Inter's winning run ends in draw with Udinese

Inter's record 17-match winning streak in Serie A came to an end when they were held 1-1 by Udinese last night.

Trailing to an early second-half goal by visiting midfielder Christian Obodo, Inter hit back through striker Hernan Crespo in the 66th minute.

But Inter could not find the winner against Udinese, who were also the last side to take points off the leaders when they held them to a 0-0 draw in late October.

Inter have 67 points from 25 matches, 14 ahead of second-placed Roma, who drew 2-2 with relegation-threatened Chievo.

Trailing to goals by Erjon Bogdani and Franco Semioli, Roma clawed level thanks to captain Francesco Totti, who scored each side of half-time to give his side 53 points from 25 matches.

Milan's drive for a Champions League place suffered a setback. The Italian giants drew 0-0 at third-placed Palermo (45 points) to slip back to sixth on 37 points.

Albanian striker Bogdani punished Roma's slow start by heading home Chievo's opening goal after 17 minutes at Verona's Bentegodi stadium.

It was only after Semioli put the home side 2-0 up in the 33rd minute that the visitors found their rhythm and began to put Chievo under pressure.

They grabbed their first goal barely a minute later, Totti diving on to Marco Cassetti's nod-on to head the ball into the net.

The Italian international struck again three minutes into the second half, when he chested down a high pass and fired a shot under advancing keeper Lorenzo Squizzi.

Milan arrived in Palermo on the back of seven wins in eight games. They dominated the early stages of the game at the Barbera stadium but were frustrated by home keeper Alberto Fontana.

The former Inter goalie made a poor start to the match, fouling Alberto Gilardino to give away a penalty.

Having saved Kaka's spot-kick, however, he went on to pull off a series of superb saves on shots by Clarence Seedorf, Kaka and Pirlo to keep his side level.

Palermo might have even snatched all three points if David Di Michele's finishing had been sharper when he found himself alone in front of goal in stoppage time.

The draw left Milan three points behind the fourth and final Champions League berth occupied by Lazio, who came from behind to beat Catania 3-1 with goals by Goran Pandev, Sebastiano Siviglia and Tommaso Rocchi.

Two goals by striker Luca Saudati and one by defender Lino Marzoratti kept Empoli in the hunt for a place in next season's Champions League.

The win moved the tiny Tuscan side above Milan to fifth. Messina, who scored a late goal through Edgar Alvarez, had Daniele De Vezze sent off in the 55th.

At the start of this week both Torino and Cagliari recalled coaches they sacked earlier in the season in an effort to avoid sliding into the relegation zone.

Torino's Gianni De Biasi made a happier return than his counterpart on Cagliari's bench - Marco Giam-paolo. Torino's 1-0 win ended a series of six successive defeats and lifted them five points clear of the drop zone.