Inter Milan beat Crotone to put one hand on trophy

(MENAFN - Gulf Times) Christian Eriksen and Achraf Hakimi scored in the second half as Inter Milan beat Crotone 2-0 to move to the brink of the Serie A title yesterday. Antonio Conte's side are 14 points ahead of second-placed Atalanta and can claim their first Scudetto since 2010 if the Bergamo side fail to win at Sassuolo today. Dane Eriksen came on as a substitute in the 65th minute and scored four minutes later, firing home a shot which took a deflection off Crotone defender Lisandro Magallan, from Romelu Lukaku's lay-off. Lukaku had a goal ruled out before Hakimi struck a second in injury time. The match pitted the Serie A leaders against the bottom team who were relegated as a result of the loss with four games to play. Both sides had chances in the first half with Adam Ounas threatening early for the hosts who lost defender Arkadiusz Reca to injury before the break. Lukaku headed onto the post off a Stefano Sensi corner after 23 minutes. There was a flurry of activity in front of the Crotone goal before the break with Alessandro Bastoni sending wide after connecting with a Nicolo Barella cross. Lautaro Martinez's low shot hit the woodwork before home goalkeeper Alex Cordaz cleared a Sensi effort just before the first-half whistle. As Inter struggled to break through Conte sent on Eriksen, Ivan Perisic and Alexis Sanchez after 65 minutes. And the substitutions paid off with Sanchez providing a back-heel flick for Lukaku who teed up Eriksen to fire in just his second goal of the season. Lukaku missed a chance to add to his 21 goals this campaign with a goal ruled out with seven minutes to go for Perisic's offside position in the build up. But Barella sent Moroccan Hakimi clear to beat Cordaz with his seventh goal this season to extend Inter's unbeaten run to 18 league games, and close to a 19th league crown. Nine-time holders Juventus are fourth as they continue their fight for a Champions League spot at Udinese today. AC Milan, equal on points with Juventus, host 18th-placed Benevento late last night. Meanwhile, Andrea Pirlo insisted he was calm about his job as Juventus coach as the Italian champions' nine-year reign nears its end. 'I'm calm concerning my work, the 41-year-old former Italy World Cup winner said. According to Italian press reports former Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri is set to return two years after being sacked.  'I talked to the owners the other day, revealed Pirlo who took over last summer. 'It's not the first time they've come, it has already happened three or four times and we've talked about everything. I'm calm about my job, about what I have to do. I am not influenced by all these rumours. I'm focused on what I have to do and I have to bring the team to the Champions League and try to win the Italian Cup. MENAFN01052021000067011011ID1102012136