Inter Milan beat Empoli 3-0 Sunday to equal its club record of eight straight wins in the Italian league, and Lazio snapped AS Roma's six-game winning streak with a 3-0 victory in the Rome derby.
Hernan Crespo, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Walter Samuel scored in the second half for Inter.
"We played a great game in a tough stadium, against a team that knows how to put you in trouble," Inter coach Roberto Mancini said. "We defended well in the first half, didn't risk anything, and then we closed the game like great teams do."
PHOTO: AFP
Empoli has the second-best defense in Serie A and was the last team to beat Inter in the league -- on April 30 of last season.
Inter previously won eight straight on three different occasions -- in 1939-40, 1964-65 and 1988-89 -- and went on to win the league each time.
"Our strength is having a great roster," Mancini said.
PHOTO: AFP
Inter leads Serie A with 39 points, followed by Roma with 32 and Palermo with 31.
Argentine midfielder Cristian Ledesma scored for Lazio in the 44th minute, converting a long, rising shot for only his fourth goal in more than 100 Serie A appearances.
Five minutes later, Roma goalkeeper Alexander Doni received a yellow card for tripping Goran Pandev and Lazio captain Massimo Oddo converted a penalty kick.
Massimo Mutarelli scored Lazio's third goal in the 73rd, pounding in a rebound of a chip off the crossbar by Stefano Mauri.
Catania moved into fourth place with a 1-0 win over Udinese. Gionatha Spinesi headed in the goal in the 68th minute for the promoted Sicilian club.
AC Milan continued to struggle and was held to a 0-0 draw by Torino at the San Siro. Milan striker Alberto Gilardino missed a penalty kick in the 79th.
Milan, which began the season with an eight-point penalty from the Italian match-fixing scandal, is in 15th place with 13 points. It has won only three of eight games at home, in contrast to its undefeated record of 18 wins and one draw last season.
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