Inter Milan were unable to stretch their Serie A advantage beyond six points as they were held to a surprise 1-1 draw at home by struggling Torino, and they now find AC Milan their nearest challengers following a 3-0 success for Carlo Ancelotti’s men at Lazio in the late game.
Torino were given little hope by many as they pitched up at San Siro in the bottom three but, after a tepid first half, they took the lead on 47 minutes through Rolando Bianchi’s header. But Inter responded emphatically, levelling when Nicolás Burdisso headed in before striking the woodwork twice during a late siege through Hernán Crespo and Zlatan Ibrahimović.
The point edged Inter seven points clear of Juventus, who lost 3-2 to Cagliari Calcio on Saturday, but Milan leapfrogged the Bianconeri into second and cut the gap at the summit back to six points with a convincing victory in Rome. Goals either side of half-time from Pato and Massimo Ambrosini, both from expert deliveries into the box by David Beckham, flattened Lazio and Kaká wrapped up a resounding result late on.
Fourth-placed Genoa extended their buffer on AS Roma to three points thanks to Domenico Criscito’s 88th-minute goal against Città di Palermo and the capital club’s 2-2 draw away to Reggina Calcio. Elsewhere, ten-man Lecce won 2-1 away to Siena, a single strike proved sufficient for Atalanta BC to beat Calcio Catania, and there was a 1-1 draw between Chievo Verona and Fiorentina.
