MILAN (AP) — Inter Milan took a significant step to keeping its Serie A crown on Sunday with a 2-0 win at title rival Atalanta.
Carlos Augusto and Lautaro Martinez scored in the second half to lift the league leader three points above second-placed Napoli and six points above third-placed Atalanta.
Napoli had earlier been held 0-0 at relegation-threatened Venezia.
The fight for the final Champions League spot is also tight, with just six points separating six teams in the race for fourth place after more misery for Juventus, which lost 3-0 at Fiorentina.
Top spot
It was a head-to-head clash for top spot in Bergamo, with Atalanta knowing that victory would move it level on points with Inter and Napoli.
Both sides had great chances in an entertaining first half, with Inter going closest with less than seven minutes on the clock.
Marcus Thuram was on the verge of wheeling away in celebration as he swept a finish past Atalanta goalkeeper Marco Carnesecchi and toward the far corner, following good play with Lautaro Martinez. But his effort bounced off the base of the right post.
At the other end, Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer pulled off a fantastic save to fingertip Mario Pasalic’s header over the bar.
Inter broke the deadlock in the 54th minute, immediately after play resumed following a delay of several minutes as a fan got medical treatment in the stands.
A corner was whipped in from the right and Carlos Augusto rose relatively unmarked to head into the bottom left corner.
It was only his third goal for Inter in two seasons at the club.
Lautaro thought he had doubled Inter’s lead in the 71st but the whistle had already been blown for a foul by him on Berat Djimsiti.
Atalanta’s chances of getting back into the match diminished nine minutes from time. Éderson was booked for dissent and then sarcastically applauded the referee, who showed the Atalanta midfielder a second yellow card and then a red.
Lautaro sealed the match six minutes later. Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini was still protesting the Ederson decision and he was also sent off.
Inter defender Alessandro Bastoni was also sent off following a second yellow card.
Napoli held again
It was another draw for Napoli — its fifth in its last seven matches.
Napoli almost got off to the perfect start in Venice but Giacomo Raspadori’s effort came off the left post in the fourth minute.
Venezia also had plenty of chances, with the best opportunity coming three minutes from the break. Alex Meret did well to parry from Kike Pérez and Daniel Fila’s follow-up was cleared off the line by Napoli defender Amir Rrahmani.
Napoli went even closer on the stroke of halftime but Ionut Radu pulled off a superb save to grasp Romelu Lukaku’s header on the goalline.
It was a fourth straight draw for Venezia — with two of those coming against Atalanta and Lazio — but it remained in penultimate position in the standings, five points from safety.
Motta under pressure
Juventus coach Thiago Motta is under even more pressure after his team slipped out of the top four, shipping seven goals in two matches and scoring none.
Robin Gosens and Rolando Mandragora scored within two minutes of each other in the first half and Albert Guðmundsson added another after the break as Fiorentina moved to within five points of the top four.
Juve’s season was already in tatters after a dismal 4-0 loss at home to Atalanta last weekend. The Bianconeri had also been eliminated from the Champions League and Italian Cup.
Motta’s former team, Bologna, replaced Juventus in fourth after an impressive 5-0 drubbing of sixth-placed Lazio.
Seventh-placed Roma beat Cagliari 1-0.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Daniella Matar, The Associated Press
