Inter Milan moved 13 points clear at the top of Serie A with a comfortable 2-0 home win over lowly Genoa thanks to goals from Federico Dimarco and Hakan Calhanoglu on Saturday.
Inter have 67 points from 27 games ahead of second-placed AC Milan, who visit relegation-threatened Cremonese on Sunday.
The hosts took the lead with Dimarco's sublime volley into the far corner from a tight angle on the left after a clever lofted pass from Henrikh Mkhitaryan just past the half-hour.
Calhanoglu wrapped up the points in the 70th minute with a precise penalty after a handball by Genoa's halftime substitute Alexsandro Amorim to give in-form Inter their eighth consecutive Serie A win and 14th victory from their last 15 league games.
Genoa did have a chance in the dying moments of stoppage time when Alex Amorim set up Leo Ostigard but his shot from outside the box was comfortably saved by Yann Sommer.
The result was a welcome boost for Inter following their 5-2 aggregate loss to unfancied Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt in the Champions League playoffs on Tuesday.
"It's never easy to bounce back after a defeat, but every time Inter have lost a match they've always shown unity and come back stronger than before. We saw that again today," Dimarco told Sky Sport Italia.
"We had a few difficult moments because we were feeling the fatigue from the match against Bodo. That's fine, we have to keep going because there's not long to go now," the 28-year-old winger added.
However Cristian Chivu's men appear to have channelled their European disappointment into further domestic dominance, as they now focus fully on securing the Serie A crown.
The league leaders will look to extend their winning streak next weekend when they face Milan, who need to beat Cremonese to boost their slim chance of catching the Nerazzurri.
"The advantage in the standings can help," Sommer said. "We're in a good position in the standings now, but there are still 11 games to go. The derby will be important... We want to win this time," he added after Milan won 1-0 in November.
