Turin (AFP)
Inter Milan temporarily moved five points away at the top of the Italian Football League with a major victory over its host Monza 5-1 in the twentieth stage.
The Turkish Hakan Calhanoglu took turns scoring the goals for the Nerazzurri (12 from a penalty kick and 60), the Argentine Lautaro Martinez (14 from a penalty kick and 84), and the Frenchman Marcus Thuram (88), while Matteo Pessina scored the host’s goal (68 from a penalty kick). ».
Inter raised its score to 51 points, compared to 46 for its direct chaser, Juventus, which plays Sassuolo on Tuesday at the end of the stage, while Monza remained in eleventh place with 25 points.
Calhanoglu opened the scoring from a penalty kick, after a handball by Roberto Gagliardini (12).
This is the seventh penalty kick scored by the Turk in the league this season. Only the Argentine Diego Milito (2011-2012 season) and the Swede Zlatan Ibrahimovic (2007-2008) scored more than him (8 goals) for Inter in this way over the past twenty seasons, and Martinez added the second goal. After only two minutes.
Calhanoglu eliminated the host's hopes of returning the result with a goal, after a number of passes, the last of which was from Thuram “60”. This is the first time that the Turk has scored two goals in one match in the league during 222 matches, and he also equaled his record for the number of goals in one season in the tournament “9”. In 2019-2020 with Milan,” and Pessina reduced the difference from a penalty kick (68).
Martinez returned and scored his second and fourth personal goal for his team from a third penalty kick in match “84”, strengthening his lead in the scorers’ ranking “18” by nine goals over his pursuers, Frenchman Olivier Giroud, the Milan striker, and Domenico Berardi, the Sassuolo striker.
The 2022 world champion also came close to equaling his record number of goals in the league in one season (21 goals in the 2022-2023 and 2021-2023 seasons).
Thuram concluded the goal festival, after a pass from the Armenian “substitute” Henrikh Mkhitaryan (88).
The Kosovar Amir Rahmani saved his team, Napoli, the “defending champion,” from the trap of a draw with his guest, Salernitana, the bottom of the standings, by scoring the fatal winning goal 2-1, and the southern team turned the tables on its guest, and turned its deficit with a goal by Antonio Candreva (29) into a victory with two goals scored by Matteo Politano (45+). 4 from a penalty kick,” and Rahmani “90+6.”
Napoli regained the tone of victories that it had missed in the last four matches in various competitions, as it lost twice in the league to Torino 0-3 and Roma 0-2, and tied negatively with its guest Montsa, and also came out with a humiliating loss to Frosinone 0-4 in the eighth cup final.
The defending champion rose to sixth place temporarily, one point behind Atalanta, which hosts Frosinone on Monday, and 20 points behind leaders Inter, while Salernitana remained in last place with 12 points.
Candreva opened the scoring for Salernitana with a wonderful shot from outside the penalty area after receiving a ball from Croatian Domagoj Bradarić (29). This is Candreva’s sixth goal from outside the area since the beginning of 2023, and it is the largest tally of goals from long range in the five major leagues. He is also a midfielder. The only one to score at least 5 goals in the last five seasons in the league.
Politano succeeded in equalizing before the end of the first half from a penalty kick, raising his score to 6 goals in the league this season (45 + 5).
While the match was drawing its last breath, Kosovo captain Rahmani snatched the winning goal in the last sixth minute of stoppage time, scoring his first goal in the league this season.
The scorer of the winning goal said, “This match was not easy, and our season is not easy either. When you are champion of Italy, it is strange to have a season like this. Every match will be difficult this season, and we realize that now, as is clear in this match in which we suffered.” a lot”.
Coach Walter Mazzarri, who is facing criticism for the win, commented: “We needed it badly after our recent results. The team played very well and deserved to win. The players dealt well with the match, after conceding a goal at the first opportunity for the opposing team.”
He added, “It is a collective victory. It was one of the team's features last season, and we have not seen it much this season.”
The victory came at an appropriate time for Napoli, specifically before traveling to Saudi Arabia to face Fiorentina in the Italian Super Cup semi-final on the 18th of this month.
Inter Milan will meet Lazio in the second semi-final match on the 19th of this month, with the final match being held on the 22nd.
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