Inter Milan's Mauro Icardi scored with two minutes remaining to hand them a 2-1 win over AS Roma in Serie A on Saturday, while AC Milan's slim hopes of playing in Europe next season were dented in a 2-1 defeat to Udinese.
Inter took a 15th-minute lead as Brazilian Hernanes was given too much space and drilled home a left-footed shot, but Roma levelled when Radja Nainggolan was teed up by Miralem Pjanic to fire in 18 minutes after the restart.
With both sides looking for the winner in the closing stages, it was the home side that came out on top.
Lukas Podolski kept possession before finding Icardi just outside the box. The Argentinian striker's low shot surprised Roma keeper Morgan De Sanctis for his 17th league goal of the season.
The result left second-place Roma on 58 points, level with Lazio, but crucially just five clear of Napoli in the battle to secure a top-three spot and a Champions League qualifying place.
Inter moved ahead of their city rivals into seventh on 45 points, four adrift of Fiorentina and the last Europa League spot.
"That's our goal," Icardi told Sky Sports Italia. "We should have started winning earlier but there's still time."
Roma boss Rudi Garcia felt a draw would have been a fairer result.
"We were looking to score and got punished," he said.
The battle for a Champions League spot looks set to go to the wire with Lazio able to move clear in second place if they beat Chievo Verona on Sunday (1400 GMT), while fourth place Napoli can close in on Roma if they beat Sampdoria.
In the day's early kickoff, second-half goals by Giampiero Pinzi and Emmanuel Badu handed Udinese victory over AC Milan.
Milan are 10th with 43 points and six games to go.
Udinese dominated from the start with Antonio Di Natale testing goalkeeper Diego Lopez's reflexes after 42 seconds.
The home side were quicker to the ball and more determined to create scoring chances and Silvan Widmer was unlucky to see his header fly just past the far post in the closing minutes of the opening half.
Thirteen minutes after the break Pinzi controlled a Di Natale corner and his low shot proved unstoppable for Lopez.
Udinese kept up the pressure and were rewarded 16 minutes later as Badu tapped in from close range following a Guilherme cross.
Giampaolo Pazzini netted his 99th top flight goal two minutes from time but it was not enough to stop Milan sliding to their ninth league defeat of the season.
Udinese are 12th with 38 points from 32 games.
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