Inter takes a big step to retaining Serie A crown with 2-0 win at title rival Atalanta

MILAN (AP) — Inter Milan took a significant step to keeping its Serie A crown on Sunday with a 2-0 win at title rival Atalanta.

Carlos Augusto and Lautaro Martinez scored in the second half to lift the league leader three points above second-placed Napoli and six points above third-placed Atalanta.

Napoli had earlier been held 0-0 at relegation-threatened Venezia.

The fight for the final Champions League spot is also tight, with just six points separating six teams in the race for fourth place after more misery for Juventus, which lost 3-0 at Fiorentina.

It was a head-to-head clash for top spot in Bergamo, with Atalanta knowing that victory would move it level on points with Inter and Napoli.

Both sides had great chances in an entertaining first half, with Inter going closest with less than seven minutes on the clock.

Marcus Thuram was on the verge of wheeling away in celebration as he swept a finish past Atalanta goalkeeper Marco Carnesecchi and toward the far corner, following good play with Lautaro Martinez. But his effort bounced off the base of the right post.

At the other end, Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer pulled off a fantastic save to fingertip Mario Pasalic’s header over the bar.

Inter broke the deadlock in the 54th minute, immediately after play resumed following a delay of several minutes as a fan got medical treatment in the stands.

A corner was whipped in from the right and Carlos Augusto rose relatively unmarked to head into the bottom left corner.

It was only his third goal for Inter in two seasons at the club.

Lautaro thought he had doubled Inter’s lead in the 71st but the whistle had already been blown for a foul by him on Berat Djimsiti.

Atalanta’s chances of getting back into the match diminished nine minutes from time. Éderson was booked for dissent and then sarcastically applauded the referee, who showed the Atalanta midfielder a second yellow card and then a red.

Lautaro sealed the match six minutes later. Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini was still protesting the Ederson decision and he was also sent off.

Inter defender Alessandro Bastoni was also sent off following a second yellow card.

It was another draw for Napoli — its fifth in its last seven matches.

Napoli almost got off to the perfect start in Venice but Giacomo Raspadori’s effort came off the left post in the fourth minute.

Venezia also had plenty of chances, with the best opportunity coming three minutes from the break. Alex Meret did well to parry from Kike Pérez and Daniel Fila’s follow-up was cleared off the line by Napoli defender Amir Rrahmani.

Napoli went even closer on the stroke of halftime but Ionut Radu pulled off a superb save to grasp Romelu Lukaku’s header on the goalline.

It was a fourth straight draw for Venezia — with two of those coming against Atalanta and Lazio — but it remained in penultimate position in the standings, five points from safety.

Juventus coach Thiago Motta is under even more pressure after his team slipped out of the top four, shipping seven goals in two matches and scoring none.

Robin Gosens and Rolando Mandragora scored within two minutes of each other in the first half and Albert Guðmundsson added another after the break as Fiorentina moved to within five points of the top four.

Juve’s season was already in tatters after a dismal 4-0 loss at home to Atalanta last weekend. The Bianconeri had also been eliminated from the Champions League and Italian Cup.

Motta’s former team, Bologna, replaced Juventus in fourth after an impressive 5-0 drubbing of sixth-placed Lazio.

Seventh-placed Roma beat Cagliari 1-0.

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Inter Milan's Carlos Augusto celebrates after scoring during the Serie A soccer match between Atalanta and Inter at the Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo, Italy, Saturday, March 16, 2025. (Stefano Nicoli/LaPresse via AP)

Inter Milan's Carlos Augusto celebrates after scoring during the Serie A soccer match between Atalanta and Inter at the Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo, Italy, Saturday, March 16, 2025. (Stefano Nicoli/LaPresse via AP)

Inter Milan's Lautaro Martinez scores a goal during the Italian Serie A soccer match between Atalanta and Inter at the Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo, Italy, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (Stefano Nicoli/LaPresse via AP)

Inter Milan's Lautaro Martinez celebrates after scoring a goal during the Italian Serie A soccer match between Atalanta and Inter at the Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo, Italy, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (Stefano Nicoli/LaPresse via AP)

Fiorentina's Robin Gosens, left, celebrates after scoring during the Serie A soccer match between Fiorentina and Juventus at Florence's Artemio Franchi stadium, Italy, Sunday March 16, 2025. (Alfredo Falcone/LaPresse via AP)

Juventus' head coach Thiago Motta looks down during the Serie A soccer match between Fiorentina and Juventus at Florence's Artemio Franchi stadium, Italy, Sunday March 16, 2025. (Alfredo Falcone/LaPresse via AP)

