BERGAMO/MILAN (Reuters) – Inter Milan's Hakan Calhanoglu and Lautaro Martinez scored either side of halftime for a 2-1 win at Atalanta in Serie A on Saturday, securing Simone Inzaghi's side top spot for another week.
But Lacklustre AC Milan, their city rivals, lost 1-0 to lowly Udinese A at San Siro, extending their winless run to four games in all competitions and leaving them six points adrift of the Serie A leaders.
Calhanoglu opened the scoring with a penalty just before the break and Martinez doubled Inter's advantage with a shot inside the far post before Gianluca Scamacca pulled one back for the hosts after the hour mark.
Inter, on 28 points from 11 games, provisionally extended their lead to five points over second-placed Juventus, who travel to Fiorentina on Sunday.
Inter, who are now unbeaten against Atalanta in their last 10 Serie A games, have equalled their longest streak of consecutive games without losing against the Nerazzurri, which was set between December 1950 and March 1955.
Inter bided their time in the first half and registered their first attempt on target past the half-hour mark.
But Calhanoglu put the visitors in front from the spot just before the interval after they were awarded a penalty for a challenge by goalkeeper Juan Musso on Matteo Darmian.
Former AC Milan midfielder Calhanoglu has scored 10 out of 10 penalties in Serie A since 2017-18 behind only Romelu Lukaku's perfect 14.
Martinez thought he had made it 2-0 for Inter with a header in the 54th minute but his effort was ruled out for offside. But the Argentine made no mistake with a shot inside the far post three minutes later for his 12th league goal this season.
Scamacca gave the home side some hope when he netted a low shot, profiting from a neat pass by Ademola Lookman, but they failed to find an equaliser with their few remaining chances.
Atalanta went down to 10 men in stoppage time as substitute Rafael Toloi got a second booking for a foul on Alexis Sanchez. Gian Piero Gasperini's side, who conceded their first goals at home this season, are fifth with 19 points.
They are two points behind fourth-placed champions Napoli, who beat bottom side Salernitana 2-0 earlier on Saturday with goals from Giacomo Raspadori and Elif Elmas. Salernitana set a club record of 12 consecutive Serie A games without a win.
SHOCK LOSS FOR MILAN
At San Siro, Udinese's Roberto Pereyra converted the decisive penalty for the visitors in the 62nd minute after Milan had dominated the first half but failed to put away their chances.
Stefano Pioli's faltering side, who host Paris St Germain in the Champions League on Tuesday, lost 1-0 at home to Juventus and drew 2-2 at champions Napoli in their previous two league outings either side of a 3-0 loss in Paris.
The latest defeat leaves Milan in third place on 22 points from 11 games and losing touch with leaders Inter and one point behind second-placed Juve.
Udinese, who beat visiting Milan 3-1 in their last encounter in March, have won back-to-back games against the Rossoneri in Serie A for the first time since 2017.
"Clearly we didn't play a game on a good level, and going forward it became more and more difficult," Pioli told DAZN.
"In the first half we had some good chances but it was the worst game of this recent period. We struggled to find space, and we conceded a penalty on which the opponent took home the win.
"The defeat hurts, there is disappointment but (also) great determination to prepare for the next Champions League game against a very strong team that can be beaten."
Milan captain Davide Calabria was close to opening the scoring after 25 minutes but his shot from distance was saved by Marco Silvestri, who was called on once again 10 minutes later to keep out an effort by Yunus Musah.
Pereyra scored from the spot after a penalty was awarded for a foul on Udinese winger Festy Ebosele. Milan's Mike Maignan then saved a header by Isaac Success following a corner.
Milan stepped up the pressure towards the end of the game but the heroic Silvestri ensured he kept a clean sheet.
The 32-year-old made another superb save in the 90th minute, denying Olivier Giroud, before diving to keep out a powerful shot by Alessandro Florenzi in stoppage time.
Milan, who failed to score in back-to-back league games on home soil for the first time since January 2020, lost successive games at San Siro for the first time since September 2019.
Udinese, who won their first league game of the season, are 16th with 10 points, now three points above the relegation zone.