Romelu Lukaku scored one goal and set up another as Internazionale moved a step closer to its first Serie A title in more than a decade with a 2-1 win over Sassuolo on Wednesday.
Lukaku headed in the opener in the 10th minute and provided the assist for Lautaro Martínez in the 67th as Inter moved 11 points clear of second-placed Milan with their 10th successive victory. It was Lukaku’s 21st league goal of the season but he remained four behind Cristiano Ronaldo in the scoring charts as the Juventus forward also netted in his side’s 2-1 win over Napoli.
Juventus moved into third. The nine-times defending Serie A champions are 12 points behind Inter, who have not won the league title since 2010.
Inter took an early lead when Ashley Young whipped in a cross from the left for Lukaku’s flicked header into the far corner. Sassuolo dominated possession as Inter focused on defending and attempting to score on the counter. They did so in the second half when Lukaku’s through ball released Martínez in the middle and he drilled into the bottom right corner. Hamed Traorè set up a nervy finale when he pulled one back for Sassuolo five minutes from time, curling into the far corner after the home side failed to clear the ball.
Paulo Dybala scored just four minutes after making his return from injury to help Juventus earn a first win in three league matches.
Dybala had been sidelined with a knee injury for more than two months but he was brought on as a substitute in the 69th and made it 2-0 shortly after, controlling a pass from Rodrigo Bentancur just inside the area before turning and firing into the far corner.
The Bianconeri had taken the lead in the 13th minute after Federico Chiesa beat two defenders on the right before crossing for Ronaldo to slot into the bottom-left corner.
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Lorenzo Insigne converted a last-minute penalty for Napoli after the Juventus defender Giorgio Chiellini brought down Victor Osimhen.
Napoli are two points below fourth-placed Atalanta and three below Juventus.
The match was meant to be played in October and caused much debate when Napoli did not travel to Turin after two of their players tested positive for coronavirus. Napoli were handed a 3-0 loss by the Italian league and docked one point but had that overturned on appeal by the Italian Olympic Committee.