With a win of 3-2 over Atalanta, Inter Milan have ensured their spot in the Champions League for the next season. Atalanta showed some good form leading into the final of Europe’s premier club championship which will take place next month.
Following an early onslaught from Romelu Lukaku and Nicolo Barella, followed by a straightforward finish from Lautaro Martinez in the 77th minute, the team coached by Simone Inzaghi moved up to second place in Serie A and won the Italian Cup on Wednesday. This allowed them to move on to the next round of the competition.
Inter are currently eight points clear of Atalanta, who are currently ranked fifth and have no chance of finishing in the top four for the season. Inter appeared to be in good fettle with English champions Manchester City waiting for them in Istanbul on June 10.
Their victory also ensures that fourth-placed AC Milan simply has to avoid loss when they travel to struggling Juventus on Sunday night to assure their return to the Champions League after being knocked out in the semi-finals by their local rivals the previous week. Juventus is currently in a difficult position.
“I understood how important this match was for the club, and I couldn’t be happier… After the game, Inzaghi spoke to DAZN and remarked, “The boys somehow gave all that energy 48 hours after the cup.”
“When you’re not together as a team, you run into difficulties, but when you are, you’re able to win trophies and advance to the finals of the Champions League.”
Lukaku gave the hosts the lead with less than a minute played in what may be his final meeting at the San Siro as an Inter player. Lukaku’s loan from Chelsea to Inter is set to expire at the end of the following month.
After being sent flying through by Martinez, the Belgium attacker completed the dribble around Marco Sportiello and rolled in his seventh goal in 10 outings. He is hopeful that a deal will be done with Chelsea so that he may remain in Milan.
Inter took a 2-0 lead in the third minute when Barella scored on a volleyed finish after Sportiello had stopped Federico Dimarco’s first attempt.
Inter were the better team, and Martinez’s goal was his 27th of the season across all competitions. Mario Pasalic scored a goal that cut the margin in half nine minutes before halftime, but Inter still led going into the break.
With the help of a slide-rule ball from Lukaku to Marcelo Brozovic, the Croatian midfielder was able to roll an unmissable opportunity across the field to World Cup winner Martinez.
The magnificent goal scored by Luis Muriel in stoppage time was little more than a consolation for the visiting team.
Atalanta are currently one point ahead of Roma, who had their prospects of making it into the top four eliminated after suffering a loss to Fiorentina by a score of 2-1 in a matchup between clubs competing in European finals.
Roma, managed by Jose Mourinho, are now four points behind Milan, and the only chance for them to qualify for the Champions League at this moment is to win the Europa League final against Sevilla on Wednesday.
During the 4-0 victory that Torino had against Spezia, head coach Ivan Juric became the latest person to be the target of racial abuse in Serie A.
After the game, former Croatian player Juric lamented the fact that he was dubbed a “gypsy” at the conclusion of the first half of Spezia’s loss on Saturday, which dealt a blow to the club’s efforts to stay in the Italian Serie A and put them in danger of dropping into the relegation zone.
The Italian phrase for gypsy is frequently used as a racist slur by parts of football supporters, regardless of the players’ actual origin, when referring to players from the Balkans and eastern Europe.
In the same manner that Roma supporters abused Dejan Stankovic a month ago, they continued to do so on Saturday, and the referee, Marco Guida, was forced to interrupt the game for a few moments as a result.
“There were the typical insults leveled at us, and after a time, it gets to be rather nasty. According to what Juric said to the media, “It’s not a nice thing for anyone.”
“If that kind of thing happens, you tell yourself, ‘I won’t react, I won’t react, leave it.'” My plan is to do that so as not to cause any difficulties; yet, after a time, it gets to be really annoying. You have to try to comprehend other people’s reactions, even while they make you feel terribly insulted.
If Verona win their match against Empoli, which is scheduled for earlier on Sunday, Spezia will be relegated to the lower division.
The uncomplicated victory allowed Torino to climb up to eighth place, and it was encouraging for Lecce, who are now two points better off than Spezia in 16th place.
On Sunday afternoon, Lecce will be competing at Monza; but, if Empoli wins their match, Lecce might start their match behind Verona.