Nagatomo hands Inter Milan victory

A goal from Japan defender Yuto Nagatomo handed Inter Milan a 1-0 win at Genoa that lifted them to seventh in the Italian Serie A table.

Claudio Ranieri’s side made it two wins in three days after Saturday’s triumph over Fiorentina but despite going above Genoa Inter still lie ten points behind leaders Juventus.

The away side dominated the match, having 17 attempts on goal compared to Genoa’s four, but wasted chances to take the lead before the hour mark through Marco Faraoni, Andrea Poli and Diego Milito.

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But Nagatomo struck the decisive blow for the 2010 European Champions League winners on 67 minutes as he headed home a cross from Riccardo Alvarez.

Alvarez came close to wrapping up the match soon after as he rattled the post with a shot from the edge of the penalty area.

Genoa had a late chance to claim a point but Miguel Veloso spurned the opportunity to ensure Inter made it four wins out of five in the league.

Meanwhile, Real Madrid cruised past third division opponents Ponferradina 2-0 in the first leg of their Spanish Cup last 32 tie.

Jose Mourinho’s side got back to winning ways after their crushing 3-1 defeat to Barcelona on Saturday that saw their arch rivals leapfrog Real to go top of La Liga.

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But Ponferradina never looked like causing an upset after Jose Callejon put the defending champions ahead in the 29th minute from Sami Khedira’s cross.

Cristiano Ronaldo, who was criticized in the aftermath of the defeat to Barcelona for missing two clear chances, latched onto Gonzalo Higuain’s pass to seal the win on 74 minutes.

The only disappointment for Real was the dismissal of defender Raul Albiol for two bookable offenses in the second half. The second leg is at Real’s Bernabeu stadium next week.

Elsewhere, Valencia were held to a 0-0 draw by Cadiz, while Villarreal drew 1-1 away at Mirandes.