Ilicic nets twice as Atalanta rout Milan; Inter go top with win over hapless Genoa
Inter Milan’s Sebastiano Esposito celebrates after scoring a goal against Genoa during their Italian League match on Saturday. Reuters
Atalanta captain Papu Gomez fired the hosts ahead on 10 minutes when he gathered the ball on the left wing and drifted into the area before blasting beyond Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Mario Pasalic, on loan from Chelsea, added a second on the hour in Bergamo when he flicked in a flashing drive from Robin Gosens.
Ilicic made it 3-0 with a clinical finish after a Pasalic assist and the Slovenian attacker struck again on 72 minutes when he curled a majestic strike into the top corner from 20 yards.
Luis Muriel then replaced Ilicic and scored with minutes of his introduction, pouncing on hesitancy from Donnarumma to round out a resounding victory. Atalanta have scored a league-best 43 goals this season and trail Roma by four points in the race for the final Champions League spot.
The Bergamo side are competing in the Champions League for the first time this season and were drawn against Valencia in the last 16 after scraping through the group stage.
Napoli travel to Sassuolo later searching for a first victory in the league since October 19. They have gone eight matches without a win in Serie A and were beaten 2-1 by Parma last weekend in Gennaro Gattuso’s first game in charge.
The former AC Milan and Italy international replaced Carlo Ancelotti, who was appointed Everton manager on Saturday -- just over after he was sacked by Napoli.
Inter Milan and reigning champions Juventus are locked on 42 points at the top as the Italian league prepares to head into a two-week winter recess.
Earlier, Sebastiano Esposito became Inter Milan’s youngest scorer in more than 60 years on Saturday when he hit the target in a 4-0 romp against Genoa, helping his side return to the top of Serie A. The 17-year-old put away a second-half penalty which made him the youngest Inter scorer since Mario Corso in 1958.
Romelu Lukaku scored twice with Roberto Gagliardini adding another as Inter moved level with champions Juventus at the top on 42 points.
Juve had taken top spot on Wednesday with a 2-1 win over Sampdoria before heading to Saudi Arabia where they face Lazio in the Italian Super Cup on Sunday.
However, Inter are now in pole position courtesy of goal difference.
The teenager also hailed Lukaku who gave him the ball to take the penalty even though he could have finished the game with a hat-trick.
The defeat left Genoa, now without a Serie A win at Inter since 1994, second from bottom in the table, four points from safety after a 10th defeat this season. Lukaku opened the scoring after 31 minutes, heading in a cross from Antonio Candreva.
Within a minute it was 2-0 when Lukaku teed-up Gagliardini whose shot was deflected off Cristian Romero and into the goal.
Esposito added his name to the scoresheet from the spot in the 64th minute when Kevin Agudelo fouled Gagliardini.
Lukaku’s gesture to his teenage teammate was rewarded when he hit a long-range drive which went in off the underside of the crossbar for his second of the night and his team’s fourth seven minutes later.
Rolando Maran’s side have now won just once in their last five games, claiming only a single point in their three most recent outings.
Argentine Rodrigo de Paul gave Udinese a first-half lead before Joao Pedro levelled for Cagliari in the 84th minute. However, Ivory Coast international Seko Fofana restored Udinese’s advantage just a minute later to wrap up the three points.
Earlier on Saturday, Fiorentina fired coach Vincenzo Montella with the club struggling in 15th in Serie A.
Agencies
