Soccer-Inter strike late to keep pace with Lazio as Juve ease pressure with Lecce win

LECCE, Italy, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Inter Milan kept pace with Lazio at the top of Serie A after scoring twice in stoppage time to earn a 2–1 home win over Fiorentina on Sunday, while injury-hit Juventus halted their recent slump with a 2–0 victory at Lecce.

Fiorentina had looked set to inflict Inter's first league defeat of the season through a second-half goal from Alex Jimenez before Marcus Thuram equalised in stoppage time.

Minutes later, Thuram was brought down in the penalty area by Victor Valdepenas, allowing Piotr Zielinski to convert the resulting spot-kick and seal all three points for the hosts.

The late turnaround leaves Inter level on 22 points with Lazio, who won 2–1 at home against Parma on Saturday, while AS Roma are third on 18 points. Fiorentina's third consecutive league defeat means they remain 18th with four points.

Juventus and their coach Luciano Spalletti gained much-needed respite with their win at the Stadio Via del Mare, despite having only seven outfield players on the bench.

Weston McKennie opened the scoring in the 29th minute with a freekick that floated over the wall, before Douglas Luiz drove in a precise low shot from outside the box shortly before the break.

Juve controlled the rest of the match, with Lecce's frustration eventually boiling over when Kialonda Gaspar was shown a red card with the final kick of the match for dissent.

Juve are seventh in the standings on 14 points, while Lecce are 12th.

Earlier, Atalanta and Frosinone played out a 4–4 draw in Bergamo. Romano Schmid struck twice within the first 17 minutes for the visitors with home striker Nikola Krstovic also netting a brace.