Ibrahimovic keeps Inter well clear

22 March 2009 22:45
Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored twice as Inter Milan restored their seven-point lead at the top of Serie A with a 3-0 win over Reggina on Sunday.Jose Mourinho's men saw their advantage trimmed to four points on Saturday night following second-placed Juventus' impressive 4-1 win at Roma.But Ibrahimovic ensured Inter matched their title rivals, with two goals following Esteban Cambiasso's sixth-minute opener at the San Siro.AC Milan failed to respond when they were held to a 0-0 draw at Napoli on Sunday night.Napoli had a valid goal disallowed in the first half and came the closest to breaking the deadlock in a tense encounter at the Stadio San Paolo, but they remain without a win in more than two months.Fiorentina narrowly overcame an organised Siena 1-0 in the Tuscan derby.The game had looked to be heading for a draw, with Fiorentina unable to break down the visitors' solid defence, but Adrian Mutu found a way through with less than 20 minutes left for the Champions League hopefuls.Genoa defended fourth place with a 2-0 win against 10-man Udinese.Giuseppe Sculli opened the scoring in the 59th minute, before Udinese forward Alexis Sanchez was sent off in the 73rd.The visitors pressed for an equaliser but were caught on the counter-attack as Diego Milito secured the win for Genoa in stoppage-time.Sampdoria ended their three-month wait for an away win in emphatic style, to pour further pressure on under-fire Torino boss Walter Novellino.The Blucerchiati had not won on their travels since beating Reggina 2-0 on December 14 but were well on their way to ending that run when in-form striker Giampaolo Pazzini and Paolo Sammarco struck inside the opening 24 minutes.Rolando Bianchi pulled a goal back for the hosts on the half-hour, but their fate was sealed when Antonio Cassano netted a third in the 69th minute to seal a 3-1 victory.Fabio Caserta scored twice, including an injury-time penalty, to earn relegation-threatened Lecce a point against Atalanta.The 2-2 result was harsh on the visitors - who came from behind to lead with two goals from Simone Padoin.Robert Acquafresca's first-half goal earned Cagliari a hard-fought 1-0 victory at Bologna on Sunday, which all but ensures their Serie A safety and also sparks their European dreams into life.Acquafresca headed in the only goal of the game on the stroke of half-time to leave Bologna even deeper in trouble.Cagliari have now surpassed the 40-point mark - the target for avoiding relegation - and are only four points behind Roma, who occupy the last Europa League berth.Luciano tapped in the winner in first-half injury time as Chievo hauled themselves three points further clear of relegation trouble with a deserved 1-0 victory at home to 10-man Palermo, who had Mattia Cassani sent off in the first half.[LNB]

Source: Eurosport