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ROME. — Romelu Lukaku scored from the penalty spot as Inter Milan battled past title rivals Napoli 1-0 on Wednesday night to move one point behind Italian Serie A football leaders and city rivals AC Milan who were held at Genoa.
Defending champions Juventus sit three points behind Inter after Cristiano Ronaldo missed a penalty in a 1-1 home draw with Atalanta.
In Turin, unbeaten Juventus were held for the sixth time in Serie A this term. Federico Chiesa curled in a powerful shot to put Juventus ahead before the half-hour mark.
But Atalanta hit back with Remo Freuler grabbing the equaliser 12 minutes into the second half, shortly after captain Papu Gomez came off the bench. The build-up to the game had been overshadowed by tensions between coach Gian Piero Gasperini and Gomez, left out of their last two league games amid speculation he could leave the Bergamo club in January.
Ronaldo, who had fired over the target in the fifth minute, had a rare penalty miss after an hour following a Hans Hateboer foul on Chiesa.
The Portuguese striker’s weak effort was easily saved by Atalanta keeper Pierluigi Gollini.
At the other end of the pitch, Juventus goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny saved a Cristian Romero header with a quarter of an hour to go. — AFP.
Online Reporter