Inter Milan held to goaless draw with Genoa, Siena relegated

Reuters, Sunday 12 May 2013

Serie A top scorer Edinson Cavani took his tally to 28 by scoring the equaliser in Napoli's 2-1 win over Siena

inter milan
nter Milan's Freddy Guarin, of Colombia, left, vies for the ball with Genoa's Andreas Granqvist, of Sweden, during a Serie A soccer match between Genoa and Inter, in Genoa's Luigi Ferraris Stadium, Italy, Sunday, May 12, 2013 (Photo: AP)

Palermo were dispatched to Serie B after losing 1-0 at Fiorentina on Sunday to end a turbulent season in which they employed three different coaches, two of them twice.

The Sicilians' nine-season stint in Serie A ended in farcical fashion as a torrential downpour in the second half made the pitch almost unplayable.

Former Palermo striker Luca Toni scored for Fiorentina just before halftime to maintain his team's chances of pipping AC Milan for third place and the Champions League playoff spot.

Fiorentina have 67 points, one behind AC Milan who host AS Roma at San Siro in the evening (1845 GMT) needing a win to make sure of third. Juventus have already won the title with Napoli certain of second place.

With Pescara already down, Siena completed the trio of relegated teams when Genoa, the only side they could have caught, held Inter Milan to a goalless draw to put themselves out of reach.

Torino ensured their survival with a 1-1 at Chievo in a third match played at lunchtime because of the Giro D'Italia cycling race combined with boycott threats from Palermo president Maurizio Zamparini.

Local authorities last week ordered the Fiorentina game to be staged at 1230 (1030 GMT) to avoid clashing with the Giro which reaches Florence later on Sunday.

A livid Zamparini said Palermo would refuse to play unless the Genoa and Torino games were also brought forward, with Serie A eventually agreeing on Thursday.

Palermo's defeat left them 18th with 32 points from 37 games, five adrift of Genoa. Siena have 30 points.

Palermo began the season under Giuseppe Sannino, who was fired after three games and replaced by Gian Piero Gasparini.

He lasted until early February when he was also sacked, replacement Alberto Malesani went after three games, Gasparini re-hired and fired after two matches, paving the way for Sannino to return.

Serie A top scorer Edinson Cavani took his tally to 28 by scoring the equaliser in Napoli's 2-1 win over Siena, with Marek Hamsik grabbing an injury-time winner.

The Uruguayan has six goals more than Udinese's 35-year-old forward Antonio Di Natale, who scored twice in a 2-1 win over Atalanta which kept his side fifth and on course for a place in the Europa League.

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