Relentless Inter edges closer to glory

It's becoming more and more a matter of when and not if Inter Milan will be crowned Serie A champion.

Inter Milan stretched its lead atop Serie A to 15 points as first-half goals by Kristjan Asllani and Alexis Sanchez, with a penalty, secured a battling 2-1 home win over Genoa on Monday.

Inter moved further ahead in the title race on 72 points after second-placed Juventus lost 2-1 at Napoli on Sunday.

"Fifteen points is a significant advantage," Asllani said. "But we can't get carried away, there are still a lot of games to play and we have to stay focused," the 21-year-old added.

Inter's Simone Inzaghi had good reason to celebrate his 300th Serie A game as a manager, with his side winning all 12 of its matches so far this year and matching the points total it achieved in the whole of last season.

"We must continue like this, trying to work the way we have been," Inzaghi told Sky Sports Italia. "The players know what our objectives are, there are still 11 rounds to go in Serie A and 33 points up for grabs, so we can't let anything go.

"It is the work of everyone, my staff, the players and the club that tries to support us in every tiny detail. I'm so fortunate to have a squad that works like this.

"We must not look back over our shoulders or pat ourselves on the back, we have to look forward to the future."

Genoa put up a fight from the start and came close to scoring midway through the first half with a header from Mateo Retegui that Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer saved impressively.

But Asllani broke the deadlock on the half-hour after receiving a Sanchez through-ball and firing into the roof of the net from inside the box. Eight minutes later, Sanchez doubled the lead with a penalty after Morten Frendrup fouled Nicolo Barella.

Albania's Asllani, who turns 22 on Saturday, claimed his first senior goal since June 2022, which came against Inter when he was still at Empoli, to put the host 1-0 up.

"To be honest, I had waited a long time for this goal and hoped it would come at the San Siro," Asllani said. "It's a special emotion scoring here."

Genoa got back into the match nine minutes after the break when Johan Vasquez volleyed home a clearance from Inter defender Stefan de Vrij.

The visitor then thought it had equalized when substitute Vitinha netted but there was an offside in the build-up.

The defeat leaves Genoa in 12th place with 33 points.

Inter next visits fourth-placed Bologna in Serie A on Saturday before its Champions League last-16 return leg at Atletico Madrid, who it trails 1-0, on March 13.

Agencies