Inter Milan moved 14 points clear at the top of Serie A after Federico Dimarco and substitute Alexis Sanchez scored to help Simone Inzaghi’s side to a 2-0 win at home to struggling Empoli.

Dimarco volleyed in from the edge of the box after just five minutes after being set up by Alessandro Bastoni before a late strike from Sanchez, just minutes after coming off the bench, sealed it, tapping in Denzel Dumfries’ low cross to send Empoli into the relegation zone on goals scored.

It means that victory in their next two games will give them a chance to wrap up the title if they win the Milan Derby on April 22.

Bologna struck a significant blow in the race to qualify for the Champions League as they defeated bottom-side Salernitana 3-0, goals from Riccardo Orsolini, Alexis Saelemaekers and Charalampos Lykogiannis ensuring they moved five points clear of Roma, who were held to a goalless draw away at Lecce.

Angelino struck a post from a free-kick for the visitors whilst Patrick Dorgu swept Lecce’s best opportunity wide with the goal gaping in the second half, as Daniele De Rossi’s team stretched their unbeaten league run to seven games.

Sassuolo earned a potentially valuable point in their bid to avoid relegation, Gregoire Defrel scoring in the first half to give them the lead against Udinese before Florian hit back on the stroke of half-time to level, leaving Sassuolo a point adrift of safety.

Cagliari and Verona are both just outside the bottom three after playing out a 1-1 draw, Ibrahim Sulemana giving Cagliari the lead before Federico Bonazzoli equalised to leave both sides with a two-point gap to the drop zone.

In Spain, Atletico Madrid moved back into the top four in La Liga thanks to a goal three minutes from the end by Saul Niguez to defeat Villarreal 2-1.

Axel Witsel had headed Diego Simeone’s team into the lead after only nine minutes but they were pegged back by Alexander Sorloth early in the second half, as the opportunity to capitalise on Athletic Bilbao’s defeat to Real Madrid looked to be under threat.

But Saul settled the game just minutes after coming off the bench, slotting home to put Atletico in pole position to take the final Champions League spot.

Inter Milan restore 14-point lead at top of Serie A with victory over Empoli

Inter Milan restored their 14-point lead at the top of Serie A as a goal in each half from Federico Dimarco and substitute Alexis Sanchez helped them to a 2-0 win against struggling Empoli at San Siro.

Sanchez had been on the pitch for only four minutes when he converted a cross from Denzel Dumfries in the 81st minute, sealing the victory after Dimarco had lashed home an instinctive first-time volley early in the first half to give the home side the lead.

Inter were not at their incisive best and the league’s top scorers looked like they might be made to pay for their imprecise and wayward finishing before the game was made safe late on.

For Empoli, Sanchez’s strike at the end condemned them to drop into the relegation zone on goals scored from Frosinone, who climbed out of the bottom three despite not being in action.

Victory for Simone Inzaghi’s team means that, should they win their next two league fixtures against Udinese and Cagliari, they will go into the Milan Derby on April 22 knowing that three points against their city rivals will wrap up a first title since 2021.

Inter’s nerves were settled early on. After five minutes, Marcus Thuram raced onto a ball played high into the right channel and worked it back inside as far as Alessandro Bastoni, who was up from full-back on the opposite flank.

He clipped a ball into the edge of the 18-yard box where Dimarco was waiting to crash it into the bottom corner of Elia Caprile’s goal with a cool swing of the left boot.

From there on, Inter were guilty of wayward finishing and were fortunate not to concede a penalty for a clumsy challenge made by Francesco Acerbi on Sebastiano Luperto late in the half.

The league leaders had been far from at their best, but the game was settled courtesy of two substitutes.

Dumfries took the ball into his stride down the right and looked up to see Sanchez in space in the centre.

Sebastian Walukiewicz just failed to get a foot to his low cross and the ball bobbled in off the foot of Sanchez, who was fortunate that his clumsy finish did not go awry.

That sunk Empoli into the bottom three with eight games to play, though a win next week against Torino could see them recover to 14th in a tight battle to beat the drop.

For Inter, the title is in their sights.

Leeds leave it late to see off Hull and climb into Championship top two

Crysencio Summerville and Dan James struck two late goals as Leeds beat Hull 3-1 at Elland Road to climb back into the Sky Bet Championship’s top two.

Summerville picked himself up after being bundled over in the box to convert from the spot in the 88th minute and James fired home from fully 40 yards with visiting goalkeeper Ryan Allsop stranded in the closing moments.

The win extended Leeds’ unbeaten home run to 20 matches this season, left them unbeaten in the league in 2024 and lifted them up to second above Leicester in the table.

Sam Byram had headed Leeds into an early lead before Fabio Carvalho struck a deserved equaliser for Hull, who will feel aggrieved to have left West Yorkshire empty-handed after another impressive away display.

After a minute’s applause before kick-off in tribute to Leeds fans Christopher Loftus and Kevin Speight – both killed in Istanbul before a UEFA Cup game against Galatasaray in 2000 – the home side went straight on the offensive.

Archie Gray lashed an angled drive over the crossbar before Byram gave Leeds a ninth-minute lead.

Georginio Rutter’s jinking run from deep scattered Hull’s defence and when Crysencio Summerville’s shot was parried by Hull goalkeeper Ryan Allsop, Byram charged in to head home the rebound.

Hull enjoyed a fair share of possession without troubling home goalkeeper Illan Meslier before Patrick Bamford should have doubled Leeds’ advantage.

Summerville burst into the box and his low cross from the left was inch-perfect, but Bamford scooped the ball over the crossbar from close in.

Leeds were made to pay for that miss in the 34th minute. Hull midfielder Tyler Morton darted on to a loose ball and his cross from the left was buried by Liverpool loanee Carvalho.

Allsop made two point-blank saves to deny Rutter in quick succession just before the break, but Hull had looked the better side for long spells in the first half.

The Tigers threatened twice more early in the second period when Jaden Philogene and Abdulkadir Omur fired shots from the edge of the area inches wide.

The visitors maintained their level, which had seen them win at both Leicester and Southampton this season, as Leeds tried to build some momentum.

Gray went tumbling in the box under Jean Michael Seri’s challenge and home fans were furious as referee Josh Smith was unmoved.

Mateo Joseph, a 72nd-minute replacement for Bamford, struck a post following Junior Firpo’s cut-back and Hull centre-half Alfie Jones’ well-timed tackle denied Dan James a clear run on goal.

With Leeds appearing to be running out of time in their bid to climb back into an automatic promotion slot, Summerville came to their rescue.

The Dutch winger was brought down by Regan Slater and after arguing with Leeds substitute Joel Piroe over who would take the penalty, he made no mistake from the spot.

Hull poured forward in search of an equaliser and when the ball was cleared to James, the Wales winger saw Allsop off his goal-line and rifled a shot into an empty net.