Inter's great week continued as Romelu Lukaku scored a brilliant double in a 4-2 win over Sassuolo at San Siro on Saturday.
With one foot in the Champions League final after Wednesday's 2-0 first-leg victory over city rivals Milan, Inter took advantage of the Rossoneri losing at Spezia to put even more space between the two sides in Serie A.
Lukaku put the hosts ahead when he arrowed in from distance before Ruan put through his own net, while Lautaro Martinez scored via a deflection as the Nerazzurri earned a seventh straight win in all competitions.
Matheus Henrique and Davide Frattesi pulled goals back for the mid-table visitors, but Lukaku smashed in a fourth for Simone Inzaghi's men late on as they move up to third and crucially five points above Milan in fifth, putting them in the driver's seat to seal Champions League qualification with three games to play.
A VAR review came to Inter's rescue early on, ruling Armand Lauriente offside after his cross was poked home at the back post by Domenico Berardi.
The hosts had a goal of their own ruled out minutes later, Andrea Consigli unable to keep out Joaquin Correa's effort only for the offside flag to curtail the celebrations.
Henrique and Frattesi spurned golden opportunities to put the visitors ahead, and they were made to pay for those misses as Lukaku's long-range drive flew into the top corner four minutes before half-time.
Martinez came on at the break as Inter pressed to double their lead, and they would do exactly that when Ruan sliced Raoul Bellanova's cross-shot into his own net.
The hosts received another huge slice of luck to make it 3-0 before the hour mark, Martinez seeing his effort hit the beleaguered Ruan and completely wrong-foot Consigli before nestling in.
Sassuolo narrowed the deficit through late headers by Henrique and Frattesi but Lukaku would seal the win when he coolly fired past Consigli from Marcelo Brozovic's pass to make the points safe.
Late Palma strike sinks St Mirren as Celtic celebrate SPL triumph on final day
Luis Palma struck a late winner as champions Celtic twice came from behind to see off St Mirren 3-2 on the final day of the Scottish Premiership season.
It was a day of celebrations at Celtic Park for Brendan Rodgers' side, who wrapped up their third successive domestic title in midweek.
However, St Mirren threatened to spoil the party when Mark O'Hara fired them in front after just seven minutes.
Top scorer Matt O'Riley equalised for the hosts in the 21st minute, but they fell behind again just five minutes later when O'Hara doubled his tally from the penalty spot after Stephen Welsh fouled Toyosi Olusanya.
Kyogo Furuhashi levelled for Celtic before half-time, and the Hoops completed the turnaround with Palma scored the winner with four minutes remaining.
Rodgers' side finished eight points clear of second-place Rangers, who were held to a 3-3 draw by Hearts.
Despite falling behind to Lawrence Shankland's strike, goals from Ross McCausland, Todd Cantwell and Fabio Silva seemingly had the visitors on course for a comfortable win at Tynecastle.
However, there was to be a late twist with Dexter Lembikisa pulling a goal back in the 82nd minute, before Kyosuke Tagawa struck deep into stoppage time to rescue a point for the hosts.
There was also nothing to separate Dundee and Kilmarnock, who drew 1-1 in the other match on the final day.
Luke McCowan cancelled out Gary Mackay-Steven's earlier effort, though the Dundee captain squandered a glorious opportunity to complete the turnaround when he missed a penalty two minutes from time.
Under-pressure Xavi says he still has Barcelona's trust
Barcelona coach Xavi says he still has the club's trust, despite a steady stream of media reports president Joan Laporta may be minded to sack him.
"I understand the noise but that changes nothing," Xavi told reporters on Saturday after a training session ahead of his side's game against Rayo Vallecano.
The manager added that his focus was on winning the three points and "the team has an extraordinary base to compete."
"We'll sit down with the president and if we have to talk about anything, we'll do that," he said about rumours of Laporta's loss of confidence in him.
"But everything is the same as it was three weeks ago. If there are any changes we'll let you know."
Despite being a club great and winning LaLiga last season, Xavi has been under pressure this campaign after Barcelona failed to catch Real Madrid, who have already secured the title.
In January, Xavi said he would resign at the end of this season, but last month he sat down with club officials and agreed to honour the last year of his contract until mid-2025 - with a series of unspecified conditions set by the club.
However, Xavi told reporters on Thursday that the club's situation is difficult, especially in economic terms, and it was tough to compete with the likes of Madrid, in comments that reportedly angered Laporta.
The club has a bloated wage bill, while a $1.6 billion euro ($1.7 billion) renovation project is also underway at the Camp Nou stadium.
Houston Dynamo FC v FC Dallas: Estevez hopes to take advantage of 'great opportunity'
Nico Estevez considers FC Dallas' trip to Houston Dynamo FC a "great opportunity" for his side to lay down a real marker.
Dallas defeated Austin FC 2-1 last time out and have now taken seven points from the last nine on offer on home soil.
Away from home, however, they have taken just one point from a possible 15 this season, with Estevez now after points plus performances in his side's fourth Copa Tejas outing of the campaign.
"I think the team is working well," he said. "They are energetic and we are improving both in results and the level of play.
"We have to continue growing. This game is a great opportunity to do so away from home; to be able to achieve something more than just points and to be able to achieve something important that will help us.
"We are going to have to do many things well to be able to win against a rival as important as Houston."
The Dynamo went down 1-0 to Austin late on in midweek, placing them eighth in the Western Conference and six points better off than their next opponents, having played a game more.
Houston have scored the fewest goals of any side in the West (11), which head coach Ben Olsen acknowledged is down to a lack of quality in front of goal.
"It's decision making and quality in the moment," he said at his pre-match press conference.
"It's not for the lack of getting in dangerous areas on the field. Checking boxes, you don't need a 2.0 expected goals to win games."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Houston Dynamo - Amine Bassi
The Dynamo had 17 shots against Austin without finding the net, six of which were on target - and three of those via Bassi alone.
Bassi's 1.8 shots per game is bettered only by Ibrahim Aliyu (2.5) this season among Houston players, yet he has registered zero goals thus far. That is something that must be put right.
FC Dallas - Petar Musa
Musa played a part in both of Dallas' goals in their victory over Austin, as he scored the opener himself and then assisted Jesus Ferreira for what proved to be the decisive goal.
The Croatia international has now contributed to five of Dallas' last seven MLS goals - three goals and two assists - meaning he is the man for Houston to stop.
MATCH PREDICTION: HOUSTON WIN
Houston's loss to Austin was their fourth defeat in their past seven league matches, compared to just two losses across their previous 17 outings dating back to last July.
Dallas have won three of their past four games in all competitions, meanwhile, having won just three out of 17 prior to this upturn in form.
However, not since November 2020 have Dallas won three successive games across all competitions, while the home team in this fixture is unbeaten in the last 20 encounters between these sides - albeit 11 of those ending all square.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Houston - 42.2%
Draw - 29.3%
Dallas - 28.5%
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