Serie A - Week 17: Saturday Review

It took a late controversial second goal from Maicon to do it, but Serie A leaders Inter won 2-1 at Siena to streak nine points clear at the summit, with Lazio beating Palermo 1-0 earlier in the day.

SIENA 1-2 INTER
Maicon's controversial second goal ensured Inter end the year at least six points clear at the top of the Serie A table after a less than deserved victory over Siena, who fell to their first home defeat of the season. Maicon fired Inter in front on the half-hour mark but Houssine Kharja headed in the equaliser a minute before the break to ensure it was level at half-time. The Brazil defender bagged his second seven minutes from time to see his team take all three points back to Milan and leave Siena fuming at what they felt was a clear offside. Inter's eighth successive league victory saw them extend the gap at the top of the table to nine points ahead of Sunday's games.

LAZIO 1-0 PALERMO
Second-half substitute Tommaso Rocchi scored the only goal of the game to end Lazio's five-game winless run against 10-man Palermo. The Italy international again proved his match-winning capabilities for the Biancoceleste, netting the decisive strike just nine minutes after coming on as a substitute for Mauro Zarate. It was tough on Palermo after they had dominated for long periods during the first half and their hopes of getting anything from the game were further undermined when defender Federico Balzaretti was give his marching orders for a second caution with 17 minutes remaining.

SERIE A REVIEW:
[Saturday 20 Dec] - [Sunday 21 Dec]