Lautaro Martínez scored in the first half as Inter moved six points clear of second-placed AC Milan and nine points behind third-placed defending champion Napoli.
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Napoli would play at home against Sassuolo later. Milan hosts modest Lecce on Sunday.
Fourth-placed Juventus also played later, at Cagliari, threatened by relegation.
Inter host Arsenal in the Champions League on Tuesday. Arsenal top the table having won all six of their games in Europe’s elite club competition. Inter, who have lost their last two games, are in sixth place.
With that crucial match ahead, Cristian Chivu rotated his team again on Saturday, with Pío Esposito accompanying Lautaro.
And those two combined in the 20th minute to score the first goal.
Piotr Sebastian Zielinski played a pass into the penalty area for Esposito to backheel it towards Lautaro, who broke through before drilling into the bottom right corner.
Federico Dimarco thought he had doubled Inter’s lead in the 61st minute after another assist from Esposito, but it was disallowed for offside.
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AP Soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer