Champions Inter earn crucial win at Juventus with controversial penalty
A first-half penalty was enough to earn champions Inter Milan a crucial 1-0 win at Juventus on Sunday, dragging Simone Inzaghi's side back into the Serie A title race.
Juve wasted a host of chances in the opening period, with veteran defender Giorgio Chiellini guilty of missing the most glaring of them, and their profligacy proved costly as Inter earned a penalty in first-half stoppage time following a VAR review.
The home side were furious at the awarding of the spot kick, but felt justice was done when Wojciech Szczesny saved Hakan Calhanoglu's penalty, only for the referee to order a retake, which the Turkish midfielder converted to give Inter the lead.
The goal did not change the balance of play, however, as Paulo Dybala and Dusan Vlahovic both went close to an equaliser in the second half, before Inter goalkeeper Samir Handanovic tipped Denis Zakaria's brilliant strike onto the post.
It remained one-way traffic until the final whistle, but Juve, who had 23 shots at goal to Inter's five, could not make the pressure pay, as the visitors held on to seal all three points.
Juve's first league defeat since November leaves them on 59 points in fourth in the standings, four points behind Inter in third, with the champions now three behind leaders AC Milan.
"Now we can say that Juventus are cut off from the Scudetto race," Juve coach Massimiliano Allegri told DAZN. "We must try to score as many points as possible to keep fourth place.
"This year we had a bad start but since many players have grown up, we have become an important team that still needs to improve.
"After tonight's game Inter are the favourites for the Scudetto."
Juventus's run of 16 league matches unbeaten prior to Sunday's Derby d'Italia had seen them claw themselves back into the top-four battle and also the title race.
Inter's run of one win in their previous seven league games had aided Juve's task, and it looked like Allegri's side would get the victory that would have seen them climb above the champions as they dominated from the off.
Chiellini was denied by the crossbar from close range early on, with Alvaro Morata and Dybala both failing to find the target from good positions.
Further openings came and went before chaos erupted surrounding the penalty award. After a second look on the pitchside monitor, the referee ruled Denzel Dumfries had been fouled in the penalty area.
Szczesny, looking to save his fourth successive Serie A penalty, guessed correctly, but Juve's Dutch defender Matthijs de Ligt had encroached in the penalty area before the kick had been taken, so Calhanoglu got another chance, which he did not pass up. The Juve protests went on for a while afterwards.
Big-money January signing Vlahovic should have levelled after a smart turn early in the second, as should Dybala from another good position, but it just would not go in for the hosts.
Inter dug in late on and survived several other scares, but defended for their lives, celebrating the victory on the final whistle knowing just how important a first win away at Juventus in a decade could be come the end of the season.
"It's a fundamental step for us. We are chasing down Milan and Napoli, we know that we have dropped points lately, but will try to recover them over the remaining eight games," Inzaghi told DAZN.
"I remember at the start of the season what people were saying, I remember Inter hadn't won at the Juventus Stadium for 10 years. This is nonetheless still a stepping-stone."
Elsewhere in Serie A on Sunday, Henrikh Mkhitaryan's first-half goal was enough to earn AS Roma a 1-0 win at Sampdoria to move Jose Mourinho's side up to fifth, while Udinese pulled clear of a relegation zone with a 5-1 thrashing of Cagliari.
Barca leapfrog Sevilla into second place with Pedri masterpiece
Barcelona's teenage sensation Pedri scored a magnificent goal in the second half to secure a 1-0 win over fading Sevilla on Sunday as they climbed above their opponents into second spot in LaLiga after extending their winning streak to six games.
The 19-year-old Pedri created and scored the winner in a similar style to the trademark goals Lionel Messi scored for Barcelona before leaving to join Paris St Germain last year.
The midfielder was surrounded by defenders just outside the box but with three quick moves he left three opponents on the ground before finally finding a gap and rifling a precise shot past goalkeeper Yassine Bounou and inside the far post.
Barca are level on 57 points with Sevilla, who slipped to fourth, and third-placed Atletico Madrid but with a game in hand having played 29 matches. Real Madrid are top with 69 from 30.
Pedri's goal in the 72nd minute broke the deadlock in a nervy game that could have gone either way as Sevilla made it difficult for Barca, dominating the majority of the first half and creating several opportunities to score at a packed Camp Nou.
But coach Xavi Hernandez's side took control as the second half wore on, with Bounou making at least four great stops from Barca strikes from close range, before Pedri worked his magic.
"Pedri is a superlative player," Xavi told reporters.
"I always tell him to take his chances from outside the box. It's a player that I don't have a comparison for, he is unique with his talent both as a creator and as a finisher."
Pedri praised his team mates and thanked the fans who ended the match chanting his name.
"It's a crazy sensation listening to these fans, this stadium is amazing," Pedri told reporters.
"Every time I saw a leg in front of me I just jinked. When I made the last jink and shot, I knew I had it. I knew it was a goal."
Mbappe on fire as Ligue 1 leaders PSG destroy Lorient 5-1
Paris St Germain's Kylian Mbappe played chief tormentor on a memorable night for the France forward as he scored two and set up the other goals as the runaway Ligue 1 leaders demolished visitors Lorient 5-1 on Sunday.
In a game where Lionel Messi and Neymar, with a double, also scored, the French champions' attacking trio combined superbly at times to deliver a performance in sharp contrast with last month's embarrassing 3-0 defeat at Monaco.
The result put PSG on 68 points from 30 games, 12 ahead of second-placed Olympique de Marseille, who earlier earned a 4-2 comeback win at relegation-threatened St Etienne.
Lorient, who scored a second-half goal through Terem Moffi to make it 2-1, are 16th on 28 points.
"We're happy to win but we know this league is difficult to win so we must continue to show we can get the title," said Neymar.
"The Champions League exit (against Real Madrid) hurt us a lot because we wanted to go all the way. It was hard for the fans to take in, but it was even harder for us."
PSG went ahead after a fine combination between Messi, Neymar and Mbappe in the 12th minute.
The France forward collected a pass from Messi and flicked the ball into the path of Neymar, who beat Matthieu Dreyer from close to the penalty spot.
Mbappe doubled the advantage after 28 minutes with a clinical shot at the near post after being set up by Idrissa Gueye.
Messi came close to adding a third before halftime as he stretched his leg to deflect a high ball from Neymar but his effort went just wide.
Lorient were given a lifeline early in the second half when a woeful back pass from Achraf Hakimi was picked up by Moffi who went on to easily beat goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to reduce the arrears.
But Mbappe took the match into his own hands again and restored a two-goal lead with another shot at the near post, from just outside the area this time.
The Parc des Princes crowd, who were chanting his name, came to the boil again six minutes later as Mbappe powered through Lorient's half and, after a one-two with Gueye, found Messi with a cut back inside the area.
The Argentine forward, from near the spot, fired into the roof of the net to put the result beyond doubt.
Mbappe finished the comfortable win off in style with a precise through ball to set up Neymar and the Brazilian fired home a low shot in the last minute.
