Roma pile misery on Inter

Smalling’s header helps Mourinho’s side stay in touch with leaders Napoli with 2-1 win

MILAN:

Chris Smalling plunged Inter Milan further into crisis by heading Roma to a 2-1 triumph at the San Siro which kept his team in touch with Serie A leaders Napoli, 3-1 winners over Torino.

England defender Smalling perfectly met Lorenzo Pellegrini's free-kick with 15 minutes remaining to complete a clinical Roma comeback from going behind to Federico Dimarco's fine first-half strike.

"I hope I can keep scoring goals," Smalling told DAZN after netting his second match-winner of the season.

"We've got a very strong squad this season, and we have big goals we're aiming at."

Jose Mourinho's side, who levelled through a superb Paulo Dybala volley six minutes before half-time, showed they can do it against the big boys with a mature performance which for once didn't finish with wasted chances leaving them wondering what might have been.

They are four points behind Napoli in fifth place after a win which also leaves Inter, who dominated early on but fell away, further back in the title race.

Simone Inzaghi's seventh-placed team are eight points off the pace after losing for the fourth time in their eight matches, hardly the best preparation for the crucial Champions League visit of Barcelona on Tuesday.

"We can't help being disappointed after what was a completely undeserved defeat today," Inzaghi told DAZN.

"It was our best performance of the season but we came away from it empty-handed, and that's painful."

Inter also trail their local rivals AC Milan by five points after two stoppage-time strikes from Fode Ballo-Toure and Rafael Leao snatched a 3-1 win for the champions at Empoli.

Milan, who took the lead through Ante Rebic with 11 minutes remaining, were left reeling when Nedim Bajrami's pinpoint free-kick levelled the scores in the 92nd minute.

But with Empoli still celebrating what they assumed was a hard-earned point, Ballo-Toure put Milan back ahead when he pushed in Rade Krunic's knockdown.

And Leao, who set up Rebic's opener and had been the star performer for Milan, then capped a stunning win by racing through on goal unopposed and classily dinking in the third in the seventh minute of added time.