Inter Milan 2-1 Genoa: League leaders battle to narrow win, extend lead at the top to 15 points

Inter Milan extended their Serie A lead to 15 points with a battling 2-1 home win over Genoa on Monday, thanks to first-half goals from Kristjan Asllani and Alexis Sanchez.

Inter moved ahead in the title race with 72 points after second-place Juventus lost 2-1 to Napoli on Sunday.

Inter's Simone Inzaghi had good reason to celebrate his 300th Serie A game as a manager, as his team has won all 12 of their games this year, matching the points total from the previous season.

"We must continue like this, trying to work the way we have been," Inzaghi said to 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," he added.

Genoa fought hard from the start and came close to scoring midway through the first half with Mateo Retegui's header, which Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer saved impressively.

But Asllani broke the deadlock on the half-hour mark, receiving Sanchez's through ball and firing into the roof of the net from inside the box. After Morten Frendrup fouled Nicolo Barella, Sanchez converted a penalty eight minutes later to double the lead.

Nine minutes after the break, Johan Vasquez volleyed home a clearance from Inter defender Stefan De Vrij to put Genoa back in the game.

The visitors thought they had equalised when substitute Vitinha scored, but there was an offside in the build-up.

Genoa now sit in 12th place with 33 points following their defeat.

Inter's next Serie A match is against fourth-placed Bologna on Saturday, followed by the Champions League last 16 return leg against Atletico Madrid, who they trail 1-0 on March 13.

SportsLigue