Inter joined SS Lazio on 18 points in Serie A on Sunday with a 2-0 win over a Catania team that threatened to steal a point until the final five minutes.
Antonio Cassano opened the scoring in the 28th minute at the San Siro by easily heading in a pass from Esteban Cambiasso and Rodrigo Palacio secured the win with an expert chest control and volley in the 85th.
Sergio Almiron, Mariano Izco and the rest of Catania’s Argentine-filled squad had several chances, but Inter’s talented strike trio of Cassano, Palacio and Diego Milito proved too much to handle.
Photo: EPA
Cassano has five goals since transferring from city rivals AC Milan on the eve of the season and he continues to impress, despite being left out of the Italy national squad recently.
Inter and SS Lazio both trail leaders Juventus by four points, with SSC Napoli just one point ahead in second.
“The standings are not important, we shouldn’t be looking at that,” Inter manager Andrea Stramaccioni said. “We took an important step today. In the second half, for the first time this season, I saw fluid movement without conceding anything.”
Photo: EPA
AS Roma are fifth, eight points back, following a 4-2 comeback win at Genoa.
After Juraj Kucka and Bosko Jankovic gave Genoa a 2-0 lead after just 15 minutes, Roma hit back through Francesco Totti’s 217th Serie A goal — to move to third place on the all-time list — a brace from Pablo Osvaldo and another from Erik Lamela.
“During the first 20 minutes we didn’t read the match well, then our skill and quality emerged, and we were able to play solid football,” Osvaldo said.
ACF Fiorentina are next, 10 points back, after a 1-1 draw at AC Chievo Verona.
Cyril Thereau gave Chievo the lead in the 17th minute and Gonzalo Rodriguez equalized for Fiorentina a minute later. Fiorentina striker Luca Toni hit the post at the end of the first half.
The Viola are yet to win away.
Elsewhere, Parma beat 10-man UC Sampdoria with two goals from Brazilian-born forward Amauri; US Citta di Palermo and Torino drew 0-0; while 10-man Udinese edged out promoted Delfino Pescara 1936 with a 53rd-minute goal from Brazilian midfielder Maicosuel, whose missed “Panenka” penalty-kick cost Udinese a spot in the UEFA Champions League a couple of months ago.
Also, Atalanta BC celebrated their 105th anniversary with a 2-1 comeback win over last-placed AC Siena, with goals from Luca Cigarini and Giacomo Bonaventura.
Earlier, Cagliari beat Bologna 1-0 to move out of the relegation zone.
Belgium midfielder Radja Nainggolan scored on the hour mark by finishing off a counterattack with a shot from the edge of the area.
The best Bologna could produce was a header off the post from Alberto Gilardino in the first half and a dangerous effort from Alessandro Diamanti in the 78th minute that Cagliari goalkeeper Michael Agazzi stopped with a reflex save.
Santiago Castro on Tuesday had an immediate impact off the bench as he scored the goal to send Bologna into the Coppa Italia semi-finals for the first time in 26 years. Bologna won 1-0 against last year’s runners-up, Atalanta BC, and are to play either holders Juventus or Empoli in the final four. Juventus are to host Empoli in their quarter-final on Feb. 26. The last time Bologna reached the semi-finals was in 1999, when they lost 4-2 to ACF Fiorentina. There were chances for both sides in a high-tempo match in Bergamo, but it was Bologna who broke the deadlock 10 minutes from
The former interpreter for baseball star Shohei Ohtani on Thursday was sentenced to nearly five years in prison for bank and tax fraud after he stole nearly US$17 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers player’s bank account. Ippei Mizuhara, who was supposed to bridge the gap between the Japanese athlete and his English-speaking teammates and fans, was sentenced in federal court in Santa Ana to four years and nine months after pleading guilty last year. He was ordered to pay US$18 million in restitution, with nearly US$17 million going to Ohtani and the remainder to the US Internal Revenue Service. He was
The 40-year-old LeBron James on Thursday became the oldest player to score 40 points in an NBA game, putting up a season-high 42 in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 120-112 victory over the Golden State Warriors. James passed the record held by Michael Jordan, his idol and the only other NBA player to score 40 after his 40th birthday. “I’m old, that’s my take,” James said when asked about his latest achievement. “I need a glass of wine and some sleep, that’s what I think.” Jordan did it for the Washington Wizards just three days after turning 40 in February 2003. James is 38
SPEEDSKATER: Her bronze medal ended Taiwan’s run at the Asian Winter Games without a medal since the nation first participated in the second iteration in 1990 Speedskater Chen Ying-chu yesterday made history as the first athlete representing Taiwan to secure a medal at the Asian Winter Games. Competing at the HIC Speedskating Oval in Harbin, China, Chen clocked 10.510 seconds in the women’s 100m event, finishing third behind South Koreans Lee Na-hyum and Kim Min-sun, who posted times of 10.501 and 10.505 seconds respectively. Her bronze medal ended Taiwan’s drought at the Asian Winter Games since the nation first participated in the second iteration in 1990. This year’s Games mark Chen’s debut at the event. Previously excelling in roller speedskating, she won six medals at world championships before transitioning