Alessandro Bastoni on Sunday completed Inter’s late comeback as they scored twice in the final six minutes to beat Parma 2-1, while Atalanta BC made it three wins in a row since the Serie A restart.
Gervinho gave Parma a first-half lead at the Stadio Ennio Tardini, but Inter, who conceded a last-gasp equalizer at home to US Sassuolo last week, fought back with headers from Stefan de Vrij and Bastoni to snatch a vital win.
Inter stayed eight points adrift of leaders Juventus and four behind second-placed SS Lazio with 10 matches remaining.
Photo: AFP
“I thought it was a more than deserved victory. Thoroughly deserved,” Inter assistant coach Cristian Stellini told Sky Sport Italia, with coach Antonio Conte forced to watch from the stands as he served a touchline ban.
Atalanta consolidated their grip on fourth place thanks to two stunning goals from Luis Muriel, who came on as a second-half substitute in their 3-2 win at Udinese.
The Colombia international put his team ahead with a magnificent 71st-minute free-kick, after Kevin Lasagna had leveled for Udinese in the 31st minute following Duvan Zapata’s early opener for the away side.
Muriel then put Atalanta two goals ahead with a volley that ensured Lasagna’s second three minutes from time made no difference.
AS Roma are facing another season out of the UEFA Champions League after losing 2-0 at AC Milan.
Ante Rebic and Hakan Calhanoglu scored late to give Milan victory at a stifling San Siro to put Stefano Pioli’s side three points away from the final UEFA Europa League place held by SSC Napoli, who beat bottom side SPAL 3-1 in Naples.
Gennaro Gattuso’s side came out on top at the Stadio San Paolo thanks to goals from Dries Mertens, Jose Callejon and Amin Younes.
Roma stay fifth, but are only three points ahead of Napoli and nine behind Atalanta.
Both teams started slowly, but Milan dominated after halftime, with Rebic breaking through on 76 minutes, rifling the ball into the roof of the net at the third attempt after a frantic scramble following a Davide Zappacosta blunder.
Calhanoglu converted a penalty with a minute to go after Chris Smalling fouled Theo Hernandez in the area to earn a second win in a week, despite the absence of star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic with a calf problem.
“We were looking for a win against strong opponents and we deserved to get it,” Pioli said. “This victory gives us confidence to try to hit the goal of bringing Milan back to Europe. [Ibrahimovic] helped us raise our level. Let’s not forget that we only lost one game with him, but the team is doing well without him and his return gives us other solutions.”
Roma coach Paulo Fonseca said that his side were struggling.
“They [Milan] were fresher in the second half,” Fonseca said. “I’m worried about physical fitness, we will play in two days.”
UC Sampdoria sank further into the relegation mire after a 2-1 home defeat to Bologna which leaves them just a point above the drop zone, while Rogerio struck in the sixth minute of stoppage-time to earn a 3-3 draw for Sassuolo against Hellas Verona.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB