Inter Milan moved into second place in the Serie A standings on Sunday after securing a 2-0 victory over Como at San Siro. The win puts Inter just one point behind league leaders Lazio, who were held to a 1-1 draw by Napoli.
Inter made a rapid start to the match, seeking to move past their first league defeat of the season against AC Milan a week ago. Francesco Pio Esposito opened the scoring in the 12th minute by tapping in a cross from Djed Spence. Marcus Thuram added a second goal shortly after when a poor clearance fell into his path in the box, allowing the France international to shoot past Robert Sanchez.
Como, managed by Cesc Fabregas, struggled to respond in what was described as an uncharacteristically muted display. While Federico Dimarco and Thuram both threatened a third goal in the second half, Nico Paz hit the crossbar late in the game. Inter coach Cristian Chivu praised his team's performance, stating, "Today we played well in every aspect. We put pressure on their build-up and accepted that they could cause us problems. We counter-attacked with ferocity and were clinical in front of goal. I applaud my players for a performance of maturity and quality."
The result ends a six-match winning streak for Como, which included a 9-1 away win against RC Lens in the Champions League last Wednesday. The defeat allows AC Milan to move into fourth place with 24 points following their 2-1 win over Genoa, where Alphadjo Cisse and Christian Pulisic scored.
In Naples, Lazio dropped points for the second time this season in a 1-1 draw against Napoli. Davide Frattesi scored the opener for Lazio, but an own goal by Alfonso Pedraza cancelled it out. Napoli, who were sent into a training retreat following losses to Juventus and Porto, were kept at bay by Gennaro Gattuso’s unbeaten outfit, which remained 14 points ahead of 10th-placed Napoli. Napoli coach Massimiliano Allegri noted, "We must keep going; everything's not lost even if we are behind in the standings."
AC Milan's week ended on a positive note with their second consecutive Serie A win. Despite a 2-0 Europa League loss at home to Ferencvaros on Thursday that left coach Ruben Amorim furious, the team showed improvement on Sunday. Cisse scored in the 13th minute, followed by a Pulisic goal six minutes later, before Mikael Ellertsson scored a late consolation goal for Genoa.
Juventus remained in seventh place with 18 points after a 2-2 draw with Fiorentina in Florence. Mateo Pellegrino put Fiorentina ahead in the 4th minute, but Nick Woltemade scored his first Serie A goal to level the game. Alieu Njie scored for Fiorentina early in the second half, but Gleison Bremer headed in a goal for Juventus following uncertain goalkeeping from David de Gea.
Atalanta ended a six-match winless run across all competitions by defeating Monza 1-0, with the winning goal coming from Nikola Krstovic.
