Jose revels in Ranieri woe
The reigning champions extended their lead at the top to four points after Sulley Muntari turned in Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s effort with 17 minutes remaining.
“We played better than Juventus,” Mourinho said. “The team were fantastic from the first minute to the last, those on the pitch and those on the bench.
“I understood during the week how important it is for Inter to beat Juventus. We scored a goal that wasn’t beautiful but the three points are very important to us.”
And to Mourinho in particular. The former Chelsea manager is far from friendly with Ranieri — his predecessor at Stamford Bridge — and the pair have crossed swords on numerous occasions since Mourinho’s arrival in Serie A in the summer. “Juve played a negative game,” Mourinho sniped.
Ranieri, for his part, had few complaints. “Inter deserved it because they pressed and stopped us playing our game.” he said.
Elsewhere Milan failed to close the gap on their city rivals yesterday as they were held to a 2-2 draw at Torino.
A late Alessandro Rosina penalty — awarded after Kakha Kaladze handled his cross — ensured a deserved draw for the hosts, who had seen an early Roberto Stellone goal overturned by strikes from Alexandre Pato and Ronaldinho.
Napoli blew the chance to close the gap on the leaders when they were held 2-2 at home by Cagliari, while AS Roma continued their return to form with a 3-0 win at Lecce.
Daniele Conti scored a stoppage-time equaliser for the Sardinians after Napoli’s Ezequiel Lavezzi thought he had won it with a superb late free kick, leaving the hosts level with Juventus in third place with 24 points from 13 games.
Cagliari’s Diego Lopez had pounced in the 66th minute to cancel out Slovak midfielder Marek Hamsyk’s early opener.
Mirko Vucinic set Roma on their way in the 11th minute when he ran on to a Francesco Totti through ball and slotted home a diagonal shot, although he would not celebrate scoring against his former club.
Juan knocked in the visitors’ second before Totti wrapped up things up for Roma after the break.
MARSEILLE failed to put pressure on the top two in Le Championnat after they scrambled a 2-2 draw against Lille at Stade Velodrome last night. Bolo Zenden equalised in the final moments for the hosts, who had trailed 2-0 at half-time. Paris St Germain’s perfect performance saw them inflict a second league defeat on champions Lyon on Saturday. Ludovic Giuly headed home the only goal of the game in the 25th minute. Lyon remain five points clear at the top while Nice’s victory over rock-bottom St Etienne saw them move second.
FORMER Liverpool defender Markus Babbel is Stuttgart’s new manager after title-winning coach Armin Veh was axed. He was dismissed after a 4-1 defeat by Wolfsburg on Saturday left Stuttgart 11th in the Bundesliga. Hoffenheim’s dream first season in the Bundesliga continued as they moved three points clear with a 3-1 win at Cologne. Bayern Munich maintained their revival as they beat Energie Cottbus 4-1. Hamburg clinched a 2-1 win at home to Werder Bremen yesterday thanks to a superb strike from Ivica Olic.
BARCELONA’S run of nine league wins ended with a 1-1 draw against Getafe at Camp Nou yesterday. Manu gave Getafe the lead midway through the first half before Seydou Keita headed home on 71 minutes. The result left Pep Guardiola’s team three points clear of Real Madrid. On Saturday Real beat Recreativo Huelva 1-0 thanks to Wesley Sneijder’s goal. Villarreal slumped 3-0 at home to Valladolid. Valencia, in fourth, were held 0-0 at Sevilla. Racing Santander beat Espanyol 3-0, Atletico Madrid and Numancia drew 1-1 and Mallorca and Malaga drew 2-2.
AZ ALKMAAR moved top of the Eredivisie with a 2-0 win over in-form Ajax in blizzard-like conditions at the DSB Stadion yesterday. A Demy de Zeeuw penalty and a cheeky flick from Ari either side of half-time ended the visitors‘ six-match winning streak. FC Groningen missed the chance to make it three teams level at the top after they went down 3-0 at Willem II. Feyenoord continued their revival with a 3-1 win over ADO den Haag. PSV bounced back from consecutive defeats with a 4-0 thrashing of Heracles Almelo.
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