Inter, which is already a Champions League finalist, secured a ticket to the next edition of the European tournament, beating Atalanta 3-2 in Serie A on Saturday, after scoring two goals in the first three minutes, something that he hadn’t gotten in over 80 years.
Mario Pašalić brought Atalanta closer in the first half but Argentina’s Lautaro Martínez secured victory later, before Colombia’s Luis Muriel scored another for Atalanta in stoppage time.
Inter was placed in second place in Serie A, above Lazio and Milan, who will play their matches this Sunday.
It is now assured that Inter will finish in the top four. Atalanta, who is fifth, fell eight points behind the Nerazzurri themselves, with only one date left for each.
Inter, who meet Manchester City on June 10 in the Champions League final, knew one point would be enough to earn them a place in the top four.
And he had the perfect start at the San Siro. Martínez filtered a ball to Romelu Lukaku, who dribbled past goalkeeper Marco Sportiello and scored from an empty net after just 39 seconds.
Inter doubled their lead after three minutes. Federico Dimarco saw two shots blocked by Sportiello, and Nicolò Barella managed to take advantage of the second rebound to finish the volley.
Inter thought they had further extended their lead on nine minutes, but Hakan Çalhanoğlu had a volley goal disallowed for offside.
Atalanta recovered from their bad start after 36 minutes, when Inter failed to save a corner. The ball ended up reaching Pašalić, who scored on goal.
Despite the fact that the Bergamo team reduced the deficit, it was Inter that seemed closest to achieving another goal after the break. He did it in the 77th, when Lukaku shook off the mark in midfield and sent a through ball to Marcelo Brozović, who headed solo for goal before serving for Martínez to score.
Muriel set the scene for a tense finale with her shot smashing into Inter’s wall, before she used the rebound to score.
ANOTHER ROUTE
Roma will have to win the Europa League if they want to qualify for the Champions League. They fell 2-1 at the home of Fiorentina, who scored two late goals.
Stephan El Shaarawy put Roma in the lead after 11 minutes with a volley, but Luka Jovic equalized after 85 minutes and Jonathan Ikoné completed the comeback three minutes later.
The result left Roma four points below Milan, with only one date remaining.
Roma faces Sevilla in the Europa League final on May 31.
Fiorentina, who lost the Italian Cup final to Inter on Wednesday, will meet West Ham in the Europa Conference League final on June 7.
DECLINE
The fight against relegation will last until the last day of the season, after Spezia was crushed 4-0 by Torino.
That left Spezia just one point above the relegation zone and Hellas Verona, who host Empoli this Sunday.
Spezia visits Roma for their last duel, while Verona plays at Milan’s home.
Also on Saturday, Salernitana reacted to beat Udinese 3-2.
