Exhausted Inter slip up at Palermo
Reuters - Saturday 20 March 2010, 22:09
MILAN - Exhausted Inter Milan risked
surrendering their long-held Serie A lead after drawing 1-1 at
fourth-placed Palermo on Saturday.
AS
Roma are four points behind the leaders after Mirko Vucinic
grabbed a hat-trick in a 4-2 victory at home to Udinese.
Argentina striker Diego Milito gave Inter the lead on 11
minutes when he blasted home a penalty after Lucio had been
hauled down by defender Cesare Bovo.
Palermo, winners of seven home league games since Delio
Rossi took over as coach in November, were level midway through
the first half when Uruguay's Edinson Cavani fired in at the
near post following Fabrizio Miccoli's clever pass.
Either side could have won with Milito hitting the post from
an impossible angle and heading just over before Cavani nodded
wide for the Sicilian hosts.
Champions Inter, who have won just one of their last seven
Serie A games but have been top since September, looked tired in
the closing stages after their exertions in eliminating Chelsea
from the Champions League in midweek.
Jose Mourinho's side have nine games left and host lowly
Livorno on Wednesday before travelling to Roma on Saturday as a
fifth straight scudetto looks much less likely than when they
held a nine-point lead in February.
"I'm angry as we could have won at the end," Palermo's
man-of-the-match Miccoli told Sky TV. "But anyway we have drawn
with champions Inter and the team deserves great applause."
GREAT STRENGTH
Roma went ahead thanks to fit-again Luca Toni showing great
strength and hooking in from the edge of the area on 16 minutes
before strike partner Vucinic coolly doubled the lead.
Serie A top scorer Antonio Di Natale pulled one back for
struggling Udinese with a debatable penalty on 38 minutes and
then equalised in the second period before a Vucinic spot-kick
and his third goal restored Roma's advantage.
Eighth-placed Fiorentina earlier boosted their hopes of a
Europa League berth with a 3-0 home win over Genoa, who are
seventh.
Argentine forward Mario Santana scored with an audacious
backheel on five minutes and Alberto Gilardino netted a
second-half penalty after rowing with team mate Stevan Jovetic
over who would take the kick following a foul on the
Montenegrin.
Substitute Khouma Babacar, 17, then slotted his first Serie
A goal as Fiorentina moved within three points of sixth-placed
Sampdoria, who entertained Juventus on Sunday.
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