Juve miss chance as Inter fall to Atalanta

Serie A leaders FC Internazionale Milano suffered a 3-1 defeat at Atalanta BC to give encouragement to the chasing pack although second-placed Juventus failed to take full advantage in a 1-1 draw at S.S. Lazio.

Surprise
Sergio Floccari scored an 18th-minute opener for mid-table Atalanta against champions Inter, before playmaker Cristiano Doni extended the hosts' lead with a deflected free-kick and a powerful header. José Mourinho had used all his substitutions by the start of the second half but the visitors only mustered a stoppage-time consolation goal from Zlatan Ibrahimović. The Nerazzurri had registered eight straight league wins before drawing 1-1 at home to Cagliari Calcio last weekend.

Three behind
Inter's reverse gave Juventus, playing later on Sunday, the opportunity to close the gap at the top to a solitary point. However, the Bianconeri could merely share the spoils with Lazio in Rome, with Olof Mellberg equalising Cristian Ledesma's goal. Juve are three points adrift after 19 games of the season.

Kaká question
All eyes had been on Kaká on Saturday, but it was the Brazilian's compatriot Pato who got the only goal of third-placed AC Milan's match against ACF Fiorentina. While home fans wondered whether this would be Kaká's final outing at San Siro, Pato fired in an early strike which proved enough to overcome a dangerous Fiorentina side.

On the rise
Genoa CFC climbed to fourth place, the last UEFA Champions League qualifying berth, thanks to their 2-0 triumph at US Lecce and fifth-placed SSC Napoli's 2-1 defeat at joint-bottom AC Chievo Verona. Last season's runners-up AS Roma, who had a terrible start to the campaign, are five points off a UEFA Champions League spot, in eighth, after Júlio Baptista's stoppage-time overhead kick earned a 1-0 victory at Torino Calcio.