Inter Milan keep pace with Juventus in Serie A

Minal: Inter Milan survived a late Sassuolo scare to win 4-3 and keep in touch with leaders Juventus in Serie A on Sunday as Stefano Pioli’s first game in charge of AC Milan ended in a 2-2 draw against lowly Lecce.

Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez each bagged a brace in a seven-goal thriller to keep Antonio Conte’s side second, a point behind Juventus who beat Bologna 2-1 on Saturday.

Inter Milan had led 4-1 with 20 minutes to go, then Filip Djuricic and Jeremie Boga hit back for the hosts, who are struggling in 17th position, to add to Domenic Berardi’s first-half goal.

Inter held on for a win after consecutive defeats against Barcelona in the Champions League and Juventus in Serie A.

“Once it goes to 3-1 and 4-1, it should be over,” said Lukaku who has now scored five Serie A goals in eight games. “It was very important to get this win.”

Milan’s new coach Pioli also settled for a point as the northerners struggle in 12th position with 10 points from eight games.

Hakan Calhanoglu’s first-half goal was cancelled out by Khouma Babacar’s equaliser after an hour.