Lautaro Martinez's contract renewal discussions are "on standby" until Inter's "situation" becomes clearer, according to the striker's agent Alejandro Camano.

Martinez, 23, is approaching the end of his third season in Italy, with 2020-21 already his most prolific in Serie A having scored 16 times in 36 matches.

Once a target for Barcelona, speculation around Martinez has been much quieter this season, with the exception of tentative claims lately that Real Madrid see him as a potential alternative to Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland.

The Argentina international has two years left on his Inter contract, but he and Camano seem reluctant to rush into a new agreement.

Although the club have just won their first Scudetto since 2010, Inter have significant financial problems, with Sky Sport Italia recently claiming president Steven Zhang has asked the players to give up their wages for two months to ease the burden.

Inter vice-president Javier Zanetti accepts their money worries are "serious", though he did not comment on stories suggesting players have been urged to surrender their wages.

Nevertheless, Martinez will not be discussing a new deal while Inter's situation remains uncertain, and there was a sign of unrest on Wednesday as Antonio Conte told the striker to "show respect" when he reacted petulantly to being taken off against Roma despite having been substituted on earlier in the match.

"I can't promise anything, at present it is useless to make predictions," Camano told Gazzetta dello Sport. "We, like others, first want to understand what the future of the club will be.

"[The renewal] is absolutely on standby. For the moment there's no meeting [scheduled]. I think we'll see each other once the championship is over.

"We are calm, but the current situation of Inter prevents us from making any predictions. The boy is happy in Milan, he has just won a Scudetto as a protagonist, but we cannot help but wait."

Camano was also asked to address the Madrid rumours, and he stressed he is not talking to any other club either.

"I reply by saying that I am not talking to any club," the agent said. "Lautaro is an Inter player and he still has a two-year contract, Inter is still the priority.

"As mentioned, however, it is a question of understanding what will happen from a corporate point of view."

Camano also represents Martinez's Inter team-mate Achraf Hakimi, who in the past week or so has been linked with Bayern Munich.

However, Camano expects him to remain in San Siro.

"Achraf's situation is different as he still has a four-year contract. Today, I say he remains," he said.

What does the future hold for Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez?

The pair helped Inter to their first Scudetto since 2009-10.

But both could depart San Siro as Inter look to cut costs.

TOP STORY – LUKAKU AND LAUTARO TO LEAVE INTER?

Inter could be forced to sell star forwards Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez, according to Corriere dello Sport.

Antonio Conte's Inter have been crowned Serie A champions this season, but the Nerazzurri have financial problems as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Lukaku has been linked with former club Chelsea, Barcelona and Real Madrid, while team-mate Martinez has long been tipped to join Barca.

Alessandro Bastoni is also listed in the report amid links to Manchester City and Liverpool, while star full-back Achraf Hakimi is said to be of interest to Arsenal and Bayern Munich.

ROUND-UP

- The front page of Thursday's Mundo Deportivo reports Barca look at the idea of signing City's Sergio Aguero favourably. Aguero is out of contract at season's end and he has been linked with Inter, Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and Tottenham. But the Argentina star reportedly wants to play alongside countryman Lionel Messi. A move for Aguero would not prevent Barca from signing fellow free agent and Lyon captain Memphis Depay. Borussia Dortmund's Erling Haaland is also a target for the LaLiga giants. It comes amid doubts over the future of head coach Ronald Koeman.

- Manchester United and Arsenal are battling to sign Sparta Prague sensation Abdallah Sima, claims the Mirror. Sima is reportedly valued at £25million (€29m).

- Sky Sports says United are interested in Juventus defender Cristian Romero, who could cost £34m (€40m). The 23-year-old Argentinian joined Atalanta on a two-year loan deal from Juve and the Serie A side have an option to buy Romero. United have also been linked with Sevilla's Jules Kounde, Lille defender Sven Botman, Villarreal centre-back Pau Torres and Real Madrid duo Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane.

- Former Chelsea boss Frank Lampard could replace Roy Hodgson at Crystal Palace after emerging as a leading contender, according to the Daily Telegraph.

Cristian Roldan proved the difference as Western Conference leaders Seattle Sounders edged San Jose Earthquakes 1-0 in their top-of-the-table clash in MLS.

Roldan struck in the 18th minute for the unbeaten Sounders, who left PayPal Park in San Jose with maximum points on Wednesday.

