Inzaghi Takes Another Step Toward His 1st Serie a Title as Inter Beats Juventus to Go 4 Points Clear 

(From L) Inter Milan's Dutch defender #02 Denzel Dumfries, Austrian forward #08 Marko Arnautovic, Argentine forward #10 Lautaro Martinez, French defender #28 Benjamin Pavard and Italian defender #95 Alessandro Bastoni celebrate their team's 1-0 victory after winning the Serie A football match between Inter Milan and Juventus at the San Siro stadium in Milan, on February 4, 2024. (AFP)
(From L) Inter Milan's Dutch defender #02 Denzel Dumfries, Austrian forward #08 Marko Arnautovic, Argentine forward #10 Lautaro Martinez, French defender #28 Benjamin Pavard and Italian defender #95 Alessandro Bastoni celebrate their team's 1-0 victory after winning the Serie A football match between Inter Milan and Juventus at the San Siro stadium in Milan, on February 4, 2024. (AFP)
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Inzaghi Takes Another Step Toward His 1st Serie a Title as Inter Beats Juventus to Go 4 Points Clear 

(From L) Inter Milan's Dutch defender #02 Denzel Dumfries, Austrian forward #08 Marko Arnautovic, Argentine forward #10 Lautaro Martinez, French defender #28 Benjamin Pavard and Italian defender #95 Alessandro Bastoni celebrate their team's 1-0 victory after winning the Serie A football match between Inter Milan and Juventus at the San Siro stadium in Milan, on February 4, 2024. (AFP)
(From L) Inter Milan's Dutch defender #02 Denzel Dumfries, Austrian forward #08 Marko Arnautovic, Argentine forward #10 Lautaro Martinez, French defender #28 Benjamin Pavard and Italian defender #95 Alessandro Bastoni celebrate their team's 1-0 victory after winning the Serie A football match between Inter Milan and Juventus at the San Siro stadium in Milan, on February 4, 2024. (AFP)

Inter Milan coach Simone Inzaghi took a potentially decisive step toward his first Serie A title on Sunday.

An own-goal by Bianconeri defender Federico Gatti in chaotic circumstances was enough to hand league leader Inter a 1-0 win in the Derby d’Italia and lift it four points above second-place Juventus.

Both teams were eager to highlight that nothing would be decided at San Siro, with 15 rounds remaining, but Inter has a game in hand — at home to Atalanta on Feb. 28 — and Massimiliano Allegri’s Juventus will now also be nervously looking over its shoulder, with AC Milan only four points behind.

Inter started brighter on Sunday and should have taken the lead in the 25th minute. Hakan Çalhanoğlu played a wonderful, crossfield ball over the top to Federico Dimarco and he crossed for Marcus Thuram, who appeared to be through on goal before a perfectly timed, last-ditch tackle from Bremer.

Juventus went as close at the other end shortly after as Weston McKennie strode downfield before passing to an unmarked Dušan Vlahović but the in-form forward’s first touch was horrible, allowing Benjamin Pavard to get in the block for a corner.

Inter took the lead eight minutes from the break. Nicolò Barella whipped in a cross from the right. Pavard missed the ball with an overhead kick and it went through to Thuram for an attempted diving header but instead it bounced in off Gatti’s chest.

Inter started the second half just as it had begun the first and Dimarco drilled narrowly wide of the post before Çalhanoğlu thumped the right upright.

Juventus also had chances to level in an end-to-end second period and Vlahović's overhead kick went narrowly over the bar.

FIGHT FOR FOURTH

Charles De Ketelaere is finally showing the form that saw AC Milan shell out over 30 million euros ($32 million) on the Belgian youngster.

De Ketelaere never fulfilled his promise at Milan and was loaned to Atalanta for this season. He scored two goals on Sunday to help Atalanta beat rival Lazio 3-1 and consolidate fourth spot.

The 22-year-old converted a penalty in the first half and showed his confidence in the second with a delicious feint past his marker before driving a shot into the bottom near corner to put Atalanta 3-0 up.

That took De Ketelaere’s tally to seven in his past nine matches. He didn’t score at all for Milan last season.

Mario Pašalić scored the opener for a dominant Atalanta side. Lazio was looking to replace Atalanta in fourth but didn’t really get into gear until the final 10 minutes, with Ciro Immobile converting a penalty in the 84th.

