02/21/26 03:00:00
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02/21 14:58 CST Inter Milan goes 10 points clear in Serie A, Juventus in crisis
after another defeat
Inter Milan goes 10 points clear in Serie A, Juventus in crisis after another
defeat
LECCE, Italy (AP) --- Substitutes Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Manuel Akanji scored
late for Inter Milan to stretch its Serie A lead to 10 points with an
unspectacular 2-0 win at Lecce on Saturday.
Both players were sent on for the last half hour. Mkhitaryan was left unmarked
at the far post to score from Federico Dimarco's corner in the 75th minute, and
Akanji headed in from another corner in the 82nd.
"We knew they would drop off physically in the second half, and we did well to
keep pushing," Mkhitaryan said.
Dimarco thought he'd scored after the break but the goal was ruled out after a
VAR check found Marcus Thuram was offside. Dimarco later had another effort to
seal the win cleared off the line before he took the corner for Akanji's goal.
Inter was without star players Lautaro Martnez and Hakan alhano?lu.
"Sometimes we produce our best in big matches, other times we don't," Akanji
said. "But there aren't two different versions of Inter. Yes, we lost to
Bodo/Glimt last time out in the Champions League, but we're still the same team
capable of great things."
Inter lost 3-1 to Bodo/Glimt in the first leg of their Champions League
playoff. The Norwegian tournament upstart visits Milan for the second leg on
Tuesday.
Inter's seventh consecutive league win moved it 10 points clear of AC Milan
before its city rival hosts Parma on Sunday.
Juventus' crisis continues
Juventus' damaging week continued with a 2-0 loss at home to Como that dents
the Italian power's hopes of Champions League qualification.
The defeat comes days after the Bianconeri's 5-2 loss at Galatasaray in the
first leg of the playoffs in this season's Champions League. Juventus welcomes
the Turkish team for the second leg on Wednesday.
Mrgim Vojvoda scored early for Como with a shot that Michele Di Gregorio
should have saved after getting his arm to ball. The chance came about after
Juventus' Weston McKennie lost the ball in midfield.
There were whistles from frustrated Juve fans at the break, and it didn't get
any better for their team after the restart.
Lucas da Cunha broke through to set up Maxence Caqueret for Como's second in
the 61st.
It's Juventus' third straight defeat across all competitions and its fifth game
in a row without a win.
"We made too many mistakes today. There were a number of moments where we
created the problems for ourselves, and the pressure kicked in and affected us.
The qualities we've shown haven't disappeared, but now we can't recognize
them," Juve coach Luciano Spalletti said. "We're lacking a bit of cohesion, a
bit of tenacity. We need to take the initiative."
Spalletti's team remained fifth, a point behind Roma before the capital club
hosts Cremonese on Sunday. Como stayed sixth, a point behind Juve. Only the top
four qualify for Europe's premier competition.
Lazio was to visit Cagliari for the late game.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
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