Icardi scores 50th in 100 Serie A matches as Inter edges Frosinone

Inter striker Mauro Icardi nodded in the only goal in Saturday's 1-0 victory at Frosinone to give the Argentinian 50 tallies in 100 Serie A appearances.

The win puts Inter provisionally within five points of third-placed Roma and the final Champions League berth, extending hope it can return to Europe's top competition for the first time since 2012.

Coming into the match, Inter had earned just three points from its past six away fixtures. It can thank Icardi for the win, the 11th by a 1-0 score in Serie A this season.

The goal was Icardi's 14th in the league, equalling Carlos Bacca and Paulo Dybala for second in the scoring chart. It is quite a turnaround for the club's captain, whom manager Roberto Mancini dropped from the starting XI earlier in the campaign.

"I knew it might be an important goal for us today and you can see that from the way I celebrated," the 23-year-old said afterwards. "It's always tough to come and plays at places like this but we really needed the points."

Frosinone could have condemned Inter to the Europa League if it hadn't struck the woodwork twice after the interval.

Instead, the Nerazzurri can keep up their Champions League challenge with just six games remaining. They will wait and see if Roma drops points against Bologna on Monday.