Serie A wrap: Lazio edge Inter

Miroslav Klose’s late winner saw Lazio defeat Inter Milan 1-0 while Udinese and Palermo played out a 1-1 draw in Saturday’s Serie A action.

Lazio were second-best throughout the contest but moved to fourth on the table with the victory after Klose’s late strike.

A scrappy first half saw little goalmouth action at both ends, with the best chance coming when Cristian Ledesma fired wide after Andrea Ranocchia mishit a clearance.

Inter enjoyed a good spell of pressure around the hour mark, which was sparked by Colombian Fredy Guarin’s effort from the edge of the penalty area.

Guarin saw his shot thud off the post and just moments later Argentine Diego Milito hit a half-volley just wide.

A tremendous double save from Lazio goalkeeper Federico Marchetti was then required to keep the scores level.

Marchetti initially tipped Antonio Cassano’s drive onto the post before making a quick recovery to smother Yuto Nagatomo’s rebound effort from close range.

Lazio finally responded through a pair of Klose chances, although a poor first touch and then a mis-timed run made life tougher for the former Bayern Munich man.

The 34-year-old finally got his goal though, running onto a through ball from Ledesma before slotting his chance into the bottom corner with just eight minutes left.

In the day’s other match, a 10-man Udinese claimed a point against Palermo thanks to Antonio Di Natale’s late strike.

Slovenian Josip Ilicic opened the scoring after 33 minutes to silence the home fans and when Udinese’s Thomas Heurtaux was sent off on the hour mark, Palermo looked comfortable.

But veteran Di Natale rescued a point for Udinese with just one minute remaining as Palermo’s winless run was extended to four.