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It was all too easy for Inter as they beat Lazio 3-0 in their rescheduled Week 12 match to stay three points clear at the top.
This match was called off on November 11 after the tragic death of 26-year-old Lazio fan Gabriele Sandri. He was in the back of a car when a police officer's gun accidentally went off, killing him instantly, in a motorway service station near Arezzo. Rescheduled for December 5, Inter were without the injured Patrick Vieira, Dejan Stankovic, Luis Figo and Olivier Dacourt, so Pele got his first start. The Biancocelesti were struggling in Serie A and Europe, fresh from a 1-1 draw at Siena.
It was a sluggish start to the match and after some fancy Zlatan Ibrahimovic footwork led to nothing, Goran Pandev's effort skimmed the target. Ibra hit his strike into the ground, making it easy for Marco Ballotta, but the Swede was more dangerous with a fierce free kick from 25 metres that tested the veteran goalkeeper.
The deadlock was broken after 22 minutes, as Guglielmo Stendardo was adjudged to have hauled down Nicolas Andre Burdisso. Ibrahimovic stepped up and ended his goal drought in Serie A by firing the penalty hard under the bar.
Tommaso Rocchi flicked a Stefano Mauri cross just past the far post with his back to goal in an acrobatic gesture.
Inter thought they had doubled their lead, but when Ballotta parried Pele's effort into the path of David Suazo, the Honduran was in an offside position.
The celebration was only postponed by a couple of minutes, as Douglas Maicon was left unmarked to volley in a corner kick from six yards. Lorenzo De Silvestri lost the Brazilian and he was given far too much space.
Luis Jimenez had scored two goals in as many games against Fenerbahce and Fiorentina, confirming his fine form here as Inter were in control. Lazio only threatened with Cristian Ledesma from distance.
Delio Rossi needed more power in attack and introduced forward-thinking full-back Aleksander Kolarov for Stendardo. However, within seconds of the restart Suazo dispossessed Pandev to drill a powerful effort wide.
Rocchi also fired off target from distance, but Ibrahimovic threaded through for Jimenez on the counter and Ballotta showed good reflexes to save with his legs in a one-on-one situation.
A splendid Ibrahimovic volley left Kolarov's thigh with a bruise, but Inter made it 3-0 when Suazo found acres of space as he ran on to a smart Esteban Cambiasso ball from the centre circle, keeping his cool to sweep the finish past Ballotta with the inside of his right foot.
Jimenez almost scored the goal of the season! He chested down the ball, flicked it up with his right foot to leave two defenders for dead and volleyed just over the bar with his left. It was a stunning move from the young Chilean.
Walter Samuel was booked and will be suspended for the match with Torino and Lazio finally staged something of a fightback when Julio Cesar was forced into a fantastic fingertip save on Rocchi's angled drive from the edge of the box. It was a brief respite from the Nerazzurri dominance that characterised the rest of the match.
In the final minute substitute Santiago Solari incredibly wasted a free header with only Ballotta to beat.
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