After the Earthquakes failed to clear their lines, Roldan riffled a thunderous half-volley into the back of the net from outside the penalty area.

The Sounders are now four points clear of the Earthquakes and LA Galaxy, who have played a match less in the west.

David Beckham's Inter Miami – coached by former Manchester United defender and midfielder Phil Neville – suffered a 2-0 defeat at home to Montreal following a 140-minute weather delay.

Bjorn Johnson scored twice in the space of 11 first-half minutes to give visitors Montreal a 2-0 lead inside the opening half an hour in Miami.

The match was then suspended in the 47th minute due to lightning strikes at DRV PNK Stadium, where Montreal held on for victory after more than two hours of waiting.

Montreal top the Eastern Conference, level on eight points with New England Revolution, who played out a 1-1 draw against Philadelphia Union, while Inter Miami have five points from five games.

Elsewhere, Toronto celebrated their first win of the season after topping defending champions Columbus Crew 2-0, Houston Dynamo were 1-0 victors over Sporting Kansas City, while Minnesota United defeated Vancouver Whitecaps by the same scoreline.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said he expects a subdued transfer market this off-season amid speculation regarding Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland and Jadon Sancho, with the German wary of spending.

Paris Saint-Germain's Mbappe and Borussia Dortmund duo Haaland and Sancho – both reported Liverpool targets – have been linked with big-money moves at the end of the season.

The coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc on and off the field, with clubs counting the financial cost of COVID-19.

Liverpool could be further impacted by their failure to qualify for next season's Champions League – the Reds are sixth in the Premier League table and seven points behind fourth-placed Chelsea with two games in hand.

Klopp, whose Liverpool were dethroned by Manchester City in the Premier League this season, played down talk of a spending spree in a bid to revive the club's fortunes.

"Not playing Champions League doesn't help, obviously, but it is not our biggest problem because the market will be really strange," Klopp said of Thursday's showdown against rivals Manchester United at Old Trafford.

"I hear a lot about big-money moves – is Kylian Mbappe going or not, Haaland, Sancho – I don't see that happening because the football world is still not in the same place it was before.

"We will see how the market develops but it will not be an early market, for sure.

"If we don't go to the Champions League it is not good but there is still a chance and as long as we have a chance we should not speak about it as if we have no chance. And if it is not then we have to deal with that."

"Do I know what we have to work with? Yes, not a lot, anyway," Klopp said. "We cannot speak for years and years about our structure or whatever, it is always how it is.

"It depends to the business, what happens, if someone wants to leave or if players want to go, if we sell, so we can never really plan early.

"… Getting the injured players back makes us already better. These are our first transfers. We don’t know exactly when that will happen but it will happen at one point. All the rest we have to see."

Klopp has managed away at United without ever winning more times than any other opponent in his managerial career (six – D4 L2).

Liverpool have won just two of their six midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday) Premier League games this season (D1 L3), with both of those victories coming against Tottenham. The Reds have failed to score in the four games they did not win.

Klopp added: "Can we challenge Man City next season? And Chelsea. And Manchester United.

City and Chelsea have always had [financial] advantages in this and we still won the league and the Champions League, so it is our situation to work like we work and I never look at other clubs and say 'we can't do this' or 'we can't do that'.

"The only thing I am interested in, and I said this earlier when I arrived here, I am not interested in being the coach of the best team in the world. I am interested in being the coach of the team who can beat the best team in the world.

"If two or three of them play in our league then we will try to beat them and some others as well so we have enough points to win something. It is absolutely not the situation to moan or cry. I am not going to cry about our situations. Our situation is fine.

"A year ago people didn't know exactly how football would go on. Only one year later we speak about what we can do in the transfer window. People talk about changing the football structure completely, the German model, I can tell you the budget will go down massively.

"So changing the structure of the ownership model and [then] signing Haaland for £150m or whatever, that doesn’t work together. We have to use our situation better than we did this year."

Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon is weighing up offers but the outgoing Italian great is set to reject Flamengo as he floated the possibility of retirement.

Buffon will leave Juventus at the end of the season, having re-joined the Serie A powerhouse two years ago after spending the 2018-19 campaign at Paris Saint-Germain.

The 43-year-old star has been linked with LaLiga giants Barcelona as well as clubs in MLS and the Middle East, while Flamengo are also reportedly interested.

Buffon discussed his future after saving a penalty in Wednesday's 3-1 victory at Sassuolo.

