Inter Milan earned their fourth straight Serie A win after beating Lecce 2-0 at San Siro.
The hosts had plenty of chances to go in front in the first half and Yann Aurel Bisseck finally made the breakthrough just before half-time.
Hamza Rafia had a header saved as Lecce searched for an equaliser, but Nicolo Barella doubled Inter’s lead and the visitors were reduced to 10 in the final stages when Lameck Banda was sent off.
Victory sees Inter stay top of the Serie A table by four points, while Lecce remain 12th.
Wladimiro Falcone was called into action early as Marcus Thuram fired a low cross into Henrikh Mkhitaryan, but the Lecce goalkeeper was able to clear the ball.
He made another solid save in the 18th minute when Carlos Augusto cut in from the left and had his shot from a tight angle blocked.
Inter should have taken the lead in the 21st minute when some great link-up play between Barella and Thuram allowed Barella to thread the ball through to Marko Arnautovic, who dragged his shot wide of the post from close range.
The hosts dominated in possession but Lecce had chances of their own. Remi Oudin sent in a great cross from the left but Banda could only head wide, before Antonio Gallo unleashed a powerful shot that flew over the bar.
Inter nearly opened the scoring in the 39th minute when Hakan Calhanoglu whipped in a corner and Bisseck’s strike smashed off the crossbar.
The defender made no mistake in the 42nd minute, though, as Calhanoglu fired a free-kick into the box and Bisseck was able to head into the bottom corner.
Lecce threatened early in the second half and they had a penalty overturned after a handball was incorrectly given when Valentin Gendrey’s strike was blocked by Carlos Augusto.
Banda had another crack with a low strike from outside of the area, but Yann Sommer made a comfortable save diving to his right, before Bisseck met another dangerous Calhanoglu cross and forced Falcone to tip his header over the bar.
Lecce had a great chance when Gallo did well to keep the ball in play and chipped the ball into the box but Rafia’s header was easily collected by Sommer.
Inter doubled their lead in the 78th minute after some great awareness on the edge of the box saw Arnautovic backheel the ball to Barella and the midfielder fired the ball into the bottom corner.
Any chance of a comeback soon diminished for the visitors in the 83rd minute when they were reduced to 10 after Banda was sent off for dissent.
Inter continued their search for a third at the death and Falcone made an incredible double save in the 87th minute, clawing the ball off the goal line before making an acrobatic effort to tip Kristjan Asllani’s long-range effort over the bar.
Villa secure Champions League qualification after Spurs defeat to Man City
Aston Villa will play in Europe's top continental competition for the first time in 41 years next season after qualifying for the Champions League.
Tottenham's 2-0 defeat to Manchester City on Tuesday sealed Villa's fourth-place finish in the Premier League.
Unai Emery's side have not played in UEFA's premier club competition since the 1982-83 season, when they suffered quarter-final elimination to Juventus in the European Cup.
Villa were knocked out of the Europa Conference League in the semi-finals this term by Olympiacos, but will now have their eyes on Europe's top prize in the Champions League next campaign.
Rangers 5-2 Dundee: Cantwell and Wright keep Celtic's title party on hold
Rangers kept Celtic's Scottish Premiership celebrations on ice after Todd Cantwell and Scott Wright inspired a remarkable turnaround to hammer Dundee 5-2 at Ibrox Stadium on Tuesday.
Philippe Clement's side could not afford to drop points in this clash and seemed set to do so after Jordan McGhee bundled home before Antonio Portales headed past Jack Butland in the first half.
Ross McCausland managed to slice the deficit on the stroke of half-time for the hosts, sliding in to convert from Leon King's cross and teeing up a monumental comeback.
The Ibrox crowd were offered further inspiration to keep the title race alive when Cyriel Dessers glanced in from Cantwell's delivery after 52 minutes.
Former Norwich City midfielder Cantwell's fortuitous cross then dipped over Jon McCracken as Rangers hit the front for the first time, before Wright's pair of late finishes sealed the much-needed three points.
Yet this Rangers salvaging act could still matter for little, with Celtic requiring just a point away to Kilmarnock on Wednesday to seal a third successive top-flight trophy.
Data Debrief: Attacking barrage pays dividends
Clement may apportion this victory to Rangers' unrelenting desire to keep the title race ongoing, blasting 31 shots – and 13 of those on target – at the Dundee target for their 3.34 expected goals (xG) tally.
A plethora of attacking opportunities must be credited to star man Cantwell, who created a game-leading six chances – four more than any other Rangers team-mate.
Hayes enjoying tense WSL title race as Chelsea stint winds down
Emma Hayes is determined to enjoy the thrill of a title race going to the wire in her final days as Chelsea boss.
Following their defeat to Barcelona in the Champions League, Chelsea's hopes of winning a trophy to mark Hayes' final season in charge looked slim heading into the run-in of the WSL season.
Yet Manchester City's defeat to Arsenal, combined with an 8-0 victory for Chelsea over Bristol City last time out, has left the Blues in with a great chance.
With the goal difference having swung in Chelsea's favour, victory over Tottenham on Wednesday would see Hayes' team go into the final day of the WSL season in top spot.
And while the pressure is on, Hayes is eager to have fun as she soaks in her final matches of a 12-year tenure.
"I'm going to enjoy being in this position," Hayes said.
"You don't often get into a position where you are competing for a title going into the last two games of a season. For those of us who have won titles, we know how hard it is.
"I’m happy to be in the position we're in. I know we have two tough games but I'm looking forward to them.
"You can't win everything all of the time. But to be in a position to compete for our fifth title in five years, I'd like to see another team do that over the next five years. The reason I say that is nobody really understands how hard that is to keep winning.
"To be in a position to compete for that, that’s all I wanted the team to be in. I just want them to enjoy the next two games."
Tottenham have lost all eight of their WSL games against Chelsea by an aggregate score of 20-5, with the Blues the only team Spurs have never won at least a point against in the competition.
Chelsea, meanwhile, have lost three games in the WSL this season, their most since also recording three defeats during the 2016 campaign.
After facing Spurs, Chelsea round off their season with a trip to FA Cup winners Manchester United, while City take on Aston Villa in their final game.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
