Football United

Inter missed out on the chance to move into the top three on Saturday as they were held 0-0 away to Lazio. Inter striker Obafemi Martins should have had a penalty when he was tugged down by Sanchez Cribari, while Goran Pandev had the ball in the net for Lazio, only to see his effort disallowed.

The result means Inter stay fourth with 20 points from 11 matches, seven points behind Juve, who host Livorno on Sunday. AC Milan are second on 25 points with Fiorentina (22) third.

Having picked up just one point in their previous two matches, Inter desperately needed a win at Rome's Olympic Stadium to keep up the pressure on the leaders.

Lazio, however, are unbeaten at home this season and created by far the better chances in the opening half hour with Inter keeper Julio Cesar tipping Cesar's shot over the bar before midfielder Valon Behrami fired into the side-netting.

Inter played with more aggression after the break, though.

In the 63rd minute Luis Figo conjured up a defence-splitting pass to send Obafemi Martins through one-on-one with Lazio keeper Marco Ballotta but the Nigeria forward hesitated and lost possession before eventually getting a shot in.

Martins missed out again two minutes later when he lost his balance and fell at the end of a surging run into the area.

Inter pressed with increasing urgency but Lazio coach Delio Rossi pulled his team back to defend and they held out.

sources: eurosport.com, inter.it.