"I've received some interesting offers, I want to see in 20 days if I will still have enthusiasm and desire to work hard," Buffon told Sky Sport Italia post-match.

"If I still feel to be Buffon, I'll accept the offer. Otherwise, I will retire."

On the Flamengo speculation, with the Brazilian champions led by former goalkeeper Rogerio Ceni, Buffon told TNT Sports Brazil: "Flamengo contacted me to join them as a free agent but I think I'm not gonna accept.

"I'll stay closer [to Turin]... that's what I hope."

Buffon became the oldest goalkeeper to have saved a penalty in Serie A after denying Sassuolo's Domenico Berardi from the spot midweek.

This season, Buffon has made eight Serie A appearances and 13 across all competitions.

Diego Simeone said he knew Atletico Madrid had to win after the LaLiga leaders moved a step closer to the title after defeating Real Sociedad.

After Barcelona dropped points, Atletico could be within one victory of claiming their second league crown of Simeone's tenure following Wednesday's 2-1 win over Sociedad.

Yannick Carrasco and Angel Correa struck in the space of 12 first-half minutes to give Atletico a 2-0 lead inside half an hour in the Spanish capital midweek.

Carrasco has been involved in 14 LaLiga goals this season (six goals and eight assists), equalling his record in a same campaign in the competition (14 in 2016-17 – 10 goals, four assists).

La Real set up a grandstand finish through Igor Zubeldia but Atletico held on to move four points clear atop the table with two rounds remaining, though city rivals Real Madrid could move back within two by beating Granada on Thursday.

"We knew that we had to win," Atletico head coach Simeone told reporters. "We were ahead in the game against a team that were doing things well, especially away from home.

"The first half was pretty good, we took a 2-0 lead, we had enough chances to have a bigger advantage. Up until the 25th minute of the second half the game was open and at the end of the season winning is very important and then their goal happened as did those last few minutes.

"We were left with the feeling that we suffered in those last few minutes because of Sociedad's desire to try and get a draw."

This is the third time in history Atleti have reached 80 or more points after 36 games played in LaLiga (assuming three points per victory) after 2013-14 (88) and 2015-16 (85).

Atletico are unbeaten in their last 19 matches played on a Wednesday in LaLiga (W15 D4) since a defeat to Madrid in April 2012 (1-4).

"We need to rest. Clearly we're all in a season that has been very tough and that will end up being very tough indeed because of everything that has happened to us as a society," added Simeone. "We started too fast and you all know that and all teams have had to fight against that. We're no exception.

"We have two games ahead and we'll face them in the same way we have the others, game after game, knowing that on Sunday it will be a very important match for us, knowing it will be a very important game for what's to come in LaLiga."

Koke made his 500th appearance for Atleti in all competitions, becoming the second player to reach this figure in the history of the club after Adelardo Rodriguez (550).

"We have two games left, that's a whole world," Koke said. "The league is really tight these last five games, we've always said it. Everyone is dropping points, these games are finals for us, we won this one and on Sunday and we have another final we want to win.

"We're Atleti, if we weren't suffering, it wouldn't be us. Thanks to the fans who came here outside [the stadium] and those who can't. You need your fans to make that extra effort as we did in the last 10 minutes, we could hear them outside. We're grateful."

Rangers forward and prospective Jamaica international, Kemar Roofe, has seen an appeal to reduce a four-match UEFA competition ban rejected, after an egregious tackle on Slavia Prague goalkeeper Ondrej Kolar.

The incident happened during Rangers' 2-0 Europa League defeat, at the hands of the Czech side, back in March.  Roofe was given a straight red card after firmly planting the bottom of his boots into the face of the keeper as the duo clashed in an aerial duel.

Kolar was left with lacerations and a fractured skull, but Rangers believed the punishment taken against the player was too harsh.  UEFA, however, upheld the decision.

“The appeal lodged by Rangers FC has been dismissed,” the release read.

“Consequently, the UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body's (CEDB) decision of 13 April 2021 is confirmed,” it continued.

 “The CEDB had decided to suspend Rangers FC player, Mr. Kemar Roofe, for four (4) UEFA club competition matches for which he would be otherwise eligible, for dangerously assaulting another player.”

The UK-born Roofe, who is believed to be in the process of securing documentation to represent the Jamaican national team, will miss the start of Rangers’ Champions League qualifying bid, which kicks off on August 3.

