Late goals keep Inter Milan in control of Serie A title race

MILAN: Late strikes from Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Manuel Akanji sealed a 2-0 victory for Inter Milan at Lecce on Saturday to keep it firmly in control of the Serie A title race. Inter lead with 64 points, 10 ahead of AC Milan and 14 clear of Napoli in third.

A cutback from the byline in the 51st minute picked out Federico Dimarco on the edge of the box, and he drilled a low shot into the corner, but the celebrations were brief as Marcus Thuram had strayed offside in the build-up.

Inter made the breakthrough in the 75th minute when Mkhitaryan slipped free inside the area and guided a composed half-volley into the net from close range after a corner was only partially cleared.

Akanji wrapped up the victory seven minutes later, powering a header into the top corner.

Inter suffered a surprise 3-1 defeat by Norwegian Bodo/Glimt in the Champions League knockout play-off first leg in midweek, but has now won seven successive games in Serie A.

Attention will now turn to Tuesday’s second leg against Bodo as last season’s losing finalist bids to keep its European campaign alive. Agencies

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