Inter Milan have a lot of work still to do before they can think about ending an 11-year wait for the Serie A title, head coach Antonio Conte warned his players after their 1-0 win in Bologna on Saturday.
The victory marked a huge step towards Inter being crowned Italian champions, as it sent them eight points clear in first after title rivals AC Milan and Juventus were held to draws by Sampdoria and Torino respectively.
“There are still 10 games to play, nine for some other teams. The road is long and there are still 27-30 points to assign,” Conte told Sky Italia.
“We know very well that the Italian league is difficult, you need to win every game. As the games count down, it’s inevitable that we will start to look ahead. But it’s up to us to earn first place, we haven’t achieved anything yet.”
Inter, who last won Serie A under Jose Mourinho in 2009/10, have a game in hand over second-placed Milan and can extend their lead to 11 points if they beat Sassuolo at home on Wednesday.
A title win would not only end Inter’s long wait, but end Juventus’s nine-year stranglehold on the domestic championship.
“Inter called me in to change the history of recent years. The objective was to manage to win within three years, or to build something credible and make the fans proud,” Conte said.
“Some things have changed since the start of the journey, but we have to stay focused on the work and think about influencing what we can."
Romelu Lukaku scored his 20th Serie A goal of the season to earn Inter all three points.
The Belgian struck after 32 minutes to become the seventh player in Inter’s 113-year history to reach the 20-goal mark in two consecutive Serie A seasons, after notching 23 in his debut campaign last season.
Cristiano Ronaldo on target in Juve draw
In Turin, Cristiano Ronaldo struck in the 79th minute but couldn't stop Juve dropping further points in their bid for a 10th consecutive league title.
Andrea Pirlo's side slip to fourth, 12 points behind Inter, and four points back from Milan.
Both Inter and Juventus have a game in hand.
"We complicate these games all by ourselves," lamented Pirlo with his team's Champions League qualification now also in the balance.
"We must push on, keep giving our all and try to secure our minimum target, which is qualifying for the Champions League," said captain Giorgio Chiellini.
"We have another important match on Wednesday and it's one we need to win," he added of their midweek postponed fixture against European rivals Napoli.
Federico Chiesa had given Juventus the advantage in the 13th minute, but an Antonio Sanabria brace looked set to give the relegation-threatened hosts their first derby win in six years.
The Paraguayan nodded in the leveller in the 27th minute after Juve keeper Wojciech Szczesny had pushed out a long-range Rolando Mandragora effort.
Sanabria struck a second time just after the break when he intercepted a misplaced Dejan Kulusevksi back pass.
Ronaldo missed two chances before the Serie A top scorer finally got his 24th league goal this campaign following a VAR review when he nodded home Chiellini's cross from close range.
