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Inter Milan draws 1-1 with Roma to have lead cut

INTER Milan's lead in the Serie A was cut to five points yesterday after Samuel Eto'o scored a second-half equalizer in a 1-1 draw with AS Roma.

The Cameroon forward struck in the 48th minute to level after Mirko Vucinic had given Roma the lead in the 13th at the San Siro.

Inter has 29 points. Juventus is next. AC Milan won 2-1 at Lazio to rise to third with 22 points. Fiorentina won 1-0 at Udinese to have 21 points, as do Sampdoria after losing 2-0 to Cagliari for a third straight game without a win.

Also yesterday, it was: Bari 1, Livorno 0; Bologna 3, Palermo 1; Genoa 4, Siena 2 and Parma 2, Chievo Verona 0.

Vucinic should have scored in the third minute when he burst through the defense, but Lucio made a last-ditch tackle to stop the Montenegrin after he had rounded goalkeeper Julio Cesar.

Ten minutes later, though, Vucinic did find the net. Roma defender Marco Motta hit a long ball into the box, and Vucinic rose above Lucio to head past Cesar.

Inter's Diego Milito and Sulley Muntari both went close before halftime, but goalkeeper Julio Sergio was equal to the shots.

"We found Roma very hard to break down in the first half," Inter midfielder Dejan Stankovic said. "We needed a bit more luck to score but didn't have it. Thankfully, we had more of it in the second."

Inter coach Jose Mourinho sent on Wesley Sneijder after the break to give his team more invention, and his presence was immediately felt as Eto'o picked up a loose ball, spun and shot past Sergio.

Milito and Roma's Ricardo Faty and Jeremy Menez all had good chances later in the match to score.

Despite both sides playing in European competition midweek, both maintained a high tempo until the final whistle.

"Of course, we felt tired. I certainly did," Stankovic said. "We were surprised by how fresh Roma was. But this is the San Siro and we have enough players to win every game."

Milan scored first in the 22nd when Thiago Silva headed in from Andrea Pirlo's free kick. Milan doubled its lead when Ronaldinho crossed from the left, and Alexandre Pato got in front of Aleksandar Kolarov to head past goalkeeper Fernando Muslera in the 34th.

"I'm not a goalscorer," Ronaldinho said. "I don't score every game but I enjoy creating goals, and today I made a good one for Pato."

Mauro Zarate was Lazio's main threat, and it was his shot that led to the hosts' goal in the 64th. The ball rebounded off defender Massimo Oddo into the path of Thiago Silva, who inadvertently deflected the ball past Dida for an own-goal.

Zarate continued to cause problems for Milan and twice forced Dida into sharp saves, while Lazio captain Tommaso Rocchi failed to the hit the target with a header from the Argentine striker's cross.

"The first half went well," Ronaldinho said. "The second half was tougher and harder for us to create chances. It was a tough game and I'm happy that we got the three points."

Sampdoria appeared tired and lacking in inspiration against Cagliari, its only chance coming from Angelo Palombo's free kick in the first half.

Daniele Dessena missed a great opportunity to give Cagliari the lead when he blasted wide after Davide Biondini had hit the post in the 30th.

Daniele Conti reacted quickest to a loose ball to head past Castellazzi in the 85th, and Sampdoria's defense was equally hesitant in the 89th as Alessandro Matri headed home from a corner.

In heavy rain, Juan Vargas produced the only moment of inspiration to earn Fiorentina its win against Udinese, curling in a free kick with five minutes remaining.

"We knew from the first minute that this was a difficult game," Fiorentina coach Cesare Prandelli said. "It is a difficult stadium to come to and Udinese is a difficult team to play. We stuck to our task, though, kept our shape and stuck to our plan, which was very pleasing."



 

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