Inter beat Palermo to regain six-point lead

inter

Inter Milan beat Palermo 2-1 at home on Sunday to restore the champions' six-point lead at the top of Serie A after a troubled week.

Goals by Patrick Vieira and Luis Jimenez settled nerves at the club after coach Roberto Mancini said he was leaving at the end of the season following Tuesday's Champions League last 16 defeat by Liverpool. Mancini changed his mind the following day.

Inter have 67 points from 28 games, while second-placed AS Roma have 61 after coming from behind to beat AC Milan 2-1 on Saturday.

Juventus, who are seven points behind Roma in third, beat Napoli in the late Sunday game thanks to an 88th-minute strike by substitute Vincenzo Iaquinta.

Fiorentina tightened their grip on fourth place, worth a slot in the Champions League qualifiers, with a 3-1 home win over Genoa to move four points ahead of fifth-placed Milan.

England level Test series against New Zealand

At the San Siro, France midfielder Vieira nodded in a perfectly weighted chip from Zlatan Ibrahimovic to put Inter in front in the fifth minute.

The Sicilian visitors equalised in the 25th when the second of two quick-fire Julio Cesar saves ricocheted off Marco Materazzi and into the goal.

Jimenez had the ball in the net two minutes later but his header from the rebound of a Vieira shot that hit the crossbar was disallowed for offside.

But Chile international Jimenez restored Inter's advantage in the 36th when he threw off a marker with some smart control with his heel before firing home the winner.

"They are three very important points because they come after what happened in the week and Roma's victory yesterday," Mancini told Sky television.

"We played a great first half, when we should have scored more than two goals. Our level of performance dropped a bit after the break, but we didn't risk anything."

Juventus had most of the first-half possession against Napoli in Turin, but the visitors managed to disrupt their attacks with the help of a high foul count.

Images: Hamilton wins Australian Grand Prix

Juve captain Alessandro Del Piero came close twice in the second half and Napoli goalkeeper Matteo Gianello did well to save powerful shots from Tiago and Pavel Nedved.

Napoli's Austrian defender Gyorgy Garics almost headed in an own goal before Iaquinta broke the deadlock.

In Florence, Mario Santana volleyed the hosts in front after Adrian Mutu had set him up with a delightful lob.

Romania striker Mutu, returning from almost a month out with a knee injury, drilled in his 15th league goal of the season from the edge of the box on the half-hour mark.

Giampaolo Pazzini added a third before Uruguayan Matias Masiero pulled one back for Genoa in the closing stages.

Former Inter coach Hector Cuper started his stint in the Parma dugout with a 1-1 draw at fellow strugglers Livorno.

SEARCH