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ROME — Donyell Malen scored in each half as Roma beat Cagliari 2-0 and stayed in touch with the chasing pack at the top of Serie A on Monday.
Leader Inter Milan was eight points clear of city rival AC Milan and nine ahead of reigning champion Napoli. Roma was three points further back along with Juventus.
Dutch center forward Malen had scored only once in four appearances since joining on loan from Aston Villa in January and he proved his worth on Monday with two excellent finishes.
He ran on to a clever through ball from Gianluca Mancini and his deft chip over the goalkeeper was equal to the set-up pass.
His second was more of a poacher's effort as he got on the right side of a packed defense to turn in a low cross 20 minutes after the break.
The result served as a confidence booster ahead of next weekend's crunch tie at Napoli.
Cagliari, which was seeking a fourth consecutive Serie A win for the first time in more than a decade, remained 12th.
Atalanta moved to within two points of the European places after beating Cremonese 2-1.
Atalanta was unbeaten in its last seven league matches and in seventh spot, two points behind Como and seven behind Roma and Juventus.
Nikola Krstovic put Atalanta ahead after 13 minutes when he got on the end of a nice cross from Giacomo Raspadori. Davide Zappacosta made it 2-0 minutes later with a neat individual goal.
Atalanta's Lazar Samardžić and Berat Djimsiti also came close as they bossed the first 45 minutes.
Krstovic missed the best chance of the second half and Berat Djimsiti had a goal disallowed in stoppage time as Atalanta continued to dominate.
Morten Thorsby's last-minute consolation for Cremonese gave the scoreline a more respectable sheen than the action suggested.
Cremonese was without a win in 10 games and sat 16th, just five points above the relegation zone.
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