The rest of Serie A failed to take advantage as Inter Milan posted its first slip-up in the league since early October. Ironically, then, as now it was Udinese that stole points from the Italian champion, ending Inter’s unbelievable 17-game winning streak in the league. Inter coach Roberto Mancini sounded indifferent after the 1-1 draw. “Winning all the time was fine,” he said. “But this whole story of the record was becoming a bit of a burden.”
You begin to wonder if the rest of Serie A really takes notice of Inter’s results anymore-that’s how far ahead the club is from second-place AS Roma. Indeed, Roma coach Luciano Spalletti conceded the title to Inter a while ago now. On Wednesday, the Romans failed to capitalize on their first chance in four months to hack away at the Milan club’s 14-point lead when they failed to beat Chievo Verona away from home. Roma fought back to earn a 2-2 draw, thanks to another inspired performance from captain Francesco Totti. Elsewhere, fallen giant AC Milan was held at zeros by third-place Palermo; despite a brilliant performance, Kaka missed yet another penalty kick. Lazio was Wednesday’s big winner, brushing aside Catania 3-1 at home.
With Inter’s Scudetto a foregone conclusion, the intriguing stories in Italy are now Parma’s battle for relegation and the fight for the last two Champions League spots between Lazio, Palermo, Empoli and AC Milan.