Jeremy Inson

Inter’s Lead Cut as Roma Forces Draw at the San Siro

Milan. Inter Milan’s lead in the table was cut to five points on Sunday 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, with Juventus in second. AC Milan won 2-1 at Lazio to move up to third with 22 points. Fiorentina won 1-0 at Udinese, giving it 21 points, the same as Sampdoria, which stumbled to a 2-0 loss to Cagliari.

Also on Sunday, 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 rounded goalkeeper Julio Cesar.

Ten minutes later, 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 Milan 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.

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 when Thiago Silva headed in from Andrea Pirlo’s free kick in the 22nd. 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 emphasized. “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.

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

Cagliari’s Daniele Conti reacted quickest to a loose ball to head past Luca 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, finding the net with a curling a free kick five minutes from time.

Associated Press

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