Luca Caldirola returned to haunt Inter as Monza snatched a stunning 1-0 win at San Siro, a result that means Simone Inzaghi's problems are deepening.
Defender Caldirola started his playing days at Inter but did not make the grade as a first-team regular, going on to have a journeyman career. However, a powerful header from the 32-year-old snatched all three points for Monza on Saturday, as Inter fluffed their big chance to go fourth in the table.
Milan's draw with Bologna earlier in the day had opened up that opportunity, but Inter's dismal run of form continued as Caldirola claimed the spotlight.
It is now one point from the last five league games for Inter, a desperate run at this crucial stage of the season.
Inter striker Romelu Lukaku headed wide from an excellent position early on, wasting a big chance, and there were to be several of those for the home side.
Joaquin Correa then combined neatly with Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Lukaku as he carved out a route into the Monza penalty area, but the Argentine forward was denied by Michele Di Gregorio's save.
It was Correa who was providing much of the early Inter threat, but the first half proved a largely drab affair.
Monza's Carlos Augusto fired into the side-netting as the visitors posed an early threat after the break, with Inter losing defender Stefan de Vrij to injury.
Nicolo Rovella also threatened for Monza with a long-range effort before Inter's Lukaku had a header clawed away by Di Gregorio.
Correa sent a shot narrowly wide, and Lukaku fired fractionally over the bar as the hosts pushed for a breakthrough, yet Dany Mota went equally close for Monza with a left-footed strike that went just too high.
Monza stunned their hosts in the 78th minute when Caldirola stomped through a crowd to head in Patrick Ciurria's left-wing corner, and Inter could not find a way back to level terms.
Bristol City Women 0-4 Man City Women: Hosts relegated as Fowler double inspires WSL leaders
Mary Fowler scored twice to set WSL leaders Manchester City on their way to a 4-0 rout of Bristol City, who suffered relegation as a result, on Sunday.
With Arsenal having drawn with Everton earlier in the day, Man City knew a victory would be enough to take the title race down to two teams.
That victory duly arrived in emphatic fashion, with all four of Man City's goals arriving in the second half.
Fowler's fantastic strike opened the scoring in the 62nd minute, with the Australia international doubling her tally soon after, paving the way for an Amy Rodgers own goal and Alex Greenwood's late header to seal a huge victory.
Arsenal are now out of the title race, with Chelsea - who have two games in hand on Gareth Taylor's team - the only side capable of catching Man City.
The Robins, meanwhile, will be playing in the second tier again next term.
Data Debrief: Bristol heading down with a whimper
Bristol City have failed to score in their last five games in the WSL, a run of 544 minutes without a goal.
They mustered just 0.09 expected goals (xG) to Man City's 3.4, with the visitors having now kept a clean sheet in nine of their 20 league games this season.
De Rossi demands more from 'tired' Roma ahead of crunch run
Daniele De Rossi acknowledged his Roma team may be tired, but he insisted they must not allow themselves to be embarrassed.
Roma fought back to draw 2-2 with last season's Serie A champions Napoli in a pulsating fixture on Sunday.
Tammy Abraham's late header secured a point for De Rossi's team, who took the lead through Paulo Dybala's penalty before going behind to goals from Matias Olivera and Victor Osimhen.
With Serie A set to have five teams in the Champions League next season, Roma occupy fifth spot with four matches remaining, but sixth-placed Atalanta are just two points behind with a game in hand.
There is also the small matter of a Europa League semi-final against Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen on the cards over the coming weeks, and De Rossi set the stall out.
"We drew, it is not a result to throw away, but it is not the result or the performance that we wanted," Roma coach Daniele De Rossi told Sky Sports Italia.
"At times you can steal the ball off Napoli, but we then gave it back again too many times. Napoli had a lot of chances in the first half, we did better in the second, but we have to do better.
"Look, we are tired, but we cannot start thinking that we’re tired and that means we can be embarrassed in the final few weeks of the season."
Roma host Leverkusen on Thursday before taking on Juventus on May 5, with a crunch clash against Atalanta – who are also into the Europa League semi-finals – set to follow after the away leg against Xabi Alonso's team.
Key to a successful end to the campaign for Roma will be keeping Dybala fit. The Argentine has been involved in the joint-most goals (12) in Serie A since the turn of the year, scoring nine and setting up three, level with Juve's Dusan Vlahovic.
Napoli 2-2 Roma: Late Abraham header denies wasteful hosts
A wasteful Napoli were held to a 2-2 draw at home by Roma in Serie A, with a late Tammy Abraham header securing a point for the visitors.
The visitors took the lead from the penalty spot a minute before the hour mark, with Paulo Dybala converting after Juan Jesus fouled Sardar Amzoun.
However, Napoli equalised six minutes later through Matias Olivera's deflected shot, and completed the turnaround with their own penalty six minutes from time as Victor Osimhen tucked away after Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was felled by Renato Sanches.
The hosts could not hold on, though, and were pegged back with two minutes to go. Substitute Abraham's header from a corner was eventually awarded following a VAR review after he had initially been ruled offside.
Data debrief
Napoli remain eighth in the Serie A table on 50 points, the exact amount they had registered after their opening 19 games of last season.
Though his penalty was not enough to earn Roma victory, Dybala continued his impressive start to 2024, during which he has been involved in the joint-most goals in Serie A with 12 (nine goals, three assists).
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