MILAN — Inter Milan moved up to second and closed the gap to Juventus to four points in Serie A Sunday thanks to a clinical but hard-fought 2-1 win over fellow title chaser Napoli. A pair of goals from south Americans Fredy Guarin and Diego Milito settled Inter's nerves before half-time and despite Uruguayan striker Edinson Cavani reducing the arrears just before the hour the visitors failed to pull level in a tighter second half. Inter coach Andrea Stramaccioni said: “Tonight we came up against a great Napoli side. For us to win this match required an almost perfect performance from us.” Napoli in trouble Napoli is on trial for match-fixing and could be inflicted with a two-point penalty after its former goalkeeper confessed to arranging the result of a game three seasons ago. The keeper, Matteo Gianello, is seeking a 16-month plea bargain sentence after telling prosecutors that he attempted to fix the May 16, 2010, match between Sampdoria and Napoli. It was the final round of the season and Sampdoria's 1-0 win secured fourth place and a spot in Champions League qualifying. Current Napoli captain Paolo Cannavaro and defender Gianluca Grava are also on trial in front of the Italian football federation's disciplinary committee for allegedly failing to report the fix. Both players, along with Napoli, deny any wrongdoing. Napoli is third in Serie A, five points behind leader Juventus. Liverpool beats West Ham Liverpool proved it can win without striker Luis Suarez as the team fought from behind to win 3-2 at West Ham in the Premier League Sunday. Suarez was serving a one-match ban but the Reds struck twice late in the game to seal a win that sees them go just four points behind the top four Champions League spots. In a further blow for West Ham, manager Sam Allardyce said he fears midfielder Mohamed Diame could be out for four months after being forced off just before Cole's equalizer. “It does not take a medical expert to know it is a serious hamstring tear when he falls and stopped the way he did,” Allardyce said. — Agencies