Inter chief executive Giuseppe Marotta is hopeful that head coach Antonio Conte will still be in charge at San Siro next season but is unable to offer any guarantees.

Conte guided Inter to their first Scudetto triumph since 2009-10 this season with four games to spare and is under contract for another year.

However, the Italian giants are facing well-documented financial issues and Conte is reportedly considering his future beyond the end of this campaign.

Talks are said to be planned between the ex-Chelsea boss and president Steven Zhang once Inter have played their remaining two league matches.

And when asked by Sky Sport Italia whether Conte will still be in the Inter dugout next season, Marotta could not give a definitive answer. 

"As a person and a director, I certainly hope so," Marotta said. "He helped to start a new era in two seasons that were affected by COVID. 

"If we look over two years of the Conte era, we have second place in Serie A and the title won several weeks in advance, and have also reached the Europa League final.

"We certainly hope to continue together even during these difficulties."

Inter have asked players to accept a pay cut as part of a cost-cutting exercise, while the likes of Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez have been linked with moves away.

But Marotta insists the pre-existing contracts already in place will be respected by Inter should the players reject the club's request.

"Everything started with a meeting with the president, who explained the current moment football is experiencing with maximum serenity," he said.

"Zhang made the players aware of the delicate position the club is in, but he didn't oblige anyone [to take wage cuts]. It's up to everyone to make a decision with their conscience. 

"We have full respect for the players who have given the club an extraordinary joy this season. I'll repeat: Inter will honour all their agreements."

Marotta was speaking ahead of Inter's meeting with Roma on Wednesday, which the Nerazzurri won 3-1 to make it a club-record extending 15 home league victories in a row.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan pulled a goal back for Roma after midfield pair Marcelo Brozovic and Matias Vecino had given Inter a two-goal advantage in a lively first half at San Siro.

But Lukaku's 22nd Serie A goal of the campaign - only Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo with 28 has more - tapped in late on to seal a first home win against Roma since 2015.

With that goal, Lukaku became the fourth Inter player to score at least 15 goals at home in a single Serie A season in the last 45 years, after Christian Vieri (19 in 2002-03), Diego Milito (17 in 2011-12) and Mauro Icardi (16 in 2016-17 and in 2017-18).

The game was a milestone occasion for Conte, who was taking charge of his 100th Inter match in all competitions since arriving at the start of last season.

He has won 63 of those games, which is the most of any coach in their first 100 games with the Nerazzurri since 1929-30.

Conte did not speak to reporters before or after the game, but assistant Cristian Stellini praised his players for their attitude to see off Roma with the Scudetto already sealed.

"It's always good when you play with this desire and fighting spirit," he said at the post-match news conference. 

"There was a little tension, but we managed to make it 15 wins in a row at San Siro.

"Nothing changes after winning the title. You have to continue with the same mentality and attitude, although we can play with a little more happiness."

One blemish for Inter was losing Alexis Sanchez to an apparent ankle sprain before half-time, but Stellini is expecting the forward to make a swift return to action in time for the weekend trip to Juventus.

"He took a blow to his ankle and lost a bit of sensitivity, so he wanted to come off," the Inter assistant said. "We think we can get him back for the next match in Turin."

Stefano Pioli says Milan's 7-0 rout of Torino was another example of their "great growth" and challenged his side to reap what they have sown by securing a Champions League spot.

The Rossoneri tore Torino to pieces in a ruthless rout at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino on Wednesday, moving above Napoli into third place in Serie A with two games to play.

Ante Rebic - starting in place of the injured Zlatan Ibrahimovic - scored a quickfire second-half hat-trick and Theo Hernandez was on target in both halves with brilliant finishes as magnificent Milan ran riot three days after beating Juventus 3-0 in Turin.

Franck Kessie was on target from the penalty spot and Brahim Diaz scored one of the five goals Milan scored in a devastating second-half display.

Milan are three points clear of fifth-placed Juve - who beat Sassuolo 3-1 - in the battle for a top-four finish and Pioli says they must finish off the job.

The head coach told Milan TV: "Thinking of winning the game with such a clear result was difficult, but we wanted another concrete performance like the one against Juventus. 

"We are happy with this, but we have to continue like this because we have not done anything yet."

Pioli says two huge results in Turin in quick succession demonstrated the strides his side have made.

"The team is mature and this is the sign of a growth made up of ups and downs that are natural because we are a young team," he added.

