Substitutes put Inter Milan on brink of Serie A title

<p>ROME &mdash; Inter Milan won at last-placed Crotone 2-0 on Saturday to give it a chance to clinch the Serie A before the weekend ends.</p>
<p>Inter moved 14 points clear of Atalanta with four games to play. If Atalanta doesn’t win at Sassuolo on Sunday, Inter will clinch its first title since 2010.</p>
<p>Crotone was relegated.</p>
<p>Christian Eriksen scored midway through the second half on a play begun with a backheel flick from fellow substitute Alexis Sanchez. Four minutes after the subs went on, Romelu Lukaku took Sanchez’s creative pass and left it for Eriksen to score with a drive that deflected in off a defender.</p>
<p>Achraf Hakimi sealed it for Inter by finishing off a counterattack in stoppage time.</p>
<p>It took another piece of Conte’s well-connected puzzle, the new defensive trio of Milan Škriniar, Stefan de Vrij and Alessandro Bastoni, to produce another clean sheet.</p>
<p>The “LuLa” strike tandem of Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez accounted for two shots off the post.</p>
<p>Stefano Sensi, another usual bench member, got a rare start and was involved in several first half chances.</p>
<p>Earlier, a late equalizer from Riccardo Saponara earned Serie A debutant Spezia a much-needed point at Hellas Verona in a 1-1 draw. Spezia, based in Liguria, moved three points clear of the relegation zone.</p>
<p>Later, AC Milan hosted Benevento.</p>
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<p>Andrew Dampf is at <a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewDampf">https://twitter.com/AndrewDampf</a></p>