ROME: Samuel Eto'o again showed he is the man for the big occasion when he hit two goals to help Inter Milan to a 3-1 win over Palermo in the Italian Cup final Sunday. His goals either side of halftime set Inter on its way to the defense of the last of its remaining trophies from the treble-winning season of 2010 and gave Leonardo his first success as a coach. The brace took the Cameroon striker's tally for the season to 37 in all competitions. Palermo had a number of chances in both halves, but was unable to find a way past Inter goalkeeper Julio Cesar, until Ezequiel Munoz pulled a goal back with two minutes to go. Munoz was then sent off and in injury time Diego Milito put the seal on the win when he sidefooted in from close range. The loss means the 35,000 Palermo fans who flocked to the Olympic Stadium will have to wait another year for a chance to see their team win its first ever trophy, but can content themselves with Europa League action next season. “The main thing in football is to win and win trophies,” Eto'o said. “Not all victories are as sweet as this one though.” Palermo's Abel Hernandez had a chance to open the scoring in the first minute, but shot into the side netting after he found space behind the Inter defense. Inter's first opportunity came in the 15th minute, but Giampaolo Pazzini failed to control and Palermo keeper Salvatore Sirigu collected the loose ball. Javier Pastore wasted Palermo's best chance in the 18th. He exchanged passes with Josip Ilicic, but took one touch too many and that allowed Cesar to race off his line and smother the ball. Lyon secures Champs spot Seven-time French champion Lyon booked a place in Champions League qualifying Sunday by beating Monaco 2-0 on the last day of the French league season with goals from Pape Diakhate and Lisandro Lopez. Lyon's win also sent 18th-place Monaco into the second division for the first time since 1976. Lens and last-place Arles were already demoted. Third-place Lyon ended the championship with 64 points from 38 rounds, four more than fourth-place Paris Saint-Germain, and will play the Champions League for the 13th straight year. Lille, which secured its first title since 1954 last weekend, celebrated in front of its home fans with a 3-2 win over Rennes courtesy of a hat trick from the league's top scorer Moussa Sow. Second-place Marseille was held to a 2-2 draw at Caen. Germany beats Uruguay Mario Gomez and Andre Schuerrle scored in the first half and Germany held on to beat Uruguay 2-1 in a friendly Sunday, remaining unbeaten against Uruguay in more than eight decades. The match was a replay of the match for third place at last year's World Cup in South Africa, which Germany also won, 3-2. Uruguay has not beaten Germany since their first meeting in 1928, with Germany winning eight and drawing two since then.
