Inter Milan increases Serie A lead with 5-0 demolition of Sassuolo

ROME (AP) — Inter Milan routed 10-man Sassuolo 5-0 on Sunday to extend its Serie A lead to eight points over AC Milan, which didn't play this weekend because of the Milan Cortina Olympics.

Yann Bisseck and Marcus Thuram scored in the first half for Inter. Lautaro Martínez, Manuel Akanji and Luis Henrique added second-half goals to give Inter its fifth straight win in all competitions.

Federico Dimarco contributed with three assists.

Sassuolo was coming off two straight victories after a series of seven winless games. It played with 10 men from the 54th minute after Nemanja Matic was shown a second yellow card. The hosts, sitting in 11th place, had only one attempt on target.

Second-place Milan couldn't host Como this weekend after the San Siro stadium was used for the opening ceremony of the Winter Games. That issue had prompted Serie A to consider moving the match to Perth, Australia. The game will now be played on Feb. 18.

Pierre Kalulu scored six minutes into stoppage time as fourth-place Juventus salvaged a 2-2 home draw with eighth-place Lazio after being two goals down.

Lazio went ahead with Pedro's goal in first-half added time, and doubled its lead soon after the break with Gustav Isaksen's goal in the 47th.

Juventus pulled closer with a goal from Weston McKennie in the 59th before Kalulu equalized with a header.

Juventus visits Inter on Saturday.

Christian Ordóñez scored a stoppage-time winner as 14th-place Parma won at 10th-place Bologna with both teams having a player sent off.

Bologna was a man down after Tommaso Pobega's dismissal in the first half, and Parma saw Mariano Troilo exit in the 79th.

It was the fourth consecutive league loss for Bologna. Parma hadn't won in four straight.

Lecce, in 17th place and just outside the relegation zone, ended an eight-game winless streak by beating ninth-place Udinese 2-1 at home thanks to Lameck Banda's 90th-minute winner.

On Saturday, Rasmus Höjlund scored a last-gasp penalty as 10-man Napoli won 3-2 at Genoa. Napoli is third, one point behind Milan.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Juventus' Weston McKennie, front, makes an attempt to score during the Serie A soccer match between Juventus and Lazio, in Turin, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (Marco Alpozzi/LaPresse via AP)

Juventus' Weston McKennie celebrates after scoring a goal for his team during the Serie A soccer match between Juventus and Lazio, in Turin, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (Marco Alpozzi/LaPresse via AP)

Inter Milan's Manuel Akanji celebrates after scoring their side's fourth goal of the game during the Serie A soccer match between Sassuolo and Inter in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (Spada/LaPresse via AP)

Inter Milan's Marcus Thuram celebrates after scoring their side's second goal of the game during the Serie A soccer match between Sassuolo and Inter in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (Spada/LaPresse via AP)

Inter Milan's Yann Bisseck, foreground right, celebrates with teammates after scoring their side's first goal of the game during the Serie A soccer match between Sassuolo and Inter in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (Spada/LaPresse via AP)

Inter Milan's Lautaro Martinez, right, celebrates with teammate Marcus Thuram after scoring their side's third goal of the game during the Serie A soccer match between Sassuolo and Inter in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (Spada/LaPresse via AP)

Inter Milan's Yann Bisseck, right, celebrates after scoring their side's first goal of the game during the Serie A soccer match between Sassuolo and Inter in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (Spada/LaPresse via AP)

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela’s government on Sunday released from prison several prominent opposition members, including one of the closest allies of Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado, after lengthy politically motivated detentions.

Their releases come as the government of acting President Delcy Rodríguez faces mounting pressure to free hundreds of people whose detentions months or years ago have been linked to their political beliefs. They also follow a visit to Venezuela of representatives of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Rodríguez was sworn in as Venezuela’s acting president after the Jan. 3 capture in Caracas of then-President Nicolás Maduro by the U.S. military. Her government began releasing prisoners days later.

“I am convinced that our country has completely changed,” Juan Pablo Guanipa, a Machado ally and former governor, told reporters hours after his release. “I am convinced that it is now up to all of us to focus on building a free and democratic country."

Guanipa, who spent more than eight months in custody, was released from a detention facility in the capital, Caracas. An armored vehicle and officers appeared behind him in the video he released.

Venezuelan-based prisoners’ rights group Foro Penal confirmed the release of at least 30 people on Sunday.

In addition to Guanipa, Machado’s political organization said several of its members were among the released, including María Oropeza, who livestreamed her arrest by military intelligence officers as they broke into her home with a crowbar. Machado's attorney, Perkins Rocha, was also freed.

“Let’s go for the freedom of Venezuela!” Machado posted on X.

Guanipa was detained in late May and accused by Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello of participating in an alleged “terrorist group” plotting to boycott that month's legislative election. Guanipa's brother Tomás rejected the accusation, and said that the arrest was meant to crack down on dissent.

“Thinking differently cannot be criminalized in Venezuela, and today, Juan Pablo Guanipa is a prisoner of conscience of this regime,” Tomás Guanipa said after the arrest. “He has the right to think as he thinks, the right to defend his ideas, and the right to be treated under a constitution that is not being enforced today.”

Her government announced on Jan. 8 it would free a significant number of prisoners — a central demand of the country’s opposition and human rights organizations with backing from the United States — but families and rights watchdogs have criticized authorities for the slow pace of the releases.

The ruling party-controlled National Assembly this week began debating an amnesty bill that could lead to the release of hundreds of prisoners. The opposition and nongovernmental organizations have reacted with cautious optimism as well as with suggestions and demands for more information on the contents of the proposal.

National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez on Friday posted a video on Instagram showing him outside a detention center in Caracas and saying that “everyone” would be released no later than next week, once the amnesty bill is approved.

Delcy Rodríguez and Volker Türk, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, spoke by phone in late January. His spokesperson, Ravina Shamdasani, in a statement said he “offered our support to help Venezuela work on a roadmap for dialogue and reconciliation in which human rights should be at the centre" and then “deployed a team” to the South American country.

Machado remains in exile after leaving Venezuela in December. After she was briefly detained in January 2025, she had not been seen in public for 11 months when she appeared in Norway after the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony.

Guanipa on Sunday said Machado “exercises undeniable leadership” and is needed in Venezuela along with other exiled political leaders to move the country forward.

Associated Press writer Jamey Keaten in Geneva contributed to this report.

Opposition leader Juan Pablo Guanipa rides on the back of a motorcycle after his release from prison in Caracas, Venezuela, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026.(AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)

Opposition leader Juan Pablo Guanipa rides on the back of a motorcycle after his release from prison in Caracas, Venezuela, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026.(AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)

Opposition leader Juan Pablo Guanipa speaks after his release from prison in Caracas, Venezuela, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)

Opposition supporters greet political activist Jesus Armas after his release from prison in Caracas, Venezuela, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)

Opposition leader Juan Pablo Guanipa greets political activist Jesus Armas after their release from prison in Caracas, Venezuela, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)

Political activist Jesus Armas is embraced by opposition supporters after his release from prison in Caracas, Venezuela, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)

FILE - Opposition lawmaker Juan Pablo Guanipa displays a sign that reads in Spanish "More than a million residents of Zulia State eat only once a day" during an intervention against Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro at National Assembly, in Caracas, Venezuela, Dec. 13, 2016. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano, File)