Alexis Sánchez scored twice to earn Inter Milan a 2-1 win at Parma, moving the Serie A leaders six points clear at the top of the standings.
Both teams had chances to score in the first half, with the Inter goalkeeper Samir Handanovic forced into a fine save by the hosts’ Jasmin Kurtic, while Inter’s Romelu Lukaku could not convert from a good position just before the interval.
Antonio Conte’s side showed their quality after the break as Sànchez, starting only his ninth league game of the season latched on to a loose ball to score in the 54th minute. The Chilean forward added a second eight minutes later, slotting home after brilliant work from Lukaku.
Parma cut the deficit through Hernani’s close-range finish in the 71st minute, but Inter held on for another vital victory in their bid for a first Scudetto in 11 years. Struggling Parma stayed 19th, six points from safety, and are without a league win since November.
Inter’s sixth league win in a row moved the leaders on to 59 points, six clear of Milan and 10 ahead of Juventus.“We are in a very good position, we are ahead of everyone,” Conte said afterwards. “There has been an important improvement but there are 13 games left and the Italian championship is a battle. We cannot drop points, we have 13 finals to play.”
“I’m like a lion – the more I play, the better I feel,” Sánchez told Sky Sport Italia.
“We have to fight to win the Scudetto. We have to think about ourselves and not make mistakes. The players have grown a lot in the last few months.”
Athletic Bilbao secure double Cup final place
An extra-time goal from Alex Berenguer sealed victory for Athletic Bilbao over Levante in the Copa del Rey semi-final – meaning the Basque side will play two Cup finals in April.
Athletic will play Real Sociedad in last season’s postponed Copa del Rey final on 4 April before taking on Barcelona in this year’s final a fortnight later. Their coach, Marcelino, could also complete a unique hat-trick of cup triumphs after winning the Copa in 2019 with Valencia.
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Roger Marti fired Levante ahead after 17 minutes with a close-range finish, before Raúl García equalised from the penalty spot on the half-hour. Athletic had the better of the second half and extra time but had to wait until the 112th minute, when Berenguer’s long-range effort deflected in off Nikola Vukcevic.
from Football | The Guardian https://ift.tt/30dq8Np
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