Inter Milan on Tuesday defeated Napoli 2-0 in Serie A to consolidate their stay at the second place in the points table. Inter lead third-placed Atlanta with a gap of one point and fourth-placed Lazio by four points. While Inter and Atlanta have played 37 matches, Lazio have fared in 36.
Danilo D’Ambrosio and Lautaro Martinez scored in either side of the break at the empty San Siro Stadium to ensure that Inter win both the league matches against the Coppa Italia winners this season.
The visitors, despite owning a greater share of ball possession, failed to dent the defence of the Antonio Conte-managed team and took a blow to their hope for Europa League qualification.
Napoli stand seventh after playing 37 matches and earning 59 points, one behind sixth-placed AC Milan who have played a game less.
Meanwhile, Inter broke the deadlock in the 10th minute as Antonio Candreva’s cross found Cristiano Biraghi, who pulled back for D’Ambrosio to finish with a low-strike.
Inter were under siege later but goalkeeper Samir Handanovic performed well to keep a clean sheet.
The Nerazzurri doubled the lead in the 74th minute when Lautaro surged forward and released a missile that flew into the far corner.
Elsewhere, Atalanta continued their unbeaten run with a comeback 2-1 victory over Parma.
Ruslan Malinovskyi’s free kick wiped put Dejan Kulusevski’s opener, and Alejandro Gomez scored the winner in the 84th minute.
On Wednesday, Lazio will host Brescia in an attempt to close the gap with Inter Milan and Atlanta. A Milan will travel to Sampdoria with a hope to strengthen their position at the sixth spot as it can secure their Europa League berth for the next season.