"Everything has served and now we have to reap what we have sown. 

"We had to face two difficult and important trips and having faced them with the right mental attitude is a symptom of great growth."

Victory for Milan was their 15th away from home in Serie A this season, matching a record set by Inter in the 2006-07 campaign.

It was the first time for 20 years they have scored six or more times in a Serie A away match, with the last occasion coming when they humiliated Inter 6-0.

Milan face Cagliari on Sunday before finishing their campaign with a trip to second-placed Atalanta.

Andrea Pirlo said his Juventus players showed they "can face any situation" after winning 3-1 at Sassuolo to keep their hopes of a top-four Serie A finish alive.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Paulo Dybala both scored to take their respective Juventus goal tallies to 100 in all competitions, and Adrien Rabiot was also on the scoresheet as Pirlo's men recovered from a disastrous 3-0 defeat to Milan.

The result leaves the Bianconeri fifth in the table, one point behind Napoli in the final Champions League qualification spot with two games left to play, but their performance at Mapei Stadium gave Pirlo confidence.

"There have been so many games where we quickly let our guard down, which is not enough when wearing that jersey," Pirlo told DAZN.

"If you are focused and have the right mind, you can face any situation, like tonight.

"We are still there, we will believe in it until the end."

Juventus must prepare for the visit of newly crowned Serie A champions Inter to Allianz Stadium on Saturday, before they face Atalanta in the Coppa Italia final and then take on Bologna on the final day of the league season.

Pirlo acknowledged the pressure that has been building on his side across a season marked by inconsistency, in which their nine-year grip on the Scudetto has slipped.

"We struggled in the last few games," said Pirlo, reflecting on a run of two wins in five matches before the victory over Sassuolo.

"That's what annoys me the most, because the weight of the ball at Juve is different: when you miss, you pay.

"We now have to recover our energies for Saturday. Then we will see tactically how we handle this match."

Atletico Madrid could be within one win of clinching their second LaLiga title of Diego Simeone's tenure after they beat Real Sociedad 2-1 in a gripping tussle on Wednesday.

With Barcelona dropping points this week, but fourth-placed Sevilla winning, Atleti responded with a performance worthy of champions at Wanda Metropolitano, though it came with a nervy finish.

Yannick Carrasco and Angel Correa got the goals to put them in control, striking in the space of 12 first-half minutes.

But Atleti failed to take the chances to make the scoreline more comfortable and, after Jan Oblak and the upright came to their rescue, La Real set up a grandstand finish through Igor Zubeldia.

Atleti ultimately hung on, however, meaning they will settle a dramatic title race in their favour by defeating Osasuna next time out, should Real Madrid fail to beat Granada on Thursday.

Luis Suarez curled just wide and Marcos Llorente was denied by Alex Remiro as Atleti started as they meant to go on, with the pressure telling in the 16th minute.

Llorente was the provider with a weighted cross to the back post where Carrasco, having beat La Real's offside trap, controlled it and prodded a finish through Remiro's legs.

It was 2-0 12 minutes later when Suarez played in Correa, who coolly found the bottom-left corner.

With little to lose, La Real hit back, forcing Oblak into two brilliant saves, the second a fingertip onto the post to deny Alexander Isak.

Wasteful finishing plagued Atleti's second-half display, with Carrasco and Suarez fortunate not to be made to pay for poor misses when Portu crashed an effort against the post, with Stefan Savic making a heroic block.

Atleti were denied a fifth clean sheet in the space of six games when Zubeldia bundled in from a corner with seven minutes remaining, yet Simeone's men had the grit to hold on and put the title within reach.

Moise Kean was the shoot-out hero for Paris Saint-Germain as they edged into the Coupe de France final by beating Montpellier on penalties after a Kylian Mbappe masterclass was not enough to finish the job in normal time.

Smarting after seeing their Champions League challenge ended by Manchester City and their Ligue 1 title defence severely dented by Rennes, two wonderful Mbappe goals, which sandwiched a similarly admirable Gaetan Laborde strike for Montpellier, appeared to have secured PSG's place in a sixth Coupe de France final in seven seasons.

But Andy Delort scored a late leveller to make it 2-2 in a dramatic finale to send an absorbing contest to penalties.

