DAVIDE FRATTESI PUT Inter Milan five points clear at the top of Serie A on Saturday with a last-gasp winner which gave his team a thrilling, and controversial, 2-1 victory over Verona.
Italy midfielder Frattesi rammed home the decisive strike on the rebound in the third minute of stoppage time of an incredible match at the San Siro which was full of late drama.
Simone Inzaghi’s side were fortunate not to throw away the win when Thomas Henry, who had netted Verona’s equaliser, thumped a penalty off the post in the 10th minute of stoppage time.
A huge roar engulfed the stadium as Inter will be alone at the top of the table at the halfway mark of the season, with closest challengers Juventus at Salernitana on Sunday.
In Spain, Memphis Depay struck twice for Atletico Madrid in a 3-1 win at third-tier Lugo to fire his side into the Copa del Rey last 16.
Atletico took the lead in the second minute when Angel Correa tapped home Javi Galan’s cross at the back post.
However the visitors were pegged back before the break when Puerto Rican striker Leandro Antonetti bundled his way into the area and finished with aplomb.
Diego Simeone brought on Antoine Griezmann at half-time, bidding to avoid an upset, and Atletico took the lead midway through the second half through Depay.
The striker found space in the box and smashed home, going on to quickly add a second goal with a superb clipped finish from Marcos Llorente’s cross.
Meanwhile in France, having travelled nearly 7,000km from the Caribbean island of Martinique, Golden Lion got a 12-0 mauling from Ligue 1 big guns Lille in the French Cup on Saturday.
With temperatures just above zero in the northern French city, the side from Saint Joseph, a town of 16,000 on the sunny island, could be said to have caught cold with the mercury hitting 30 degrees Celsius back home.
Golden Lion operate in a regional league in the French league’s sixth tier, while six-time French Cup winners Lille sit fourth in the top flight but coach Paulo Fonseca still fielded his strongest line-up.
Lille quickly ran riot with both Edon Zhegrova and Jonathan David bagging hat-tricks and Yusuf Yazici and Hakon Haraldsson scoring braces. Tiago Santos and Amine Messoussa also added to the scoreline.
The Island outfit had Martinique national ‘keeper Gilles Meslien in goal but the 34-year-old will escape any blame as the five-time Martinique champions also failed to register a shot on his opposite number Lille stopper Lucas Chevalier’s goal.
