Palermo potentially breathed life into the Serie A title race with a gritty comeback in a 2-2 draw with Inter Milan at the San Siro on Saturday as Italian football mourned the victims of the Abruzzo earthquake. A minutves. First half goals from Mario Balotelli and Zlatan Ibrahimovic saw the champions and leaders seemingly cruising to a 12-point lead at the top of the table.
But a stirring fightback from their Sicilian visitors means that second-placed Juventus can cut Inters lead to seven points, ahead of their championship decider next week in Turin, if they win their tough trip to Genoa later on Sunday night.
Palermos ineffectual offside trap contributed greatly to Inters early dominance but after surviving when Ibrahimovic chipped wide when clean through, they were not so lucky on 15 minutes when Balotelli ran past a static Morris Carrozzieri to head home Sulley Muntaris cross from the left. Balotelli could have added a second when he ran clear of the Sicilians woeful backline once again but he couldnt beat Marco Amelia in the visitors goal.
However, Inter doubled the advantage six minutes before the break as Ibrahimovic converted the generous penalty he had won when going down in the box following contact with the unlucky Simon Kjaer. Inter seemed to be cruising but two goals in two minutes turned the game on its head. Brazilian forward Edison Cavani beat veteran goalkeeper Francesco Toldo at his near post on 73 minutes and then substitute Davide Succi lost marker Cristian Chivu to tap home Fabrizio Miccolis cross from close range.
Lazio claimed the honours 4-2 in a thrilling, action-packed Rome derby as AS Roma lost further ground in the chase for fourth place and Champions League football next season. Roma muscled back into the match on 10 minutes as French defender Philippe Mexes lashed home a loose ball at a corner but he and centre-back partner Christian Panucci were left grounded as Switzerland defender Stephan Lichtsteiner rose to head home a cross from Pasquale Foggia.
Fiorentina moved six points clear of Roma in the race for fourth place as they defeated Cagliari 2-1 at home while AC Milan tightened their grip on third place with a fortunate 1-0 success at Chievo.
Comments
Comments are closed.