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LEGA CALCIO: Inter put three past Lazio, stay top

AS Roma's Francesco Totti, top, controls the ball past Cagliari goalkeeper Vincenzo Maruocco during their Italian Serie A match at the Olympic Stadium in Rome on Wednesday. PHOTO: AP

Inter Milan and AS Roma both posted comfortable wins on Wednesday to extend their lead atop the Italian league.

Inter Milan beat Lazio 3-0 with a penalty from Zlatan Ibrahimovic and goals from Maicon and David Suazo.

Brazilian midfielder Rodrigo Taddei scored twice as Roma shut out Cagliari 2-0.

The results gave Inter 34 points, three better than Roma. Juventus are third with 26.

The games were rescheduled from Nov. 11, after both were postponed following the killing of a Lazio fan by police at a highway rest stop, which sparked riots throughout the country. The Atalanta-AC Milan game that day was also suspended and has yet to be rescheduled because Milan are in Japan for the Club World Cup.

At the San Siro, Inter Milan's Ibrahimovic also had a chance in the 17th minutes from a free kick that Lazio's 43-year-old goalkeeper Marco Ballotta had a tough time handling.

Inter earned a penalty in the 21st minute when Guglielmo Stendardo pulled down Nicolas Burdisso at a corner. Ibrahimovic converted for his eighth goal this season, second only to David Trezeguet's 11 goals for Juventus.

Portuguese midfielder Vitor Hugo Gomes Passos, nicknamed "Pele," got his first start and had a fierce shot blocked by Ballotta in the 31st minute. Suazo scored off the rebound but was offside.

Maicon ran in unmarked to redirect a corner and double Inter's lead in the 33rd minute and Suazo's goal was set up by a long pass from Esteban Cambiasso in the 55th minute.

At the Stadio Olimpico, Roma captain Francesco Totti played in the game against Cagliari for the first time since injuring his right foot in October.

Totti's replacement during his injury, Mirko Vucinic, had Roma's first opportunity, but the Montenegro forward missed an open goal in the sixth minute.

Cagliari then threatened twice in a minute with Michele Ferri's shot just wide and a long shot by Alessandro Budel skimming off the top of the crossbar.

In the 23rd minute, a free kick by Totti hit Cagliari's wall.

Taddei was left all alone in the center of the area to head in a free kick by David Pizarro for his first goal in the 28th minute. Eight minutes later, his second came from a shot from the edge of the area following a rebound of an effort from Amantino Mancini.

Taddei also scored the winner in a 2-1 victory over Udinese on Sunday.

Ludovic Giuly came on for Totti in the 63rd minute and Mancini hit the crossbar in the 86th minute.
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