Inter Milan rode the euphoria of having reached its first Champions
League final in 38 years to stay top in the Serie A by winning 2-0
at Lazio on Sunday.
Having played defensively to knock out Barcelona at Camp Nou
in the Champions League semifinals on Wednesday, Inter played an
attacking style against Lazio and won after headed goals from
Walter Samuel and Thiago Motta at Rome's Olympic Stadium.
Inter leads with 76 points, two more than AS Roma. Both teams
have two matches remaining.
"Today we had to win and win well," Motta said. "We came to
Rome knowing that today was very important and we did what we had
to do. Now we have to go back to our hotel and relax before the
Italian Cup final on Wednesday. We are two games away from the end
of the season and it is going to be difficult."
At the bottom of the standings, Bologna moved closer to
staying up by drawing 1-1 with 10-man Atalanta.
Atalanta took the lead when Tiberio Guarante scored from a
free kick in the 23rd minute. But the team was reduced to 10 men
when Maximiliano Pellegrino was sent off for a second yellow card
just before halftime.
Bologna drew level in the 83rd minute when Atalanta defender
Federico Peluso diverted the ball into his own net from Marco Di
Vaio's shot.
Bologna is 17th with 40 points, five ahead of third-bottom
Atalanta with two rounds remaining.
Siena became the second team to be relegated to Serie B after
a 2-1 loss to Palermo. Livorno, which was relegated in the previous
round, lost 2-0 to Sampdoria, which stays in the fourth Champions
League place.
Despite its exploits against Barcelona, Inter started
brightly and Wesley Sneijder went close with a free kick in the
10th minute.
Lazio responded six minutes later when Aleksandar Kolarov
fired narrowly wide from Sergio Floccari's layoff. For the rest of
the half, Lazio was content to try and limit Inter's attack.
Inter wasted a great chance in the 37th. Esteban Cambiasso
chipped over the defense, Motta laid the ball off to Sneijder, who
took too long to allow Muslera to smother the ball.
Samuel scored in the 45th minute, rising highest to to head
home at the far post from Sneijder's cross. Inter stayed in control
in the second half, and doubled its lead in the 70th when Motta
headed in Maicon's corner.
It was an emotional moment for Motta. He was sent off against
Barcelona and will miss the Champions League final.
"It was something bad, but what happened, happened," he said.
"I was delighted to score. It was good for moral and gave us
confidence."
Atalanta had a chance to score in the 15th minute when
Daniele Portanova brought down Guarente in the area, but goalkeeper
Emiliano Viviano easily saved Jaime Valdes' weak penalty.
With Atalanta leading 1-0, Pellegrino received a second
booking for manhandling Portanova and was sent off by referee Paolo
Tagliavento.
"It really was absurd," Atalanta coach Bortolo Mutti said.
"Sending him off for that was a decision that changed the game. On
this basis he could also have booked a few other players."
With 10 minutes remaining, Atalanta's Adriano Ferreira Pinto
blasted over after running on to Cristiano Doni's pass.
Three minutes later, Atalanta was left to rue its profligacy
when Peluso was unable to avoid turning the ball into his own net.
"Obviously we are happy because even a point advantage is
good enough for us," Bologna coach Franco Colomba said. "We had
some defensive issues in the first half that Atalanta could have
taken advantage of, but we put them right in the second half."
Siena was condemned to relegation by its slack defense. Siena
has the worst defensive record this season, having conceded 65
goals.
Palermo's Edinson Cavani was left unmarked at the far post to
poke home the first goal. In the second half, Fabrizio Miccoli made
it 2-0 after an unchallenged run through the defense. Emanuele
Calaio pulled a goal back for Siena in the 80th.
For Sampdoria, Antonio Cassano scored in the fifth minute
after breaking through the defense before firing a low shot past
goalkeeper Alfonso de Lucia.
Livorno's Tomas Danilevicius and Davide Di Gennaro both
wasted excellent chances after halftime, and Reto Zeigler wrapped
the match up for Sampdoria with a fierce free kick in the 84th.
"We have been wanting a performance like this," Sampdoria
coach Luigi Del Neri said. "We knew it would be tough as Livorno
wanted to show it shouldn't have been relegated. Now we have to
hope that luck shines on Sampdoria for the rest of the season."
Also Sunday, it was: Bari 3, Genoa 0; Cagliari 2, Udinese 2;
Catania 1, Juventus 1 and Chievo Verona 1, Napoli 2.
