The Japan Times - Inter six points clear in Serie A after squeezing past Udinese

Goals in the opening half an hour from Marko Arnautovic and Davide Frattesi were just enough to give Inter their third straight win ahead of the first of two Milan derbies in the Italian Cup semi-finals on Wednesday.

Inter have a huge month coming up as Simone Inzaghi's side also face a titanic Champions League quarter-final with Bayern Munich and tricky fixtures with fourth-placed Bologna and Roma which could be crucial to their title defence.

Inzaghi's team now await the result of closest challengers Napoli's clash with AC Milan later on Sunday after all but ending Atalanta's already slim title hopes.

Atalanta are nine points behind Inter in third place after slumping to a 1-0 defeat at Fiorentina without registering a single shot on target.

Inzaghi will be happy to have seen second-string players step up given his team's upcoming commitments, with Arnautovic and Frattesi giving Inter a fully-deserved two-goal lead at half-time by sweeping home Federico Dimarco crosses in the 12th and 29th minutes.

Arnautovic was playing in place of injured captain Lautaro Martinez and Frattesi for his Italy teammate Nicolo Barella.

And both delivered against 10th-placed Udinese, who were nowhere for most of the match but made Inter sweat after Oumar Solet's rocket halved the deficit in the 71st minute.

Inter also had goalkeeper Yann Sommer to thank that a seemingly certain three points didn't turn into one with two superb saves from Lorenzo Lucca and Solet.

Sommer crashed into the post in the 74th minute when he pulled off an incredible stop to deny Lucca from scoring from a free header, before charging down Solet in the first minute of stoppage time.

Moise Kean continued his excellent season with the only goal of Fiorentina's win over Atalanta on the stroke of half-time in Florence, pushing the hosts to within a point of the European places.

Italy striker Kean, who scored twice for his country against Germany a week ago, inflicted a first league away defeat for Atalanta since August when he confidently netted his 16th league goal of the season after robbing Atalanta defender Isak Hien on the halfway line.

Last year's Europa League winners Atalanta, who looked like title candidates following an 11-match winning streak between October and December, have fallen away since the turn of the year.

Gian Piero Gasperini's team have won just four league matches in 2025, all of them away from home, and are now only two points ahead of Bologna.

"We lacked the dynamism and energy to give Fiorentina any difficulty... we just have to put it behind us and look ahead," said Gasperini.

Cagliari strengthened their bid to avoid relegation by thumping rock-bottom Monza 3-0 and moving six points clear of the drop zone.

Y.Ishikawa--JT