AFP, Milan :
Romelu Lukaku fired Inter Milan eight points clear at the top of Serie A on Saturday with the only goal in a 1-0 win at Bologna as title rivals Juventus and AC Milan were both held.
“Winning is a big step forward for us,” said coach Antonio Conte after second-placed Milan’s challenge faltered in a 1-1 draw with 10-man Sampdoria while champions Juventus were held 2-2 at city rivals Torino.
Conte’s side stretched their winning run to nine league games as they chase a first ‘Scudetto’ since 2010, having finished runners-up last season.
“Last year we nearly got there. The closer we get to the finish line, every victory becomes more important,” added the former Juventus and Chelsea manager.
Lukaku got his head to an Alessandro Bastoni cross after half an hour and bundled the ball over the line for his 20th league goal this season after Bologna’s young goalkeeper Federico Ravaglia had pushed out the initial strike.
In Turin, Cristiano Ronaldo struck in the 79th minute but couldn’t stop Juve dropping further points in their bid for a 10th consecutive league title.
Andrea Pirlo’s side slip to fourth, 12 points behind Inter, and four points back from Milan, with a game in hand.
“We complicate these games all by ourselves,” lamented Pirlo with his team’s Champions League qualification also in the balance.
“We must push on, keep giving our all and try to secure our minimum target, which is qualifying for the Champions League,” said captain Giorgio Chiellini.
“We have another important match on Wednesday and it’s one we need to win,” he added of their midweek postponed fixture against European rivals Napoli.
Federico Chiesa had given Juventus the advantage in the 13th minute, but an Antonio Sanabria brace looked set to give the relegation-threatened hosts their first derby win in six years.
The Paraguayan nodded in the leveller in the 27th minute after Juve keeper Wojciech Szczesny had pushed out a long-range Rolando Mandragora effort.
Sanabria struck a second time just after the break when he intercepted a misplaced Dejan Kulusevksi back pass.
Ronaldo missed two chances before the Serie A top scorer finally got his 24th league goal this campaign following a VAR review when he nodded home Chiellini’s cross from close range. – ‘No excuses’ for Milan –
Milan’s miserable recent form at the San Siro continued in their draw with Sampdoria.
A terrible Theo Hernandez pass across midfield in the 57th minute allowed Sampdoria veteran Fabio Quagliarella to pounce and send a long-range lob over Gianluigi Donnarumma to claim his 10th goal of the season.
