Inter Milan goes 10 points clear in Serie A, Juventus in crisis after another defeat

Audio By Carbonatix

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 Martínez and Hakan Çalhanoğlu.

“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 Bodø/Glimt last time out in the Champions League, but we’re still the same team capable of great things.”

Inter lost 3-1 to Bodø/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’ 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.

Mërgim 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.

Cagliari drew 0-0 with mid-table rival Lazio in the late game. Cagliari defender Yerry Mina was sent off late with his second yellow card for a tactical foul just outside the penalty area.

___

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer