Inter leave it late to stay top in Serie A

Milan (AFP) – Inter Milan left it late before sealing a fourth consecutive win in as many games to sit top of Serie A with a 2-0 victory at Crotone on Saturday.

Luciano Spalletti’s side suffered in the heat of Calabria but late strikes from Milan Skriniar and Ivan Perisic put them top ahead of champions Juventus and Napoli — also looking for their fourth wins — who play on Sunday.

Crotone shocked Inter 2-1 at the Stadio Ezio Scida last April in a defeat that effectively ended the Milan club’s bid for European football this season.

But despite the pressure the Serie A strugglers held on for 80 minutes largely thanks to the efforts of goalkeeper Samir Handanovic who saved from Aleksandar Tonev and Marcus Rohden just after the break.

But the final ten minutes proved fatal with first defender Skriniar scoring on 82 minutes after a free kick which the Crotone defence failed to clear, and then in-form Croatian striker Perisic three minutes into time added on.

Crotone narrowly avoided the drop last season and this term are also in the bottom three after just one point from four games.

Later Saturday, Roma look for their first win since the opening weekend against Verona with Alessandro Florenzi set to return after missing almost a year with knee ligament damage, as Fiorentina want to build on their 5-0 win over Verona against Bologna.