Atalanta were perhaps the biggest hurdle Inter Milan had to face on the final straight towards Serie A glory.
But, last night, Antonio Conte’s side cleared the most daunting of obstacles, refusing to wobble as the finish line loomed into view.
While Inter rode their luck at times, a 54th minute winner from an unlikely source means the Serie A title – their first since the days of Jose Mourinho, Samuel Eto’o and Wesley Sneijder – is potentially only weeks way.
It wasn’t Romelu Lukaku who fired the crucial shot into Atalanta’s net early in the second half. It wasn’t even Lautaro Martinez, Achraf Hakimi or Nicolo Barella.
Instead, centre-back Milan Skriniar was the have-a-go-hero, reacting like a seasoned centre-forward to fire home a loose ball and keep Inter six points clear of bitter rivals AC Milan in top spot.
What a turnaround for a player who, as recently as October, appeared to have one foot and a few more toes out the door.
Fabrizio Romano, in his Here We Go podcast, claimed Inter would have sold Skriniar in an instant had long-time admirers Tottenham Hotspur paid the requisite £50 million fee for the granite-carved Slovakia international.
According to Calciomercato, the London giants refused to offer a penny more than £30 million for a man Jose Mourinho tried and failed to sign for Manchester United too.
Not so long ago, Skriniar felt like the sacrificial lamb of the San Siro, out of favour after struggling to adapt to Antonio Conte’s three-man back line.
Now, while Spurs are clawing at Chelsea’s coat-tails and facing yet more Thursday trips to Austria, Bulgaria and Belgium, Skriniar’s crucial strike has Inter taking one giant step closer to Serie A glory.
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