Inter Milan beat Roma 5-3 in a thrilling Serie A encounter to move up to third in the standings on Sunday when pacesetters AC Milan saw their lead at the top cut to three points after being held to a 1-1 draw at Genoa.

Wesley Sneijder opened the scoring for Inter with only three minutes into the game, but Fabio Simplicio equalized for the visitors in the 13th minute. Samuel Eto'o put the home side back in front ten minutes before the break and the game seemed to be done and dusted for Inter when Nicolas Burdisso was sent off for giving away a penalty, which Eto'o converted in the 63rd minute.

Thiago Motta added a fourth, but goals from Mirko Vucinic and Simone Loria provided another twist, throwing the game wide open again until Esteban Cambiasso completed the scoring in the last minute to take the Nerazzurri above Lazio and into third.

Alexandre Pato put Milan ahead in the 29th minute at Genoa but Antonio Floro Flores levelled on the stroke of half-time for the home side, earning them the point they needed to move above their city rivals Sampdoria.

Napoli took advantage of Milan's failure to beat Genoa as they closed the gap at the top to just three points with a 2-0 home win over second-bottom Cesena. The in-form Edinson Cavani put them in front with his 17th goal of the season, with Jose Ernesto Sosa confirming the win in stoppage time.

Lazio failed to gain ground on the leaders as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Chievo in Rome. Hernanes put Lazio ahead with a free-kick on the stroke of half-time but Chievo equalized through defender Bostjan Cesar in the 64th minute.

Fiorentina yet again came up short in their bid to register an away win as they settled for a 1-1 draw at Parma. Gaetano D'Agostino equalized early in the second half from the penalty spot after Amauri had opened the scoring in the 15th minute with his first goal for Parma since joining the club on loan from Juventus. Alessandro Diamanti's penalty and a late Andrea Caracciolo strike earned Brescia a vital 2-0 win over relegation rivals Bari.

Palermo claimed their first away league win since November as they twice came from behind to beat Lecce 4-2 at the Via del Mare. The hosts led first through Guillermo Giacomazzi and then Jeda, but Palermo levelled when Fabrizio Miccoli struck in first-half stoppage time and again through Javier Pastore's 57th-minute strike. That was the first of three in five minutes for Palermo, who pulled away with strikes from substitutes Abel Hernandez and Josip Ilicic.

Bologna gave themselves breathing space above the relegation zone with a 1-0 victory over struggling ten-man Catania at the Stadio Renato Dall'Ara.

Daniele Portanova got the only goal four minutes before the break with a close-range effort. By then, Catania had already played almost 20 minutes a man down after the 22nd-minute dismissal of Pablo Alvarez for two quick bookings.