Inter beats Como and closes gap at the top of Serie A while Bove back on Fiorentina sideline

FLORENCE, Italy (AP) — Inter Milan beat Como 2-0 to cement third place in Serie A and close the gap on top two Atalanta and Napoli on Monday.

Carlos Augusto got the opener when he headed home a corner kick in the 48th minute.

Marcus Thuram scored the second in stoppage time with a potent strike into the roof of the net.

It was the first time these teams have played each other in the top division since 2003 and although Inter had lost only one league game all season it struggled to impose itself on 15th-placed Como.

However, it won without exerting itself and the three points were enough to take Simone Inzaghi’s men within three points of leader Atalanta and within one of Napoli. Inter has a game in hand over both clubs.

Fiorentina misses chance to rise

Fiorentina missed a chance to go fourth when it lost at home to Udinese 2-1.

The Florence club won a record eight consecutive Serie A games before losing to Bologna 1-0 on Dec. 15, and it looked to be back on track when Moises Kean converted a penalty after eight minutes to become the first Fiorentina player to reach double figures in the league since Federico Chiesa in the 2019-20 season.

However, Udinese was a different prospect after the break.

Lorenzo Lucca equalized with the aid of sloppy defending four minutes into the second half and then Florian Thauvin found space on the edge of the box to curl in the second eight minutes later.

The result left Udinese in ninth place and Fiorentina in fifth.

The match was a special one for Edoardo Bove, the Fiorentina player whose collapse with a heart issue led to the suspension of its game with Inter Milan on Dec. 1.

Bove was fitted with a defibrillator implant soon after and sat on the Fiorentina bench for the first time since his collapse.

He is not allowed to play but his position on the sideline alongside coach Raffaele Palladino was seen as a step towards normality for the 22-year-old midfielder.

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