Palacio could be out for weeks

Inter Milan's bid for a top three finish in Italy's Serie A has suffered a blow after top scorer Rodrigo Palacio's thigh injury could rule him our for several weeks.



Argentine international Palacio scored a brace on Thursday (AEDT) as Inter claimed a precious 2-0 win away to Sampdoria in a fixture that had been postponed from 17 March.



The Nerazzurri host Atalanta on Monday but Palacio looks likely to play no part after he hobbled out of training on Friday clutching the back of his left thigh.



Palacio went immediately for scans and Inter later confirmed: "Rodrigo Palacio underwent scans which showed a muscular problem in the posterior region of the left thigh."



Reports in Italy are already speculating that Palacio, who with 12 goals is Inter's top scorer this season in the absence of already-injured compatriot Diego Milito, could miss several of his side's remaining eight games.



Inter currently sits in fifth place, 18 points behind champion and leader Juventus and seven points adrift of city rival AC Milan, which occupies the third and last possible qualifying spot for next season's UEFA Champions League.

Serie A: AC Milan 0-1 Inter Milan

AC Milan lost 1-0 at home to 10-man Inter in the 161st Milan derby to increase the pressure on manager Massimiliano Allegri.

The result leaves the Rossoneri in 11th place in the Italian top flight, having won only two league matches from seven.

Walter Samuel scored the only goal of the match when he met a free-kick at the far post with a brilliant header.

Inter were down to 10 men early in the second half when Yuto Nagamoto was shown a second yellow for handball.

But despite the man advantage and creating several chances, Milan could not make the breakthrough.



Allegri is a man feeling the heat according to Italian newspapers. His side went into the derby 11th in the table, nine points behind leaders Juventus and five points behind their city rivals.

What the 45-year-old needed was for his side to make a good start in what was the biggest match of their season so far, but what happened was exactly the opposite.

Allegri was already out of the dugout when former Milan player Antonio Cassano, who was jeered throughout the match by home fans, was deemed to have been fouled by Daniele Bonera on the left side of the Milan half.

The Rossoneri manager carried out a heated conversation with referee Paolo Valeri over the decision before standing back and watching Samuel twist the knife for Inter with a brilliant header at the far post from the resulting free-kick.

Allegri's side should have been punished again moments later when goalkeeper Christian Abbiati's awful pass from his area found Diego Milito. Fortunately for the Milan number one, he blocked the Argentine striker's first effort and then saved the headed follow-up.



It was a poor start for Milan, but they created more than enough chances to not only draw but even claim what would have been their 61st win in 161 derbies. They were also handed an advantage when Japan's Nagatomo was shown a second yellow for his deliberate handball.

Riccardo Montolivo, who was one of Italy's stars at Euro 2012, led the charge with shots from distance that troubled Samir Handanovic.

He was twice forced to parry the midfielder's strikes and from the second the rebound fell to Bojan, who slipped as he tried to slide his shot past the keeper.

Montolivo also thought he had scored with a brilliant volley, only for the referee to award a free-kick to Inter for a foul on their keeper.

Ghana midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng volleyed wide from 10 yards and substitute Giampaolo Pazzini failed to convert a Robinho cross by a couple of inches, while Dutch winger Urby Emanuelson narrowly missed the target with his low strike.

In the final five minutes Robinho tried to claim a penalty after he said he was pulled down by Samuel, but referee Valeri waved away Milan's appeals.

The defeat is already Milan's fourth in the league - last season their fourth league defeat did not come until February.

Juventus destroy Roma

Juventus have destroyed Roma 4-1 after jumping out to a three-goal lead in the first 19 minutes to move clear at the top of Serie A.



Andrea Pirlo, Arturo Vidal, Alessandro Matri and Sebastian Giovinco scored for the reigning champions in a dominant performance on Saturday.



With Roma head coach Zdenek Zeman, a notorious critic of Juventus, in Turin for the first time since taking over the capital club, Juventus seemed inspired to punish the visitors.



Zeman, who infamously claimed in the 1990s while coach of Roma that Juventus used blood doping, watched his team fall apart under an early onslaught from the home side.



Pirlo gave Juventus the lead in the 11th minute when his free-kick curled into the bottom corner and five minutes later Vidal slotted home a penalty after Roma defender Leandro Castan handled the ball in the box.



In the 19th minute, Matri completed Juventus' early blitz when he controlled Vidal's aerial pass on his chest and then finished expertly to give his team a 3-0 lead.



Roma striker Pablo Osvaldo's penalty in the 69th minute, conceded by Juventus defender Leonardo Bonucci for a blatant foul on Mattia Destro, gave Zeman's team a glimmer of hope but in the final minute Giovinco finished off a counter-attack with a goal from a tight angle to secure a big win.



Juventus had 20 shots and eight on target, while Roma only forced three saves from Gianluigi Buffon from 12 attempts.



The win puts Juventus on 16 points after six matches with Napoli second on 13 points, although they are still to play this weekend.



In the other Serie A match, Parma stole a 1-1 draw at home despite visitors Milan dominating the match.



Milan had 60 percent possession and nine shots on target to two but could only manage one goal for the match, with Stephan El Shaarawy putting Massimo Allegri's side in front in the 50th minute.



Parma claimed a draw after Daniele Galloppa equalised 16 minutes later.