Inter pull away at the top as Milan flop

Posted Thursday, March 25, 2010 by theguardian.com

Inter pull away at the top as Milan flop
Samuel Eto'o celebrates after scoring his second goal against Livorno at San Siro.

Internazionale extended their lead at the top of the Serie A table to four points as they recorded a comfortable 3-0 victory over bottom club Livorno at the San Siro.

The result, coupled with city rivals Milan's defeat at Parma, was a major boost to Inter's bid to retain their title. Their goals came courtesy of a double from Samuel Eto'o and a rare strike from the defender Maicon as Serse Cosmi's side were ruthlessly brushed aside.

Milan's hopes took a blow as Valeri Bojinov's injury-time winner condemned them to a 1-0 defeat at Parma. Milan, who had clawed their way back into the Scudetto picture and were just a point off the leaders Inter heading into last night's matches, are now four points behind.

Leonardo's side dominated the play throughout but failed to produce many clear chances before Bojinov came off the bench to tap in a dramatic winner for the home team. Roma struck twice in the second half to beat Bologna and stay in the title race.

John-Arne Riise broke the deadlock in the 48th minute before the substitute Julio Baptista put the game beyond Bologna's reach with eight minutes remaining. The outcome lifted Roma level on 59 points with second-placed Milan.

Fiorentina's bid to claim a European place next season stalled following an away defeat at Catania. Giuseppe Mascara scored the only goal of the game after two minutes to ease the hosts' relegation fears as they moved seven points clear of danger.

Elsewhere, Bari recovered from a goal down to beat Sampdoria 2-1, Genoa took a share of the points with a 2-2 draw against Palermo, Atalanta earned a vital 3-1 victory over Cagliari, Lazio eased their relegation worries with a comfortable 2-0 triumph over Siena and Udinese drew 0-0 at home to Chievo.