Inter wins 2-0 at Lazio to stay top in Serie A

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.

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 23^rd 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 83^rd minute when Atalanta defender Federico Peluso diverted the ball into his own net from Marco Di Vaio’s shot.

Bologna is 17^th 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 10^th 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 37^th. 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 45^th 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 70^th when Motta headed in Maicon’s corner.

Atalanta had a chance to score in the 15^th 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 80^th.

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 84^th.

“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.