Luca Toni scored a 72nd-minute winner and AS Roma beat Inter Milan
2-1 Saturday to move within one point of the Serie A leader with
seven games remaining.
Left unmarked in the center of the area, Toni took a pass
from Rodrigo Taddei and easily found the target for his fifth goal
in nine matches since transferring from Bayern Munich in January.
"These are three very important points, gained with a great
performance, but they're still ahead," Toni said. "We'll do
everything we can to try to realize the dream of this city."
Daniele De Rossi had put Roma in front in the 17th, pushing
in a loose ball from one meter (yard) following a rebound of a
header from Nicolas Burdisso. Inter forward Diego Milito equalized
in the 66th following a cross from Wesley Sneijder, although
replays showed Goran Pandev was offside before Sneijder even got
the ball.
Inter's fourth loss of the season comes just four days before
Jose Mourinho's side hosts CSKA Moscow in the opening leg of their
Champions League quarterfinal.
In an entertaining match from start to finish, Inter hit the
woodwork three times. A header from defender Walter Samuel
connected with the crossbar in the 42nd, Milito knocked a shot off
the crossbar in the 49th and then nearly equalized in the fifth
minute of added time.
Inter leads with 63 points, Roma is next with 62 and AC Milan
- which hosts Roma's city rival Lazio on Sunday - has 59.
In Saturday's other game, Fabrizio Miccoli scored a hat trick
as Palermo beat Bologna 3-1 to solidify its hold on fourth place
and the final Champions League berth.
Roma stretched its unbeaten streak to 20 games, with 14 wins
and six draws. After the game, the team celebrated as if it had won
a title, running around the athletic track lining the pitch in
delirium.
The win was particularly sweet for Roma coach Claudio
Ranieri, who has had icy relations with Mourinho for years - ever
since the Portuguese coach succeeded him at Chelsea.
"Now we're starting to head down the final straight, we're
healthy, and the guys are confident. So let's see what happens,"
Ranieri said.
The tense match was marked by 10 yellow cards - seven for
Inter and three for Roma - meaning several players will miss their
next match.
Sneijder started for Inter despite missing several days of
training due to a leg muscle problem, and Milito and Samuel Eto'o
lined up in attack.
Roma countered with Jeremy Menez directing Mirko Vucinic and
Toni, with Roma captain Francesco Totti starting on the bench.
Inter began with its usual attack of looking for Eto'o to
sprint past the defense, while Roma resorted to letting Toni try to
outmuscle the defense.
Immediately after De Rossi's goal, Inter had its best chance
to that point, when Sneijder's 35-meter (yard) free kick deflected
wide off Roma's wall.
Still, it was Roma that was creating more and taking the
initiative.
Vucinic had a shot deflected wide in the 29th and left back
John Arne Riise just missed with a long free kick in the 32nd. With
Inter scrambling to stop the Roma assault, the hosts were awarded
another free kick when Thiago Motta tripped Marco Cassetti and
Julio Cesar had to make a diving save on the ensuing shot from
Vucinic.
Inter started to organize itself better at the tail end of
the half, but only had an Eto'o header off the crossbar to show for
it.
At the start of the second half, Inter upset Roma by
continuing to play when Menez was down at the other end, shaken up
after taking a knock.
After Milito hit the crossbar, Roma goalkeeper Julio Sergio
stretched out for a tough save from a Sneijder shot.
Roma nearly made it 2-0 but a header from Toni following a
free kick skimmed just over the crossbar in the 55th.
Totti replaced Vucinic for the final five minutes, marking
his return from the latest in a series of injuries.