It is a tight battle for fourth and Atalanta moved three points above Bologna and four above Roma and Napoli, with Fiorentina and Lazio a point further back.

Napoli kept up the pressure as two late goals saw it fight back to win 2-1 at home to relegation-threatened Hellas Verona, with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia netting the winner three minutes from time.

Diego Coppola had headed the visitors in front in the 72nd but Verona was undone seven minutes later by a former player as Cyril Ngonge — who only left the club last month — saw a shot deflected into the back of the net. Ngonge didn’t celebrate and it later went down as an own-goal by Verona defender Paweł Dawidowicz.

Also, bottom club Salernitana drew 0-0 at Torino.



Flawless Oscar, Max Flounders: Bahrain Grand Prix Talking Points 

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia in action during the the Formula One Bahrain Grand Prix, in Sakhir, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP)
McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia in action during the the Formula One Bahrain Grand Prix, in Sakhir, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP)
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Flawless Oscar, Max Flounders: Bahrain Grand Prix Talking Points 

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia in action during the the Formula One Bahrain Grand Prix, in Sakhir, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP)
McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia in action during the the Formula One Bahrain Grand Prix, in Sakhir, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP)

Oscar Piastri produced a command performance on Sunday to deliver McLaren's first win at the Bahrain Grand Prix since the nocturnal desert dust-up joined the Formula One calendar in 2004.

The Australian crossed the line in Sakhir over 15 seconds clear of Mercedes' George Russell to move second behind teammate Lando Norris in the drivers' standings.

Norris completed the podium to take a three-point lead into next Sunday's race in Jeddah.

AFP Sport looks at three talking points from the fourth round of the season:

Oscar Piastri shone brightest under the floodlights in Bahrain to enhance his standing as a potential world champion.

Cool, calm and collected, nothing seems to faze the 24-year-old Australian.

As McLaren team principal Andrea Stella succinctly remarked: "There's no noise in Oscar's head".

Brushing off the misfortune of a late run off in the season-opener in Melbourne that dropped him back from second to ninth he regrouped to win in China, take third in Japan, and win from pole in Bahrain.

"I'm very proud of the team, proud of myself, and excited for next week," he said after his fourth career win.

Piastri's persona is poles apart from that of the man on the other side of the McLaren garage, Lando Norris.

The Briton wears his heart on his sleeve, is intensely self-critical, and left Bahrain searching for answers to regain his and his car's mojo.

"I'm not confident, I'm not comfortable, I know what I can achieve, it's not gone, I've not lost it, but things aren't clicking. I've got to look at why but that's proving not to be easy."

Red Bull picked up their first double points of the season in Sakhir, with Max Verstappen sixth and his new teammate Yuki Tsunoda ninth.

But that was small consolation for a team in trouble and desperately searching for answers to solve issues with their problematic 2025 car.

Team principal Christian Horner was frank about the situation when he met the media in the team's hospitality tent after the race.

"Look, it was a bad weekend.

"It's a 24-race championship, we're eight points behind in the drivers' championship, and we know we need to make progress very quickly."

With Verstappen slipping to third in the drivers' standings his quest for a fifth successive title, a feat only achieved by Michael Schumacher, looks in danger.

"Everything went wrong, poor start, wheel spin, same problems in qualification, hard tires didn't work, I was last after the second pit stop," remarked Verstappen.

"Considering everything to finish sixth was alright.

"It's not what we want, but it's where we are at.

"It's tough, got to hang on to improve the situation -- hopefully we can improve soon," added the downbeat Dutchman.

Arguably the driver of the day was George Russell.

His Mercedes was doing everything it could in the closing stages to sabotage his race.

He found himself having to multi-task at high speed trying to sort out a litany of electronic issues -- at one stage he pressed the team radio button only to engage DRS (drag reduction system).

All that as he was fending off Norris.

After surviving a steward's inquiry over the DRS incident which carried with it the threat of a five-second penalty Russell's runner-up spot maintained his best ever start to a season with his third podium finish.

"I'm mega happy, the last 10 laps were exceptionally difficult," said the man who has seamlessly taken over the role of team leader at the Silver Arrows after Lewis Hamilton's move to Ferrari.

Hamilton's replacement Kimi Antonelli was going well until undone by the late safety car to finish just outside the points in a race which will serve as a valuable learning exercise for the brilliant young Italian rookie.