Serie A leaders Inter Milan held at Palermo

Inter remain in the lead on 21 points from nine games, three points clear of Roma, who won 1-0 at 10-man AC Milan, while Juventus remain rooted on 17 after losing 3-1 at Napoli late Saturday.

 Fiorentina missed a chance to go second late Sunday as Genoa held them to a scoreless draw that pushed the Florence side level with Juve.

 Inter flagbearing striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Brazilian defender Douglas Maicon were in good form and had several golden chances in Palermo, but still had to settle for one point.

 Maicon was highly effective on the right flank throughout the game and on 39 minutes had a fast free kick saved, shortly before feeding a cross for a fast volley from Dejan Stankovic which  was well saved by goalkeeper Alberto Fontana.

 After the break, Palermo brought on Fabrizio Miccoli, who saw a drive blocked by Ramiro Cordoba on 48 minutes.

 Eight minutes later, Inter striker David Suazo dove to head wide. Ibra then tried a classy back-heeler but found Fontana ready to block.

 Brazilian Simplicio threatened for the Sicily hosts with a deflected searing shot on 70 minutes before a Cristian Chivu free kick shook the bar above Fontana.

 "For us it was a difficult week, both for the teams we met and the trips we made," Inter coach Roberto Mancini said. Inter also  had a mid-week Champions League game won away to CSKA Moscow.

 "Today we played well and had good occasions, but unfortunately didn't score. Then we had (injury) problems for (goalkeeper) Julio Cesar and (Dejan) Stankovic." The two players were substituted respectively at and after the break.

 Crosstown AC Milan, meanwhile, continued their winless run at home, where they had Massimo Ambrosini dismissed after Roma scored the winner through Serbian striker Mirko Vucinic, filling in for the injured Francesco Totti.

 Ambrosini pulled Daniele De Rossi's jersey in the area receiving a second yellow card, but the Roma international squandered the spot kick attempting a drooping shot that flew above the bar.

 Catania beat Sampdoria 2-0 to move on to 13 points next to Palermo and Udinese, who won 1-0 at Lazio, while Atalanta also prevailed by 1-0 at Empoli.

 Parma remain in the lower reaches despite a 3-2 win over bottom side Livorno, Siena and Reggina drew 0-0 and Torino beat Cagliari 2-0 Saturday. By Alberto Cagliano, dpa