Napoli's Romelu Lukaku, left, is challenged by Venezia's Fali Cande during a Serie A soccer match between Venezia and Napoli at the Pier Luigi Penzo Stadium, in Venice, Italy, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (Paola Garbuio/LaPresse via AP)

Napoli's Giacomo Raspadori, centre left, and Venezia's Kike Perez challenge for the ball during the Serie A soccer match between Venezia and Napoli at the Pier Luigi Penzo Stadium, in Venice, Italy, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (Paola Garbuio/LaPresse via AP)

Napoli's Scott McTominay, right, and Venezia's Joel Schingtienne vie for the ball during a Serie A soccer match between Venezia and Napoli at the Pier Luigi Penzo Stadium, in Venice, Italy, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (Paola Garbuio/LaPresse via AP)

Napoli's Romelu Lukaku, right, is challenged by Venezia's Fali Cande during a Serie A soccer match between Venezia and Napoli at the Pier Luigi Penzo Stadium, in Venice, Italy, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (Paola Garbuio/LaPresse via AP)

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Several hundred immigrants have been charged with unauthorized access to a newly designated militarized zone along the southern U.S. border in New Mexico and western Texas since the Department of Justice introduced the new approach in late April.

President Donald Trump's administration has transferred oversight of a strip of land along the U.S.-Mexico border to the military while authorizing U.S. troops to temporarily detain immigrants in the country illegally — though there's no record of troops exercising that authority as U.S. Customs and Border Protection conducts arrests. The designated national defense areas are overseen by U.S. Army commands out of Fort Bliss in the El Paso area in Texas and Fort Huachuca in Arizona.

The novel national security charges against immigrants who enter through those militarized zones carry a potential sentence of 18 months in prison on top of a possible six month sentence for illegal entry. The full implications are unclear for migrants who pursue legal status through separate proceedings in federal immigration court.

The Trump administration is seeking to accelerate mass removals of immigrants in the country illegally and third-country deportations, including Venezuelans sent to an El Salvador prison amid accusations of gang affiliation. The administration has deployed thousands of troops to the border, while arrests have plunged to the lowest levels since the mid-1960s.

The federal public defender's office in Las Cruces indicates that roughly 400 cases had been filed in criminal court there as of Tuesday as it seeks dismissal of the misdemeanor and petty misdemeanor charges for violating security regulations and entering restricted military property. Court records show that federal prosecutors in Texas — where a National Defense Area extends about 60 miles (97 kilometers) from El Paso to Fort Hancock — last week began filing the military security charges as well.

Las Cruces-based federal Magistrate Judge Gregory Wormuth is asking for input from federal prosecutors and public defense attorneys on the standard of proof for the trespassing charges “given the unprecedented nature of prosecuting such offenses in this factual context.”

Public defenders say there needs to be proof that immigrants knew of the military restrictions and acted “in defiance of that regulation for some nefarious or bad purpose.”

New Mexico-based U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison, appointed in April, says hundreds of "restricted area" signs have been posted in Spanish and English to warn that entry is prohibited by the Department of Defense, along New Mexico's nearly 180-mile (290-kilometer) stretch of border.

In a court filings, Ellison has said there's no danger of ensnaring innocent people when it comes to immigrants who avoid ports of entry to cross the border in willful violation of federal law — and now military regulations.

ACLU attorney Rebecca Sheff said basic freedoms are at risk as the government flexes its power at the border and restricts civilian access.

“The extension of military bases ... it's a serious restriction, it's a serious impact on families that live in the border area,” she said.

The Department of Justice has warned Wormuth against issuing an advisory opinion on legal standards for trespassing in the military area.

“The New Mexico National Defense Area is a crucial installation necessary to strengthen the authority of servicemembers to help secure our borders and safeguard the country,” Ellison said in a court briefing.

Democratic U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico expressed concern Wednesday in a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that anyone may be stopped and detained by U.S. Army soldiers for entering a 170-square-mile (440-square-kilometer) area along the border previously overseen by the Department of Interior and frequently used for recreation and livestock ranching.

Hegseth has emphasizing a hard-line approach to enforcement.

“Let me be clear: if you cross into the National Defense Area, you will be charged to the FULLEST extent of the law,” he said in a post on the social platform X.

Associated Press reporter Valerie Gonzalez contributed from McAllen, Texas.

FILE - Army soldiers look at the border wall next to a surveillance vehicle during the visit to the U.S. and Mexico border by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in Sunland Park, N.M., Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton, File)