Inter bounce back from two down to demolish Pisa

Milan, Jan. 25: Serie A leader Inter Milan recovered from conceding two early goals to beat lowly Pisa 6-2 and open a six-point gap.

One of the shock results of the season looked possible at the San Siro when Inter found itself 2-0 down midway through the first half against a team that had not won in 10 league games.

However, three goals in the seven minutes before halftime transformed the match and put Inter on the way to a ninth win in 10 league games.

Pisa took the lead after 11 minutes thanks to a moment of inspiration from veteran striker Stefano Moreo. Yann Sommer's pass out was poor and Moreo pounced before looking up from 35 meters out and stroking the ball over the goalkeeper's head into the empty net.

Stefano doubled Pisa's lead in the 23rd with a header from a corner kick.

Inter pulled one back from the penalty spot seven minutes before halftime when Piotr Zielinski converted after Matteo Tramoni handled inside the box.

Lautaro Martínez nodded in the equalizer two minutes later and Francesco Pio Esposito hit the third on the stroke of halftime when he headed home a cross from Alessandro Bastoni.

Federico Dimarco made it 4-2 eight minutes from time, Ange-Yoan Bonny added a fifth with a nice individual effort four minutes later, and Henrikh Mkhitaryan rounded off the scoring with a sixth in stoppage time.

Inter was six points clear of city rival AC Milan and nine ahead of defending champion Napoli.

The win was especially welcome for Inter given that the top four play each other this weekend. AC Milan is at fourth-placed Roma on Sunday, and fifth-placed Juventus is at home to Napoli on the same day.

Meanwhile, Levante scored in the last minute of stoppage time to beat Elche 3-2 in La Liga and notch a first home win that boosted its chances of avoiding a quick return to Spain's second tier.

Levante came into the match as the only club which had not won at home this season and that record did not look like ending after it went behind to an Alvaro Rodríguez goal after 11 minutes.

However, Pablo Martínez levelled five minutes into the second half with a brilliantly executed flick.

Adrián de la Fuente put Levante ahead midway through the second period only for Adam Boayar to equalize for Elche in stoppage time with a stunning overhead kick.

That looked like that until Alan Matturro popped up in the 96th minute to head home from a corner kick and spark delirious scenes at Ciutat de València Stadium.

"Our fans gave us that support, that belief," Martinez said. "Thanks to them we were able to score the third goal and give them something to celebrate."

Levante has picked up seven points in the four games since Luís Castro replaced Julián Calero as coach before Christmas. It remained second from bottom but was four points clear of bottom side Oviedo and two behind Alaves.

Elche stayed in eighth.

Likewise, Bradley Barcola scored his second goal in two games to give Paris Saint-Germain a late win over lowly Auxerre and return to the top of Ligue 1.

Barcola rescued PSG when, with the match heading to a 0-0 draw, he finished a counterattack in the 79th minute and squeezed the ball over the advancing goalkeeper.

Until then, second-to-last Auxerre had frustrated second-from-top PSG without threatening to score. Auxerre did not have a shot on target all night at Stade de L'Abbé-Deschamps.

Barcola's sixth goal of the season capped a fine performance, although the winger will rue missed chances that could have secured the three points earlier.

The result took PSG two points ahead of surprise pace-setter Lens, which faces a difficult tie at third-placed Marseille on Saturday.

Auxerre remained above only last-placed Metz on goal difference.

Similarly, St. Pauli and Hamburg drew 0-0 in a lacklustre derby that lifted St. Pauli off the bottom of the Bundesliga but did little to animate a dismal run of one win in 15.

The match between the two biggest teams in Germany's second city failed to spark, particularly in a first half that saw just one shot on target, and that in stoppage time. There were a few more chances in the second 45 minutes but no one with the composure to stamp his mark on the game. The result moved St. Pauli from last to third to last.Mainz was in last place.

Hamburg has gone five games without a win but climbed one place to 13th, five points ahead of St. Pauli. (AP)