Serie A, Inter extend lead at the top: Records broken
A second-half goal from defender Milan Skriniar helped Inter Milan secure a 1-0 win over Atalanta in Serie A on Monday. With this, the Antonio Conte-managed side extended their lead at the top, and are six points ahead of AC Milan on the standings. Notably, this was their seventh league win in a row. Here are the records broken.
Inter appeared to be frivolous in the first half, letting Atalanta create several chances. Goal-keeper Samir Handanovic stood out as he made a fine save to prevent Atalanta striker Duvan Zapata from scoring. After a goal-less first half, Skriniar made use of the loose ball from a corner, thereby putting Inter in front. This remained the only goal as Inter won 1-0.
As per Opta, Inter have won a Serie A game with only one shot on target for the first time since April 2009. However, they have failed to score a single shot on target four times in a Serie A first-half this season (two against Atalanta). Inter have now plundered 62+ points in their first 26 Serie A matches, after 2006/07 (70).
Inter and Leipzig are the only two sides with three defenders to have scored at least three goals in the top five European Leagues this season; Skriniar, D'Ambrosio (three each) and Hakimi (six). Meanwhile, Atalanta have conceded an away Serie A goal after 413 minutes. Before Skriniar's goal, the last one was scored by Roberto Pereyra at the Dacia Arena in January.
After the win, Inter coach Conte praised Atalanta for their fighting-spirit. "We played against an Atalanta team that takes points from all the big clubs," Conte told Sky Sport Italia. "They prepared for this more wisely than in previous matches against us, they knew we could hurt them. This was three important points against an excellent team."
