Rome, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- The 16th round of the Italian Serie A continued on the 17th, with Inter Milan beating Lazio 2-0 away and AC Milan beating Monza 3-0 at home.
The Blue Eagles "Lazio" took on Inter Milan, the "leader" of the standings, and there was a ceremony to greet Mihajlovic before the kick-off. It was the first anniversary of the Serbian star's death from leukemia, having played for both teams during his lifetime.
Inter Milan players celebrate with their supporters at the end of a match on December 17. Xinhua News Agency, AFP.
At the beginning of the game, the two sides went back and forth, and the home team Lazio's defensive holes were quite obvious, and there were frequent mistakes at the back. In the 40th minute, they finally paid the price for their carelessness: defender Marusic's return pass was of poor quality and was easily intercepted by Lautaro, before the Inter striker dribbled past the goalkeeper and fired home from a tight angle.
In the 66th minute, the Nerazzurri extended their lead when Barella deftly assisted Thuram from the edge of the box, who fired low from the left. In the 86th minute, Lazio player Lazzari received a red card for insulting the referee. The win allowed Inter to remain at the top of the table with a four-point advantage.
AC Milan's Okafor celebrates his goal in the match on December 17. Xinhua News Agency (photo by Alberto Lingria).
AC Milan hosted Monza and the home side started aggressively and took just three minutes to take the lead, with Reinders dribbling all the way to goal and slotting home. In the 41st minute, substitute youngster Simic received a cross from Leao and scored from close range in front of goal to score on his Milan debut. In the 76th minute, Milan relied on a smooth counterattack, Okafor scored another goal, and finally fixed the score at 3:0.
In the other games, the "Red Wolves" Roma lost 0:2 away to Bologna, and Christensen scored an own goal. Sassuolo drew 2-2 away to Udinese with Berardi's penalty kick. Fiorentina beat Verona 1-0 at home.
*:Xinhua.