Stanković strikes send Inter top

Dejan Stanković scored twice as FC Internazionale Milano maintained their unbeaten start to the Serie A season, coming from behind to beat Calcio Catania 2-1 and leapfrog US Città di Palermo and AS Roma at the summit.

Penalty miss
The last time Inter met Catania 13 seasons ago the Nerazzurri eased to a 6-0 victory but the Serie A newcomers soon ensured there would be no repeat when Giuseppe Mascara made it three goals in three games on 16 minutes. Stanković had reduced the deficit by the half-hour mark and popped up again to score the winner with 15 minutes remaining, a goal for which Julio Cruz would have been especially grateful having missed from the penalty spot six minutes earlier.

Palermo defeat
It meant another game without a goal for Zlatan Ibrahimović and Adriano and while Eugenio Corini is having no such problems at Palermo, the veteran's 45th-minute penalty – his fourth strike of the season – was not enough to see off Atalanta BC. That made it 2-2 after goals from Cristiano Doni and Claudio Rivalta either side of Mark Bresciano's equaliser, but Fernando Tissone ensured a miserable afternoon for Palermo eleven minutes after the restart as he made it 3-2. The Sicilian side therefore drop to third, level on points with Roma whose perfect away record was ended by Nicola Amoruso's goal soon after half-time at Reggina Calcio.

Galeone scare
Udinese Calcio are fourth after sweeping to a 3-0 win at struggling Parma FC. Sulley Ali Muntari and Vincenzo Iaquinta, a penalty, put the visitors two goals to the good inside 12 minutes. Their coach Giovanni Galeone was taken to hospital after complaining of a heart problem at half-time and by the time he had been discharged, Iaquinta had rounded off the win. Muntari was needlessly dismissed late on and there was another red card at Ascoli Calcio 1898 where Giovanni Pasquale's sending off took the gloss off a 2-0 win for AS Livorno Calcio.

Torino triumph
In Tuscany, Adrian Mutu and Luca Toni were both on target as ACF Fiorentina came from behind in the last quarter against Empoli FC to claim a 2-1 triumph while Roberto Stellone's second-half strikes earned Torino FC their first win since returning to the top flight, against AC Chievo Verona. In the late game, the meeting between S.S. Lazio and Cagliari Calcio ended in stalemate.