Two-horse race building as Inter and Roma win again

Inter Milan´s Honduran forward David Suazo(L) beats Lazio´s goalkeeper to score a goal during their

      MILAN, Italy (AFP) - Inter Milan and AS Roma are threatening to disappear over the hill as Serie A's top two sides both won their games in hand on Wednesday.

      Champions Inter trounced sorry Lazio 3-0 at the San Siro here while Roma coasted to a 2-0 win over lowly Cagliari at Rome's Stadio Olympico.

      Inter lead Roma by three points with the capital club a further five points clear of everyone else after 14 matches.

      The Italian league is looking more and more like a two-horse race, particularly with European champions AC Milan 16 points off the pace.

      Inter coach Roberto Mancini was keen to play down the significance of the increasing gap.

      "The difference between us and Roma is just the match between the two sides (Inter won 4-2 in Rome earlier in the season)," Mancini told Sky Sport.

      "Roma are playing well and Inter and Roma are the best teams at this time. However, Juventus can come back because there is a lot of time left."

      Lazio created the first chance as captain Luciano Zauri crossed from left to right where top scorer Goran Pandev was waiting unmarked.

      He cracked a volley across goal and Stefano Mauri was inches away from turning the ball in at the far post.

      But thereafter, Inter took control, although there was a touch of fortune about their opener.

      Guglielmo Stendardo was harshly adjudged to have impeded Nicolas Burdisso and the referee pointed to the spot on 22 minutes.

      Zlatan Ibrahimovic stepped up, and the excitable Sweden forward smashed the ball home, high to goalkeeper Marco Ballotta's right.

      Just past the half hour mark Inter had the ball in the net again but Honduran forward David Suazo's close range finish after Ballotta had parried young winger Pele's fierce long range shot, was rightly ruled offside.

      Just two minutes later, though, Lazio hit the self-destruct button.

      Brazilian full-back Maicon arrived like a steam engine to meet Chilean midfielder Luis Jimenez's left-wing corner and unchallenged he blasted a volley home from inside the six-yard box.

      Lazio coach Delio Rossi must have been tearing out what little hair he has left.

      Ten minutes into the second period and Inter threatened to rack up a cricket score as Suazo latched onto a long ball from Argentina midfielder Esteban Cambiasso to cooly slot home under Ballotta.

      Inter turned on the style and seemed to be playing for fun, with Jimenez and Ibrahimovic at the heart of everything.

      Inter did eventually take their foot off the gas and Lazio substitute Mourad Meghni and forward Tommaso Rocchi both forced Inter goalkeeper Julio Cesar into smart saves.

      Argentina centre-back Walter Samuel had the ball in the net for the hosts in injury time but that too was ruled out for offside.

      In Rome Francesco Totti made his return from injury to the Roma starting line-up but it was Brazilian midfielder Taddei who had things wrapped up by half-time.

      On 28 minutes he headed home a free-kick from David Pizarro and eight minutes later he finished off a sweeping move involving Macedonia forward Mirko Vucinic and Brazilian winger Alessandro Mancini, whose shot was parried only for his compatriot to slot home the loose ball.

      Taddei is determined that Roma won't make the same mistakes as last season when they finished runners up to Inter but gave away too many points against supposed lesser sides, something the champions didn't do.

      "We need to concentrate on ourselves and not the others. We respect other teams but our aim is always to win," he said.

      "Last season we lost important points. This season we can't make the same mistakes."