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Inter extend lead

Inter Milan smash four past Torino, while Roma are held by Livorno.

    Inter Milan's Luis Antonio Jimenez celebrates his goal [AFP]

    Italian league leaders Inter Milan hammered Torino 4-0 to extend their lead at the top of the Serie A to five points.

    Zlatan Ibrahimovic converted a penalty in the 38th minute at the San Siro and Julio Ricardo Cruz, Luis Antonio Jimenez and Ivan Cordoba added second-half goals.

    Second-place AS Roma was held to a 1-1 draw at Livorno, where Daniele De Rossi scored for Roma in the fifth minute before Diego Tristan equalised a minute later.

    "Inter is frustrating, they always win," said De Rossi, who also complained about a goal of his that was annulled in the second half.

    Third-place Juventus and fourth-place Udinese earned late wins.

    Pavel Nedved scored his first goal of the season in the 86th minute of Juve's 1-0 victory over Atalanta, and Fabio Quagliarella scored twice in the final 20 minutes to lead Udinese to a 3-2 come-from-behind win over his former club, Sampdoria.

    Undefeated Inter leads with 37 points, followed by Roma with 32, Juventus with 29 and Udinese with 28.

    Danger games

    "Five points on Roma? It's not decisive," Inter coach Roberto Mancini said.

    "Every game in the league is dangerous. There are risks every Sunday."

    Empoli and Siena both won to break out of a tie for last place.

    Nicola Pozzi scored all four of Empoli's goals in a 4-1 win over Cagliari and Liechtenstein forward Mario Frick got two goals in Siena's 3-1 victory at Genoa.

    Cagliari and Reggina, which didn't play, remain last with 10 points each.

    On Saturday, Palermo beat Fiorentina 2-0 and Lazio shut out Catania by the same score.

    Torino controlled the opening half hour in Milan, and Inter went ahead when Ibrahimovic was tripped by Gianluca Comotto, earning a penalty.

    Ibrahimovic couldn't reach a cross by Christian Chivu but Cruz was waiting to head in Inter's second goal in the 50th.

    Two minutes later, Jimenez struck with a powerful, rising shot from beyond the area to add to his recent goals against Fenerbahce and Fiorentina. Cordoba added a header in the 76th.

    Torino forward Alvaro Recoba, on loan from Inter, came on in the 65th and didn't make much of an impact.

    Roma share points

    De Rossi put Roma ahead with a header after Marco Amelia risked too much by coming out of his goal.

    Diego Tristan replied by angling in a shot off the post, the first Serie A goal for the former Deportivo La Coruna striker.

    Roma defender Juan headed a corner off the crossbar in the 61st.

    Captain Francesco Totti, still regaining his fitness from a 40-day injury layoff, came off for Roma after 69 minutes.

    "For Totti to express himself like he's capable of, he needs the movement of the team," Roma coach Luciano Spalletti said.

    "But we didn't (move) much and consequently he had more trouble."

    Nedved hits the target

    In Turin, Nedved intercepted a ball and faked a pass to David Trezeguet before beating Atalanta goalkeeper Ferdinando Coppola with a long shot.

    "We played a good game against an Atalanta team that allows the fewest shots on goal in Serie A," Juventus coach Claudio Ranieri said.

    SOURCE: Agencies


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