Last gasp Adriano earns Inter points in Milan cracker

AN INJURY time goal from Adriano gave Inter a dramatic 3-2 victory over Milan in the city derby at the San Siro last night.

It had looked like a late Jaap Stam goal would see the game end 2-2 after the Nerazzurri had twice surrendered the lead. However, Adriano hit the winner which sees Inter move into joint second with Fiorentina, leaving Milan behind in fourth.

Adriano’s early penalty had been cancelled out by Andriy Shevchenko who also netted from the spot.

Obafemi Martins then put Inter ahead again before Jaap Stam equalised. There was no third equaliser for AC Milan whose coach Carlo Ancelotti must be worried after consecutive Serie A defeats.

Inter leapfrog AC Milan to go second but they and Fiorentina trail Juventus by 10 points - Fabio Capello’s side have won 14 of their 15 matches.

The Bianconeri thrashed Cagliari 4-0 with two goals from David Trezeguet, one from Pavel Nedved and an own goal from Fabio Vignati.

Lazio striker Paolo Di Canio could find himself in trouble with the Italian football authorities once again after giving an alleged fascist salute in yesterday’s match at Livorno.

According to Italian news agency ANSA, Di Canio made the gesture to the visiting Lazio supporters while he was being substituted.

Games between Livorno and Lazio are always tense because of the political leaning of the clubs’ supporters. Livorno have always had a strong left-wing following, while Lazio supporters have links to the far right.

In Spain, Real Madrid began life under Juan Ramon Lopez Caro, their fifth coach in the last two and a half years, with a 2-0 win at Malaga yesterday to go third in the table.

Caro’s side responded well to his new 4-5-1 formation with French international Zinedine Zidane key to victory. It was Zidane who created the first goal when he swung over a corner for Sergio Ramos to head home after 34 minutes.

Four minutes later, Real were 2-0 in front when Brazilian ace Robinho picked up a pass from Zidane to drive the ball past Francesc Arnau in the Malaga goal.

Real will face a test of their resolve next weekend when they entertain Osasuna who went top for a few hours after a 1-0 win against Mallorca gave them their eighth win in eight homes games this season.

Cameroon international Pierre Achille Webo scored the only goal of the game after six minutes at the El Sadat stadium.

Barcelona reclaimed top spot last night after a 2-1 Nou Camp win against Sevilla. Former Spurs striker Freddie Kanoute gave the visitors a shock 63rd minute lead, before Samuel Eto’o equalised within two minutes, European player of the year Ronaldinho grabbed the winner with thirteen minutes left.

On Saturday, Villarreal’s Argentine playmaker Juan Roman Riquelme scored a magnificent goal to set the seal on a come-from-behind 3-1 win at Real Sociedad.

Valencia had to settle for a 1-1 home draw with struggling Athletic Bilbao. Bilbao, one of Spain’s oldest clubs, have in recent weeks been pulling themselves up after a disastrous start which threatened their ever-present first division membership.

Joseba Etxebarria’s header almost secured a second straight win on their travels and only a Vicente strike 16 minutes from the end saved Valencia’s blushes.

Feyenoord blew the Dutch title race wide open after Dirk Kuyt’s seventh-minute goal gave them a 1-0 win over pacesetters PSV Eindhoven.

The defending champions went into the weekend three points clear of both Feyenoord and AZ Alkmaar, but AZ’s win at FC Twente on Saturday and Feyenoord’s victory at De Kuip means the three teams are level at the top of the table after 15 games.

Ajax continued their recovery with a 2-0 win at Vitesse Arnhem. A first-half penalty from Tomas Galasek and a second-half effort from Angelos Charisteas earned the points for the Amsterdammers, who end the weekend in sixth place but are still 11 points adrift of the leading trio.

Oliver Kahn stopped a second-half Kaiserslautern penalty after goals from Michael Ballack and Roy Makaay gave Bayern Munich a 2-1 win in the German Bundesliga.

The result also handed Bayern the honorary distinction of winning the first half of the season a week before the winter break. With 41 points from 16 matches, Bayern reopened a four-point cushion over Hamburg SV.

Fenerbahce extended their lead at the top of the Turkish league with a 3-0 win over Erciyesspor. Goals from Onder Turaci, Alex and Tuncay Sanli sealed the win for the league leaders who move four points clear of city rivals Galatasaray.