Inter Milan Eke Out Serie A Win Vs Roma With Gritty Defending – Following AC Milan, Juventus & Napoli | OneFootball

Inter Milan, AC Milan, Juventus, and Napoli all relied on some gritty defending to eke out 1-0 wins in Serie A this weekend.

This is the view in today’s print edition of Milan-based newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, via FCInterNews.

The Serie A title race was back in action this weekend after a couple weeks away during the international break.

On paper, there are four teams who look like serious contender for the Scudetto. These are Inter, Milan, Juventus, and Napoli.

Therefore, the big question concerned which of the teams – if any – would blink upon their return to action.

The answer, as it turns out, was none.

All of the Nerazzurri, the Rossoneri, the Bianconeri, and the Partenopei won their first matches back from the break.

But all four had to do it the hard way. Each won 1-0 in the end.

Inter, AC Milan, Juventus & Napoli All Eke Out Serie A Wins

Milan were first up. The Rossoneri went ahead early in their match against Udinese on Saturday.

But a first half red card for Tijani Reijnders made things very difficult for Milan.

Inevitably, it was Udinese who dominated possession during the second half of that match, putting the Rossoneri defense under constant pressure and swinging plenty of crosses into the penalty area.

That left Milan with a lot of last-ditch defending to do. But they were equal to the task, taking three precious points.

Next up, Juventus faced Lazio. And this time, the sending-off went in favour of the Bianconeri, as Alessio Romagnoli saw red for a challenge on Pierre Kalulu.

This doesn’t meant that things suddenly became easy for Juventus, though.

Thiago Motta’s team remained disciplined, and the match was a cagey one.

Juventus had to wait until late on as they never overcommitted in attack to force the issue. But eventually they broke through via a Mario Gila own goal.

And at the other end, it was yet another clean sheet, the result of a dogged defensive approach.

Yesterday, Napoli regained their place at the top of the Serie A table.

The Partenopei faced off against Empoli, a team who have been one of the early surprise packages in the Italian top flight.

And the Tuscans showed why. There was little to split the two teams in yesterday’s match.

But a Khvicha Kvaratskhelia penalty was matched with rock-solid defensive organization and individual quality at the back to give the league leaders three points.

Inter needed to respond to these wins by all their rivals against Roma yesterday. And in the end, they did.

But it was not an emphatic or flashy victory from the defending champions.

Inter needed to rely on a clinical finish at one end of the pitch and a lot of last-ditch defending at the other, to take three points against Roma.