly and the Swede converted the penalty himself in the 87th minute.

Napoli's record signing Hirving Lozano started only his 10th league game of the season and had a shot saved by Luigi Sepe in the second half in one of his side's few openings.

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Substitute Amin Younes should have equalised in stoppage time but scooped his shot over the crossbar.

Napoli, which stayed seventh with 56 points, has made sure of a Europa League place by winning the Coppa Italia and is focusing on its Champions League last-16 match against Barcelona next month.

Roma routs SPAL

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Nicolo Zaniolo (Left) left opponent defenders in the dust as he scored a brilliant solo goal against SPAL.
 

Nicolo Zaniolo ran 60 metres of the field, leaving a trail of opponents in his wake, as he scored an extraordinary solo goal to cap AS Roma's 6-1 win away to relegated SPAL in Serie A on Wednesday.

The 21-year-old, who has only recently returned from a injury layoff of nearly six months, collected the ball inside his own half.

He turned past one opponent, held off another as he crossed the halfway line, skipped past a third and charged towards goal before cutting inside another defender and firing the ball into the top corner.

Roma's win took it back into fifth place with 61 points, which would earn it a place in the Europa League group stage, although it still has a mathematical chance of catching fourth-placed Lazio (69 points) and qualifying for the Champions League.

Nikola Kalinic gave Roma a 10th-minute lead before Alberto Cerri replied for SPAL with an acrobatic header.

Carlos Perez put Roma back in front in the 38th minute and it ran riot after halftime with a goal from Aleksandar Kolarov and a brace from Bruno Peres before Zaniolo produced his masterpiece.

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