Five players from each team all delivered in a high-quality shoot-out, but the pressure proved too much for Junior Sambia, who blazed over the bar to give Kean the opportunity to seal a spot in the final against Monaco or fourth-tier Rumilly Vallieres as he fired into the top-left corner.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 100th goal for Juventus to become the first player to reach a century of goals for the Bianconeri inside his first three seasons at the club.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner picked an opportune moment to achieve the landmark, firing the Old Lady into a 2-0 lead in their crucial Serie A clash with Sassuolo – against whom he scored his first Bianconeri goal back in September 2018 – before Paulo Dybala subsequently followed up with a milestone effort of his own.

Evergreen 36-year-old Ronaldo showed he has lost none of his potency as he controlled Adrien Rabiot's header with a fine first touch prior to beating goalkeeper Andrea Consigli with his second, demonstrating the impeccable standards which have characterised his spell in Turin.

Roberto Baggio and Omar Enrique Sivori both needed four seasons to score 100 goals for Juventus, while it took the club's all-time leading scorer Alessandro Del Piero eight seasons to hit a century.

During the period in which Ronaldo plundered his Juventus hundred, only three players in the top five European leagues have scored as many goals in all competitions for their clubs: Robert Lewandowski at Bayern Munich, Lionel Messi and Barcelona, and Kylian Mbappe at Paris Saint-Germain.

Before his strike against Sassuolo, Ronaldo had already scored 15 more goals than any other Serie A player after 90 games in the competition, with his 77 league strikes putting him clear of Oliver Bierhoff (77) and Andriy Shevchenko (61).

His strike at Sassuolo drew Ronaldo level with Roberto Baggio and Pietro Anastasi as the joint 10th leading scorer for Juventus in the top flight.

Eager not to be outdone, Dybala then took his tally of Bianconeri strikes to 100 midway through the second half, chipping Consigli after Dejan Kulusevski's pass put him clean through.

Dybala, who has not had it his own way in Turin this season, enduring an injury hit campaign, is the only non-European player to hit 100 goals for Juve.

Fifteen of Dybala's 100 goals have come in the Champions League, and he is only two strikes away from equalling Filippo Inzaghi and Michel Platini (both 17) as the club's joint third-highest scorer in the Champions League/European Cup.

Serie A champions Inter saw off Roma 3-1 at San Siro on Wednesday to stretch their club-record winning home league run to 15 matches.

Antonio Conte's men had failed to beat Roma on home soil in the league since 2015, but they raced into a two-goal lead in this latest clash inside the opening 20 minutes.

Midfield pair Marcelo Brozovic and Matias Vecino both scored from clinical finishes before Henrikh Mkhitaryan pulled one back just after the half-hour mark.

Edin Dzeko hit the crossbar in the second half but Inter, who were crowned champions with four games remaining, rounded out the win through Romelu Lukaku late on to extend their unbeaten league run to 20 matches.

With the Scudetto already sealed, Conte continued with his rotation policy and two of Inter's recalled players linked up for the opener with 11 minutes played.

Matteo Darmian pulled the ball back from the byline and Brozovic fired a first-time finish away from Daniel Fuzato.

The Nerazzurri did not take long to double their lead through a well-taken Vecino strike following some good play from Lukaku to chase down a pass and wait for support.

Roma put five unanswered goals past bottom side Crotone on Sunday and they were back in this game thanks to Mkhitaryan's curled finish away from Ionut Radu.

The visitors almost levelled up 11 minutes into the second half when Dzeko turned in the box and arrowed a shot against the frame of the goal.

Bryan Cristante headed wide from a glorious position and Mkhitaryan volleyed another chance into the hands of Radu, but Lukaku sealed the points for Inter with a last-minute tap-in after being unselfishly teed up by substitute Achraf Hakimi on the counter.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 100th goal for Juventus to help Andrea Pirlo's side beat Sassuolo 3-1 and keep their hopes of a top-four Serie A finish alive.

It was a night of heroic Juventus veterans at Mapei Stadium, where Gianluigi Buffon saved a first-half Domenico Berardi penalty before Adrien Rabiot scored to give the visitors the lead.

Ronaldo clinched his century just before the interval, becoming the first Juve player to score 100 goals in his first three seasons at the club, and Paulo Dybala matched his feat by netting his 100th for the side in the 66th minute.

The result was vital after Juve's 3-0 defeat at home to Milan, with Napoli one point ahead of them in the table in the coveted fourth Champions League qualifying spot with two games left to play.