Inter’s run of seven successive Serie A wins came to an abrupt end yesterday as they fell to a 1-0 defeat by relegation strugglers Lecce.
Inter’s loss leaves them nine points adrift of leaders Juventus, who beat Udinese 2-1 on Saturday, while city rivals Milan moved to a point behind the leaders after hardly breaking a sweat to beat Cagliari 3-0 in the late kick-off.
There was also a surprise loss for Napoli, who had ended Inter’s defence of their Italian Cup trophy on Wednesday, as they went down 3-2 at mid-table Genoa and now trail Juventus by 15 points.
Guillermo Giacomazzi struck for Lecce to give them their first home win of the season – they had previously taken just two points from the 27 available at home – while their ‘keeper Massimiliano Benassi was in superlative form, denying Inter on several occasions.
Lecce’s win took them to three points from safety, fourth from bottom Siena having lost 2-1 earlier in the afternoon to Fiorentina.
Napoli’s loss was even more of a shock because only last month they had walloped Genoa 6-1, but this time round they found themselves trailing 3-0.
A double from Rodrigo Palacio, taking him to 11 for the season, and a first goal in their colours from veteran Alberto Gilardino, who joined in the transfer window from Fiorentina, set Napoli an almost impossible task.
However, they made a game of it but only in the last 10 minutes as Edinson Cavani and Ezequiel Lavezzi struck in the 80th and 82nd minutes respectively.
At the San Siro, Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored one and set up another for Antonio Nocerino in the opening half.
Cagliari have not beaten Milan in their last 18 meetings, home and away, and there was little to suggest they were going to break their taboo as Ibrahimovic drove the ball home from a free-kick on 32 minutes.
Just before half-time, the Swede chested down for Nocerino to fire home from the edge of the box and veteran Massimo Ambrosini sealed the issue on 75 minutes.
Lazio kept in touch with the battle for Champions League places with a 3-0 win over Chievo, two late goals from veteran German international striker Miroslav Klose sealing the victory.
Their city rivals Roma lost ground on them after being held 1-1 by Bologna despite a superb goal from a free-kick by Bosnian international Miralem Pjanic.
On Saturday, a brace from Alessandro Matri saw Juventus do their hopes of winning the title the power of good, seeing off fellow high-riders Udinese 2-1 in Turin.
Serie A
Cesena 0
Atalanta 1
Rossi 76 og;
HT: 0-0. Att: 15,315.
Red card: Denis (A) 79.
Chievo 0
Lazio 3
Hernanes 21; Klose 87, 89;
HT: 0-1. Att: 11,000.
Fiorentina 2
Jovetic 4; Natali 63;
Siena 1
Calaio 89;
HT: 1-0. Att: 16,784.
Genoa 3
Palacio 31, 70; Gilardino 36;
Napoli 2
Cavani 81; Lavezzi 82;
HT: 2-0. Att: 20,000.
Lecce 1
Giacomazzi 40;
Inter 0
HT: 1-0. Att: 14,000.
Milan 3
Ibrahimovic 32; Nocerino 39; Ambrosini 75;
Cagliari 0
HT: 2-0. Att: 45,000.
Palermo 2
Budan 41, 72;
Novara 0
HT: 1-0. Att: 16,224.
Roma 1
Pjanic 62;
Bologna 1
Di Vaio 56;
HT: 0-0. Att: 34,073.
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Juventus | 20 | 12 | 8 | 0 | 33 | 13 | 44 |
| Milan | 20 | 13 | 4 | 3 | 43 | 17 | 43 |
| Udinese | 20 | 11 | 5 | 4 | 29 | 16 | 38 |
| Lazio | 20 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 30 | 19 | 36 |
| Inter | 20 | 11 | 2 | 7 | 30 | 21 | 35 |
| Roma | 19 | 9 | 4 | 6 | 29 | 21 | 31 |
| Napoli | 20 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 36 | 24 | 29 |
| Palermo | 20 | 8 | 3 | 9 | 26 | 27 | 27 |
| Genoa | 20 | 8 | 3 | 9 | 28 | 36 | 27 |
| Fiorentina | 20 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 20 | 17 | 25 |
| Parma | 20 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 25 | 33 | 24 |
| Chievo | 20 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 16 | 25 | 24 |
| Atalanta | 20 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 24 | 25 | 23 |
| Cagliari | 20 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 16 | 21 | 23 |
| Catania | 19 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 22 | 28 | 23 |
| Bologna | 20 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 18 | 26 | 21 |
| Siena | 20 | 4 | 7 | 9 | 21 | 22 | 19 |
| Lecce | 20 | 4 | 4 | 12 | 21 | 36 | 16 |
| Cesena | 20 | 4 | 3 | 13 | 13 | 31 | 15 |
| Novara | 20 | 2 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 40 | 12 |
Top scorers
15 goals: Ibrahimovic (Milan).
14 goals: Di Natale (Udinese).
12 goals: Denis (Atalanta), Cavani (Napoli), Klose (Lazio).
11 goals: Palacio (Genoa).
Next fixtures
Tomorrow: 20.45 Parma vs Juventus.
Wednesday: 18.00 Atalanta vs Genoa. 20.45 Bologna vs Fiorentina; Cagliari vs Roma; Inter vs Palermo; Lazio vs Milan; Napoli vs Cesena; Siena vs Catania; Udinese vs Lecce.
Thursday: 20.45 Novara vs Chievo.
Prima Divisione ‘A’
Avellino vs Viareggio 2-0; Benevento vs Foligno 1-0; Carpi vs Pavia 2-1; Como vs Reggiana 1-2; Monza vs Foggia 2-1; Pisa vs Pro Vercelli 1-4; Spal vs Tritium 2-1; Ternana vs Lumezzane 1-0.
Leading standings: Ternana 47; Taranto 43; Carpi 39; Pro Vercelli 37; Sorrento 35; Avellino, Benevento 31.
Prima Divisione ‘B’
Barletta vs Lanciano 2-2; Cremonese vs Piacenza 0-1; Latina vs Bassano 0-1; Portogruaro vs FeralpiSalo 0-0; Prato vs Frosinone 1-0; Spezia vs Siracusa 1-1; SudTirol vs Pergocrema 0-1; Trapani vs Carrarese 1-0; Triestina vs Andria 1-1.
Leading standings: Trapani 40; Siracusa 39; Spezia 34; Lanciano 32; SudTirol, Barletta, Carrarese, Cremonese, Portogruaro 31.