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Zlatan Ibrahimovic is single-handedly dragging Inter to the Scudetto, as his brace was decisive in this slender 2-1 victory.
Top took on bottom, but Ascoli were unbeaten in five and have earned surprise results against Roma and Siena this month. The Nerazzurri are waltzing to the Scudetto and have set themselves a new target - a record 100 points this season. Adriano returned to the squad from injury, but Patrick Vieira, Fabio Grosso and Olivier Dacourt were sidelined.
Dimitrios Eleftheropoulos rushed out to close down Maxwell following some good build-up play from Dejan Stankovic and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Ibrahimovic was correctly booked for simulation, as there was no contact when he fell in the area, while Julio Cruz just failed to get on the end of Maicon's cross.
Maicon drilled over the bar following Luis Figo's free kick, but Sasa Bjelanovic threatened with a half-volley off target from eight yards. Ivan Cordoba nodded another Figo set-piece past the post, but there were few real chances in the first half.
Maxwell's volley from the edge of the area was deflected over by Valentin Nastase after the restart. Figo played on with a large bandage on his head following a clash with Lombardi.
Inter did not seem to be making too much headway, but as always all it took was a moment of brilliance. Adriano made his comeback from injury and his cross was met by a splendid Zlatan Ibrahimovic volley from seven yards.
The Ascoli defence fell to pieces, as once again these two strikers combined. Adriano's disguised pass allowed Ibrahimovic to spring the offside trap and place a cool finish past Eleftheropoulos.
Deep into stoppages Ascoli got a consolation goal when Walter Samuel's acrobatic, clumsy and incredibly high clearance almost kicked Bjelanovic in the face. The penalty was inevitable and Massimo Bonanni converted.
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