Round 30 review: Inter and Roma win to set up epic encounter

Inter, despite being on the back foot initially against Livorno, resumed normal service by getting back to winning ways in Serie A thanks to a 3-0 win. Samuel Eto'o opened the scoring by finding space inside the box and then powering home and added a second before the break with an overhead kick to end Livorno's chances of any sort of upset. After the break Maicon added to the tally, while over in Bologna Roma took three points thanks to Jon Arne Riise and Julio Baptista to move the Lupi up to second place in the table and just four points behind Inter with eight games to go. It does set up a tantalising clash on Saturday when Roma host Inter at what is sure to be a packed Stadio Olimpico. The third Scudetto contender Milan slipped up away to Parma where Valeri Bojinov scored late on to give the Tardini outfit three points. For Parma it was their first win against Milan since Adriano scored to give them a victory in 2003. For Milan this defeat could have ended any chance of a Scudetto as they simply seem unable to take advantage of any opportunities that come their way to take the lead in Serie A.

The Race for fourth
Napoli benefited in the round in terms of the battle for fourth place. They brushed aside Juventus 3-1 tonight after Marek Hamsik headed them back onto level terms cancelling out Georgio Chielini's opener. Fabio Quagliarella touched home a Hamsik cross for 2-1 and late on Ezequiel Lavezzi made in 3-1 when he was left unmarked in the box courtesy of Jon Zebina. However, all the other rivals for fourth dropped points. Genoa and Palermo drew 2-2 when the home side converted a penalty after 97 minutes of play, while Fiorentina lost for the 13th time this year away at Catania 1-0. Sampdoria also lost down in Bari as Baretto struck the winner late on for his 12th goal of the season.

Elsewhere
Lazio won back to back games for only the second time this season thanks to an opening striker from Stefan Lichsteiner and an overhead kick midway through the second half from Julio Cruz to ease relegation fears. It was another improved performance compared to some of the previous home matches and things seem to be moving in the right direction now for the Roman club. Relegation rivals Atalanta did however manage to pick up three points in a convincing 3-1 win over Cagliari as the away side lost again to take some of the gloss off the season that they had been enjoying. Udinese and Chievo played out a stalemate as the Udine team fell to 17th in the table and still remain win less on the road. For Chievo it was another solid point as they look sure to beat the drop once again this season.