MILAN: Danilo D’Ambrosio scored the only goal as Inter Milan left it late to squeeze past Genoa 1-0 in Serie A action Sunday and keep in touch with the leaders, as AC Milan fell 2-0 at Sampdoria.
D’Ambrosio headed in off a corner with two minutes to go at the San Siro to earn three points for Luciano Spalletti’s side, who saw their winning run ended on Tuesday with a last-gasp 1-1 draw at Bologna.
Inter stay third, two points behind leaders Juventus and Napoli, who both claimed their sixth wins out of six on Saturday against Torino, 4-0, and SPAL, 3-2, respectively.
“It was a tough match, but we stayed solid,” said Spalletti. “We must create this winning mentality that makes us believe that we can beat anyone.
“There is a gap with Napoli and Juventus, but that’s to be expected, considering where we’re coming from. It’s tough to recreate a winning mentality after a poor campaign. There is always that fear of reality setting in.
“Napoli and Juventus have that mentality, so do Roma and Lazio. We also mustn’t underestimate Sampdoria and Torino, who are two strong sides.”
Ciro Immobile scored a double including one from the spot to bring his tally to eight for the Serie A season, as injury-hit Lazio stayed fourth with a comfortable 3-0 win at Verona.
Immobile converted a penalty after 24 minutes, scored from the edge of the box before the break and then teed up Adam Marusic for his first Serie A goal on 60 minutes.
Lazio coach Simone Inzaghi was delighted that his side knew how to respond positively to their 4-1 defeat midweek to Napoli.
“On Wednesday we had a setback that we didn’t foresee, even though we were playing Napoli,” said Inzaghi.
“One goal would have allowed Verona back into it at home, but we never risked it.
“There are no more adjectives for him (Immobile). He gives a lot and (Italy coach Giampiero) Ventura will definitely be counting on him.”
City rivals Roma — who have a game in hand — are fifth, after easing past Udinese 3-1 on Saturday.
Duvan Zapata and Ricky Alvarez scored as Sampdoria condemned big-spending AC Milan to their second defeat of the campaign.
Zapata broke through after a terrible clearance by his cousin and fellow Colombia international Cristian Zapata on 72 minutes with substitute Alvarez getting the second just before the final whistle.
Chinese-owned Milan again showed their difficulty against teams in the top half of the table as they remained sixth after six games with Sampdoria, who have a game in hand, moving seventh just a point behind.
“We deserved this victory, we fought to the end and must build on this performance,” said Zapata.
Milan had problems defensively with Cristian Zapata having a forgettable afternoon and Leonardo Bonucci and Alessio Romagnoli performing little better.
Sampdoria dominated from the outset with the visitors having a scare after two minutes when Ivan Strinic’s cross hit Franck Kessie on the arm and the referee awarded a penalty.
However, the decision was overturned by the video assistant referee.
Chievo won at 10-man Cagliari thanks to Roberto Inglese and Mariusz Stepinski’s second half goals as Crotone earned their first win 2-0 over tailenders Benevento.