TheSportsCampus

All eyes were on the San Siro on Sunday night as AC Milan and Inter clashed in the Milan derby. Inter edged out their fierce rivals 1-0 thanks to a 2nd half goal from Diego Milito and are now just five points behind AC Milan, who are a point-off Juventus at the top. In what was a bad day for the top three in Serie A, Juventus drew 1-1 against Cagliari while Udinese suffered a surprise 3-2 defeat against Genoa. Over in Spain, Barcelona edged past Real Betis 4-2 at the Camp Nou to stay in touch with Real Madrid at the top.

Italian Serie A:

AC Milan 0-1 Inter Milan

The Rossoneri dominated possession in the 1st half, but struggled to translate that into meaningful chances. Inter actually put the ball in the back of the net within five minutes through Thiago Motta, but the goal was incorrectly disallowed for offside. Alexander Pato and Ricardo Alvarez fluffed their lines for both sides respectively before Esteban Cambiasso struck the woodwork with a fierce shot towards the end of the half. Nine minutes into the 2nd half, Milito took advantage of Ignacio Abate's mistake to advance into the box and fired a shot past Christian Abbiati. AC Milan huffed and puffed in search of an equalizer that never materialized. Milan slip to 2nd place while Inter are just a point off 4th paced Lazio.

Juventus 1-1 Cagliari

Juve were level on points with AC Milan heading into the game, but they failed to take substantial lead after allowing Cagliari to level proceedings. Mirko Vucinic gave the Bianconeri the lead as early as the 7th minute as he clinically put away Stephan Lichtsteiner assist. Juve had multiple chances to extend their lead while Cagliari rarely had a sniff at goal. But three minutes after the restart, Andre Cossu bulleted the ball into the bottom corner to bring Cagliari level. Alessandro Del Piero then came the closest for Juve as he failed to get a header past Michael Agazzi from close range. Juve now hold a one-point lead at the top while Cagliari occupy the 11th spot.

Genoa 3-2 Udinese

Udinese looked on curse to another victory after Damiano Ferronetti gave them the lead with a header on 13 minutes. But the home side stormed into the 2nd half to take a lead within five minutes. First, Andreas Grangqvist tapped the ball in from the rebound after Samir Handovic dropped Bosko Jankovic's free-kick. A minute later, Jankovic turned scorer as he crashed in a volley at the far post. Rodrigio Palacio then calmed the nerves following a host of missed chances by extending Genoa's lead on 71 minutes. Four minutes later, Udinese were given a lifeline when Marco Rossi was shown a straight red card for a tackle on Antonio Di Natale inside the box and the the striker dusted himself off to convert from the spot. Despite Udinese's best efforts, Genoa held on to move up to 8th place while Udinese continue in 3rd.

Spanish La Liga:

Barcelona 4-2 Real Betis

Barcelona needed a response after Real Madrid extended their lead to 8 points with a win on Saturday. Pep Guardiola got exactly what was needed as Barca were 2-0 up after 12 minutes. Xavi put them ahead in the 10th minute as he turned in the rebound after Cesc Fabregas hit the post. Two minutes later, Alexis Sanchez laid the ball on a platter for Lionel Messi with a beautiful cross from the left and the 'World Player of the Year' made no mistake from close range. But uncharacteristically, Barca allowed Betis to draw level. Ruben Castro halved the deficit on 32 minutes as he took advantage of a sleeping Barca defence to put away Salva Sevilla's pass.

Seven minutes into the 2nd half, Roque Santa Cruz and Jorge Molina combined well to make it 2-2 as the Paraguayan striker curled a shot past Victor Valdes. The game turned Barca's way after Mario was shown a 2nd yellow card on 70 minutes. Within five minutes the Catalans were back in the lead through Sanchez, who found the back of the net with a 25 yard strike. The comeback was completed on 86 minutes when Lionel Messi converted a penalty after the referee penalized Jose Antonio Dorado for handball. Barcelona stay five points behind Real Madrid while Real Betis sit in 11th place.

Serie A Sunday results:

AC Milan 0-1 Inter Milan
Juventus 1-1 Cagliari
Genoa 3-2 Udinese
Lazio 2-0 Atalanta
Fiorentina 0-1 Lecce
Parma 2-1 Siena
Cesena 3-1 Novara
Chievo 1-0 Palermo

La Liga Sunday results:

Barcelona 4-2 Real Betis
Ateltico Madrid 3-0 Villarreal
Osasuna 0-2 Racing Santander
Athletic Bilbao 3-0 Levante
Sporting Gijon 2-1 Malaga
Granada 1-2 Rayo Valecano