Milan Skriniar scored the only goal as title-chasing Internazionale edged past Atalanta at San Siro, earning a hard-fought 1-0 win to reopen their six-point lead over Milan.
Antonio Conte’s forward line endured a rare off-night, so it was left to the Slovakian centre-back to grab the only goal after 54 minutes. Skriniar reacted first to a loose ball in the area after a corner and drilled home emphatically from 10 yards out.
The league leaders looked nervy in the first half and had Samir Handanovic to thank for keeping the game level. The Slovenian goalkeeper made a fine save to prevent the Atalanta striker Duván Zapata giving the visitors the lead.
The Colombian forward had another opportunity for the visitors after Skriniar had opened the scoring but sent his shot wide. Conte’s side then dug in defensively to see out the victory and extend their unbeaten league run to 10 games.
“We played against an Atalanta team that takes points from all the big clubs,” Conte told Sky after the game. “They prepared more wisely than in previous matches against us, because they knew we could hurt them. This was three important points against an excellent team.”
Inter are chasing their first scudetto since the 2009-10 season – when the treble was won under José Mourinho and Conte was manager of Atalanta. They lead Milan by six points with the perennial defending champions, Juventus, four points further back, with a game in hand. Juve will host Inter on the penultimate weekend of the season.
The defeat struck a blow to Atalanta’s top-four ambitions, as they stay fifth, a point behind Roma. Sixth-placed Napoli and Lazio, who are seventh, both have a game in hand on Gian Piero Gasperini’s side.