Inter and Palermo share points in eight-goal thriller

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02/01/2012 - Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Diego Milito scored four times for Inter Milan while Palermo got three goals from Fabrizio Miccoli in a 4-4 draw at the San Siro on Wednesday.

Andrea Mantovani started the scoring barrage in the 16th minute when he put Palermo in front. But Milito and Miccoli took over from there, with Milito leveling the contest six minutes later to make it 1-1 at halftime.

Miccoli restored the lead for the visitors by beating Inter goalkeeper Julio Cesar at the far post in the 52nd minute, only for the Nerazzurri to come right back and answer from the penalty spot through Milito after Yuto Nagatomo was fouled inside the area by Palermo's Ezequiel Munoz.

Milito completed his hat trick just after the hour mark when he finished off a header from Esteban Cambiasso. But Miccoli responded when he tracked down a cross from Federico Balzaretti to nod the ball past Cesar from six yards.

Inter went back in front in the 68th minute when Milito netted his fourth goal with a bit of luck as Giampaolo Pazzini's scuffed shot deflected off the leg of the Argentina international and found the back of the net.

But with Inter poised to collect all three points, Miccoli finished off his own hat trick five minutes from time by racing on to a through ball from Josip Ilicic and slotting his shot past Cesar.

Inter has now claimed one point from its last two games after winning its previous seven, leaving the club eight points back of leaders Juventus.

Lazio 2, AC Milan 0

Rome, Italy - AC Milan missed out on a chance to move to the Serie A summit on Wednesday as the club sustained a 2-0 defeat to Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico.

Juventus held a one-point lead on second-place Milan and the end of last weekend, but the Old Lady had its match with Parma postponed on Tuesday because of snow, giving the Rossoneri a chance to take over the top spot.

But the visitors failed to take advantage as Lazio scored twice in the final 15 minutes to claim the win and move to within four points of Milan.

Hernanes netted the first goal in the 76th minute after being set up by Tommaso Rocchi, who tallied a goal of his own five minutes from time to seal the win.

Cagliari 4, Roma 2

Cagliari, Italy - Thiago Ribeiro scored a goal in each half as Roma's five- game unbeaten streak came to an end on Wednesday with a 4-2 defeat at Cagliari.

Ribeiro scored in the sixth minute for Cagliari, but Roma responded with goals from Juan and Fabio Borini to take a 2-1 lead.

Mauricio Pinilla leveled the match at halftime with his first goal for the club, and Ribeiro put the hosts in front a few minutes after the break before Albin Ekdal put the result away two minutes into stoppage time with a close- range tap in.

Napoli 0, Cesena 0

Naples, Italy - Napoli's struggles continued on Wednesday as the club extended its winless streak to four games after a 0-0 home draw with relegation- battling Cesena.

Napoli now trails third-place Udinese by 11 points, with Cesena sitting in 19th place and three points from safety.

The hosts created the better chances throughout the match but were denied by some good goalkeeping from Cesena's Francesco Antonioli.

And Napoli was a bit unlucky in stoppage time not to claim all three points as Goran Pandev had a goal called back by referee Luca Banti seemingly for a foul in the build up.

Udinese 2, Lecce 1

Udine, Italy - Udinese gained ground on the Serie A leaders on Wednesday courtesy of a 2-1 victory over Lecce at the Stadio Friuli.

Michele Pazienza put the home side on the scoreboard inside of two minutes, with Lecce's David Di Michele answering back for his team midway through the opening half.

But Antonio Di Natale's 15th goal of the campaign came nine minutes before the break when Antonio Floro Flores played a square ball to the striker, who beat goalkeeper Massimiliano Benassi with a shot from the edge of the penalty area.

Udinese came close to adding to its lead in the second half, but still held on to move to within three points of Juventus at the top of the league.