With a 2-0 victory over Como on Monday, Inter Milan extended their winning streak in Serie A to 11 games and closed the gap on leaders Atalanta to three points.
Early in the second half, defender Carlos Augusto headed in from a corner, and Marcus Thuram’s hammering finish in stoppage time sealed a fourth straight league victory.
As Simone Inzaghi’s team displayed symptoms of fatigue at the San Siro in their third game in a week, Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer produced a vital stop on the hour to prevent Nico Paz an equaliser.
Thuram tied Atalanta striker Mateo Retegui for the league lead with his 12th goal of the year.
Third place After their match against Fiorentina was cancelled at the beginning of December due to Edoardo Bove’s unexpected breakdown, Inter is one point behind Napoli but has played one fewer game than the top two teams.
Atalanta, who travel to Lazio on Saturday for a late game, may feel pressured again by reigning champions Inter’s visit to lowly Cagliari this weekend.
Coached by Cesc Fabregas, Como dropped to 16th place and is now only one point above the relegation zone.
After losing to Udinese 2-1 at home, Fiorentina lost more ground in the race for the championship.
As Fiorentina looked to bounce back from last weekend’s defeat to Bologna, which ended the team’s eight-game winning streak in Serie A, Moise Kean’s early penalty handed them the lead.
However, Florian Thauvin, a former France international, curled in the winning goal from outside the box after Lorenzo Lucca gave Udinese an equaliser just after halftime.
Udinese is eight points off of the European spots and remains in ninth place.
