Inter Milan's Scudetto hunt gets closer after beating Genoa
JAKARTA - The hunt for the Scudetto Inter Milan is getting closer after defeating Genoa 2-0 in an Italian Serie A match at the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium, Sunday, March 1, 2026 WIB. The victory makes Inter further away from closest rival, AC Milan.
Inter is so powerful in the domestic competition. However, they failed completely in the Champions League. Even Inter failed to qualify for the 16th round after being eliminated by Bodo/Glimt in the playoffs. The failure of Lautaro Martinez et al. was a surprise in the Champions League because Bodo/Glimt is definitely not a European elite team. They also remain an underdog even though they managed to qualify for the knockout round.
Inter was indeed battered in the European competition and was humiliated twice by Bodo/Glimt, losing 5-2 on aggregate. However, they immediately bounced back in the Italian League by beating Genoa.
The victory over Genoa makes Inter stronger at the top of the standings with 67 points. They are closer to winning the Scudetto for the second time in the last three years because they are 13 points ahead of Milan who are in second place.
Milan can still cut the points gap if they beat Cremonese, Sunday evening. Only if they win, Milan is still 10 points behind and next week Milan faces Inter in the Derby della Madonnina.
"We finished the game well. This is important for the team," said midfielder Federico Dimarco who opened Inter's victory as quoted by france24. He is one of the players who is quite productive and has bagged seven goals with 15 assists in various competitions this season.
"If my goals and assists don't help us win trophies, it's useless. It's better if I score a few goals and assists but we can win the league," he said.
Coach Cristian Chivu also showed satisfaction with Inter's victory. Moreover, they managed to beat the team in the best condition.
"We are aware of the importance of this match. I am happy with these three points because it is not easy to get them. We are facing an opponent who is in the best condition and difficult. This is the 16th match in 50 days which is exhausting. However, we must try to be consistent," said Chivu.
Meanwhile, Genoa itself is still struggling at the bottom. Their position is very insecure and Genoa must try hard to survive in the highest class. The reason is that Genoa is only ranked 15th with 27 points. They are only three points ahead of Lecce who are in 18th place or the relegation zone.
Being in the bottom position does not mean that Genoa is an easy opponent to defeat. Inter must work hard to be able to break their goal. Even I Nerazzurri had to wait until the 31st minute when Dimarco managed to break the deadlock. The goal was created through a collaboration with Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
The 1-0 lead made Inter more aggressive in pressing Genoa's defense. However, their efforts did not bear fruit and the score remained until the first half ended.
Inter finally managed to add a goal when the match entered the 70th minute. The goal came from the penalty spot following a foul by Genoa substitute Alex Amorim who touched the ball while blocking Luis Henrique's cross. The referee pointed to the white spot and the penalty was executed by Hakan Calhanoglu. The score was 2-0 for Inter. The score remained until the end of the match.