Inter held at home by Genoa
Reuters - Sunday 07 March 2010, 22:41
ROME - Serie A leaders Inter Milan failed
to capitalise on the draw between closest rivals AC Milan and AS
Roma when they were held 0-0 by Genoa at the San Siro on Sunday.
Inter have 59 points from 27 games after their fourth draw
in five league games and maintain the four-point lead they
started the weekend with over Milan, who failed to turn
dominance into goals in another goalless draw in Rome on
Saturday.
AS Roma are three points further back in third.
Jose Mourinho, serving the second game of his three-match
touchline ban for his controversial handcuffs gesture against
Sampdoria two weeks ago, fielded three strikers in his starting
XI.
Nevertheless his team were sterile in attack in a listless
first half, when Genoa's Giandomenico Mesto and Giuseppe Sculli
and Inter's Dejan Stankovic all had crisp but central shots
easily saved.
The champions made three substitutions in a bid to shake
things up after the break with the struggling Samuel Eto'o among
those making an entry from the bench.
The Cameroon striker had a shot from outside the box well
saved by Marco Amelia and Maicon came close with a diagonal
strike as Inter finally put the visitors under pressure in the
closing stages.
"We had a lot of players who travelled and played 90 minutes
with their national teams this week," Inter's technical director
Marco Branca told Sky television. "You cannot always be at the
top in terms of concentration and desire.
"It's a point and it's one game less to the end of the
season. Today's match wasn't brilliant. That can happen during
the course of the championship."
Mourinho is refusing to talk to the media before or after
league matches during his ban.
Palermo regained fourth place earlier on Sunday when
Fabrizio Miccoli's late goal gave them a 1-0 home win over
relegation-threatened Livorno.
Palermo have 46 points from 27 games, two more than Juventus
who won 2-1 at Fiorentina on Saturday.
Sampdoria are also in the chase for Champions League
qualification after a 2-1 comeback win at home over Lazio that
puts them one point behind Juve in sixth.
Stefano Guberti's piledriver and a volley by Giampaolo
Pazzini clinched it in the first half after Sergio Floccari's
early opener for the Rome club.
Lazio, who are just three points above the relegation zone,
had Mauro Zarate sent off for dissent in the 77th minute.