ROME: Goals by striker Felipe Anderson and midfielder Toma Basic earned Lazio a 2-0 home win over Sassuolo in Serie A on Wednesday, sending Maurizio Sarri’s side back to second place.

Lazio were under pressure following Juventus’ 2-1 victory over Lecce earlier but are back above them with a one-point lead on 64. A draw or a loss against Sassuolo would have given Napoli an unassailable lead before their match at Udinese late on Thursday.

There was confusion after eight minutes when Ciro Immobile was first awarded a goal after a lengthy VAR check, only for it to be disallowed moments later.

However, there was no doubt after 14 minutes when Marcos Antonio scooped the ball over the top and Anderson finished well past goalkeeper Andrea Consigli.

At the end of the first half, Davide Frattesi hit the crossbar from a tight angle, denying Sassuolo an equaliser.

The result was put beyond doubt by substitute Basic when he tapped home a cross two minutes into stoppage time.

Meanwhile, Inter Milan were ruthless at Hellas Verona, causing the hosts to concede more than five goals at home for the first time in Serie A with a 6-0 victory that included two goals from both Edin Dzeko and Lautaro Martinez. Inter are fourth on 60 points.

Elsewhere, Monza dented AS Roma’s push for a top-four finish as Luca Caldirola volley cancelled out Stephan El Shaarawy’s opener to draw the match 1-1 at home. Jose Mourinho’s side are outside the European qualifying places in seventh with 58 points.

AC Milan stumbled against relegation-threatened Cremo­nese at home. David Okereke gave the visitors the lead before Junior Messias equalised with a free-kick three minutes into stoppage time, ending the match 1-1. Stefano Pioli’s side are sixth in the standings on 58 points.

Earlier, Dusan Vlahovic lashed in what turned out to the winning goal five minutes before half-time at a sparsely-populated Allianz Stadium. It was his first Serie A goal in nearly three months.

The ex-Fiorentina attacker’s ninth league goal of the season, and his first since early February, came after Assan Ceesay’s 37th-minute penalty for the away side had levelled Leandro Paredes’s early free-kick.

Defeat leaves Lecce four points above the relegation zone, although their fight for survival was helped by 18th-paced Spezia falling 3-2 at Atalanta, who move into the Champions League spots.

Sampdoria slipped closer to Serie B after a 2-0 home defeat to Torino which ended with on-pitch chaos after former Pietro Pellegri netted the away side’s second in stoppage time.

Published in Dawn, May 5th, 2023