ROME: Inter Milan scored four times in a 12-minute spell either side of halftime and added another couple late on to rout Lazio 6-0 in a lopsided contest of Serie A title contenders on Monday.

Lazio were unbeaten at home in Serie A and they matched Inter for most of the first half in front of their own fans at the Stadio Olimpico.

However, four minutes from halftime Hakan Çalhanoglu put Inter ahead from the penalty spot and Federico Dimarco doubled the lead seconds before the break when he volleyed home a cross from Denzel Dumfries.

Lazio started the game without regular defender Alessio Romagnoli and Samuel Gigot replaced center half Matias Gila midway through the first half.

When Gigot was forced off at halftime coach Marco Baroni was forced to reshuffle his back four again but the lack of experienced heads in the center of defense was evident from the restart.

Nicolo Barella made it 3-0 six minutes into the second half with a sumptuous 30-meter volley and Dumfries rose above everyone to head home the fourth two minutes later.

Carlos Augusto showed some nice footwork in the box to make it 5-0 in the 77th minute and Marcus Thuram got his 11th goal of the season in the final minute to heap on the misery for the home side.

The result meant Inter were alone in third place, three points behind leaders Atalanta and one behind Napoli with a game in hand.

Lazio remained fifth.

RIYADH: Naif Al-Jaweini has been appointed as the general manager of Riyadh Season Snooker, organizers announced on Tuesday, as the sport’s elite prepare to face off in the Saudi capital this week.

The tournament will be held between Wednesday and Friday at Boulevard City, where the top ten ranked players will be in action.

Saudi snooker stars Ahmed Asiri and Abdulraouf Al-Sayegh will be among them after earning wildcard invitations after winning recent qualifiers.

The championship is renowned for introducing the unique Golden Ball. Worth 20 points, it can only be played after achieving the maximum break of 147 points, offering players the chance to reach an unprecedented 167 points — the highest possible score in snooker history.

The prize pool has been doubled this year, with $1 million awarded to the player who scores the Golden Ball.

Steve Dawson, Chairman of the World Snooker Tour, said:“We are delighted to continue our partnership with Riyadh Season for a second time in 2024. This year, we’ve seen remarkable progress in developing snooker in Saudi Arabia, and it’s exciting to witness the sport’s rapid growth and its appeal to a new audience.”

In the first round, scheduled for the afternoon of Wednesday, December 18, the Saudi players will face the 9th and 10th seeds, Ding Junhui and Zhang Anda. Later that evening, the winners will meet the 7th and 8th seeds, Luca Brecel and Shaun Murphy.

The quarterfinals, set for Thursday, December 19, will feature Mark Selby against Mark Allen in the opening match, followed by Kyren Wilson against the winner of Zhang, Brecel, or the wildcard. Judd Trump will then face Mark Williams in a rematch of the Saudi Masters Snooker final, while defending champion Ronnie O’Sullivan will take on one of Ding, Murphy, or a wildcard winner.

The semifinals and final will take place on Friday, December 20. All matches will follow a best-of-seven frames format, except for the final, which will be played in a best-of-nine format.

In the first edition of the tournament, snooker great Ronnie O’Sullivan claimed victory after defeating John Higgins and Judd Trump en route to the final, where he overcame Luca Brecel with a score of 5–2.