Inter Milan fights back to draw 2-2 with Catania

Milan: Inter Milan came back from two goals down to draw 2-2 at home to Catania in Serie A and end its five-game losing run.

Alejandro Gomez and Mariano Izco gave Catania a solid halftime lead as Inter was roundly booed throughout the first period. The game changed in less than 10 second-half minutes, however, as Diego Forlan helped Inter hit back with the team`s first goal in six games before Diego Milito leveled. Inter is still winless in its past nine games, but the result could give coach Claudio Ranieri a stay of execution as he seeks to avoid becoming the club`s second managerial casualty of the campaign. Inter is a point behind sixth-place Roma, which lost 2-1 in a heated derby match against Lazio with both sides reduced to 10 men. "It was an important response," Ranieri said. "Finally we got a goal and now we have to continue to fight, but this is a squad that never gives up. We looked at each other in the dressing room, it was a really troublesome moment, but these champions knew how to react. "We are united and we have to get out of this situation all together, as usual. Unfortunately there still remains the problem that at the first scare we seem less determined. Tonight we started well, but we went behind on the first counterattack and then we became scared and got in difficulty." Ranieri opted to leave key playmaker Wesley Sneijder on the bench after less than impressive performances from the Dutch star, although he was brought on to start the second half. Inter found itself on the back foot when Gomez bamboozled his way past Yuto Nagatomo on the left of the area before firing into the bottom right corner in the 21st minute. Catania doubled its lead six minutes before the break when Giovanni Marchese picked out Izco, who tapped in from close range, although the goal should have been disallowed for offside. Forlan finally broke Inter`s 541-minute goal drought in the 71st. The Uruguayan weaved down the left flank before cutting inside and firing in an effort which goalkeeper Juan Pablo Carrizo failed to hold. Milito lashed in the equalizer nine minutes later. Inter should have scored in stoppage time, but Giampaolo Pazzini somehow failed to score when he was picked out completely alone in the center of the area. Lazio did the double over Roma for the first time in 15 years to claim the advantage in the race for third place. Lazio took the lead in the seventh minute after Maarten Stekelenburg brought down Miroslav Klose. The Roma goalkeeper was sent off and Hernanes converted the resulting penalty. Despite the man disadvantage, Fabio Borini, who has now scored six of Roma`s past nine goals, leveled less than 10 minutes later. However, Stefano Mauri fired in what was to prove the winner on the hour mark. Lazio defender Lionel Scaloni was sent off five minutes from time after receiving a second yellow card. Lazio is now third, two points above Udinese, which was held to a 0-0 draw by Atalanta, and five above Napoli after Ezequiel Lavezzi and Edinson Cavani scored yet again to help their side to a controversial 2-1 victory at Parma. Napoli took the lead in the 39th minute when Gianluca Musacci clipped Cavani`s ankles in the area. Cavani took the spot kick himself, tapping in the rebound after Antonio Mirante`s initial save. Cristian Zaccardo leveled for Parma in the 76th before Lavezzi`s winner. Lavezzi and Cavani have scored 10 goals between them in the past five matches. Lecce maintained its impressive recent run in drawing 2-2 against Genoa. Judged by many as relegation certainties a month ago, Lecce has gone five games unbeaten. Giuseppe Sculli scored a double either side of Luis Muriel`s goal and a stunning 25-yard free kick from Davide Brivio enabled both sides to share the spoils. Bologna remains four points clear of the drop zone after scraping a 1-0 win against 19th-place Novara. The game was put back in the day so as not to coincide with the funeral of singer-songwriter Lucio Dalla -- a staunch Bologna fan – who died on Thursday. Bologna, playing with black armbands, could have taken the lead when Santiago Garcia fouled Alessandro Diamanti in the area. However, Novara goalkeeper Samir Ujkani, who saved two spot kicks for Albania against Georgia midweek, pulled off another great stop to deny Marco Di Vaio. The home side snatched all three points eight minutes from time. Diego Perez`s effort was tipped onto the post by Ujkani and fell to Di Vaio, whose effort also crashed off the left upright before Robert Acquafresca finally converted. Elsewhere, struggling Siena strolled to a comfortable 3-0 win against Cagliari, thanks to goals from Erjon Bogdani, Emanuele Calaio and Cristiano Del Grosso. Last-place Cesena looks even more in trouble. Defender Vangelis Moras headed into his own net and Matija Nastasic scored his first Serie A goal to give Fiorentina a 2-0 win. PTI