Inter must turn the corner or risk falling behind in title race

Inter Milan are still firmly in the title race but they have to start finding a way to win when not playing well, like their main rivals AC Milan, to keep pace with the Serie A leaders.

The champions are second in the standings ahead of their home clash with eighth-placed Fiorentina on Saturday, four points behind Milan with a game in hand.

But while the pacesetters have won their last two games when not even close to their best, Inter have been held to draws by Genoa and Torino in two of their previous three matches in encounters they controlled while lacking a cutting edge.

While they are not exactly suffering a major slump, with the title race so tightly contested - four teams still have a realistic chance of claiming the trophy - Inter cannot afford to keep slipping up.

"To win the Scudetto, we need to approach matches better," Inter manager Simone Inzaghi told DAZN after last weekend's draw at Torino.

"We lost energy and players through injury at crucial moments of the season, but this shouldn't be an excuse. We have 10 'finals' plus the Italian Cup to come.

"Now we need to recover energy and some results. There is physical and mental fatigue, but we are Inter and we have to do better."

One defeat in their last six has seen Fiorentina revive their European qualification ambitions, meaning they will be no pushovers at San Siro on Saturday.

Milan travel to Cagliari in the late game as Stefano Pioli's side close in on a first Scudetto since 2011. The trip to Sardinia starts a run of four games against teams in the bottom half – a chance to pull clear of their title rivals.

Meanwhile, Juventus crashed out of the Champions League at the last-16 stage for the third successive season with a 3-0 home defeat by Villarreal on