MILAN: Inter Milan failed to ease the pressure on beleaguered coach Rafael Benitez after slumping to a 2-1 loss at Chievo Verona in the Serie A Sunday. Chievo striker Sergio Pellissier scored in the first half and teammate Davide Moscardelli added the second near the end of the match, before Inter forward Samuel Eto'o pulled a goal back in injury time. Inter also lost 1-0 in the Milan derby last week, prompting club president Massimo Moratti to criticize the team's approach to the match and warn Benitez that he expects a return to form. After Sunday's loss, Inter is sixth in the standings with 20 points, nine behind leader AC Milan. Lazio stays in second place with 26 points after drawing 1-1 with Parma. There could be further problems for Inter after Eto'o was caught on camera head-butting Chievo defender Bostjan Cesar in the chest in a scene reminiscent of Zinedane Zidane's infamous clash with Marco Materazzi in the 2006 World Cup final. Cesar threw a weak punch that hit Eto'o in the face in the 38th minute. The Cameroon international initially started to jog away before turning around and butting Cesar in the chest. No action was taken against either player. The Italian league has already this season used video evidence to ban Juventus winger Milos Krasic for diving. Also Sunday, it was; Juventus 2, Genoa 0; Cagliari 2, Brescia 1; Catania 1, Bari 0; Cesena 1, Palermo 2 and Lecce 2, Sampdoria 3. On Saturday, AC Milan beat Fiorentina 1-0 and AS Roma blanked Udinese 2-0. City thrashes Fulham Argentina striker Carlos Tevez scored two goals and set up another as Manchester City routed Fulham 4-1 Sunday to move within three points of the lead in the Premier League. Earlier, Blackburn Rovers gave their new Indian owners Venkateshwara and Balaji Rao a winning start to their reign with a 2-0 victory over Aston Villa. Espanyol fourth Two late penalties helped Espanyol to a 3-0 home win over promoted Hercules Sunday which lifted them to fourth place in La Liga. Real Madrid top the standings with 32 points, followed by Barcelona (31). Elsewhere, Chilean coach Manuel Pellegrini's winning start at Malaga came to an end with a 3-0 defeat at Deportivo Coruna. Ecuador striker Felipe Caicedo scored twice as Levante climbed out of the relegation places with a 3-1 win at home to Racing Santander, and Osasuna beat Sporting Gijon 1-0 at home. On Saturday, Lionel Messi scored a hat trick in Barcelona's record 8-0 rout of Almeria, while Cristiano Ronaldo answered with three goals of his own as Real Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao 5-1. Messi continued his impressive recent scoring spree to become only the fourth Barcelona scorer to go over 100 Spanish league goals after starting the triumph with his 17th-minute opener. In another match, Villarreal rallied for a 1-1 draw against Valencia.
