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MILAN, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Juventus striker Fabio Quagliarella is set to miss the rest of the season after scans on Friday showed he needs surgery on ruptured knee ligaments.
The in-form Italy forward suffered the injury after three minutes of Thursday's 4-1 home defeat by Parma and a new striker in the transfer window is now a necessity for Juve given Vincenzo Iaquinta is also out with a thigh problem.
"The cruciate ligament is ruptured," a spokesman told reporters. Quagliarella is on loan to Juve from Napoli with a permanent deal planned for the end of the season but his injury now puts his club future in doubt.
Juve had been linked in the media with Fiorentina striker Alberto Gilardino and Catania frontman Maxi Lopez even before Quagliarella's injury but the latest speculation has said the Turin club are close to signing Genoa striker Luca Toni.
Toni, 33, only joined Genoa at the start of the season after AS Roma opted not to make his loan move from Bayern Munich permanent. He has hit the net three times in the league for Genoa this term and has not featured for Italy in two years.
Juve, who also have the ageing Alessandro Del Piero and inconsistent Amauri for upfront, were hoping to mount an assault on the Serie A title in the second half of the season but lie eight points behind leaders AC Milan after Thursday's defeat.
Serie A wrap: Ibra´s late show, Napoli up to second
10 January 2011
Zlatan Ibrahimovic's late strike secured Serie A leaders AC Milan a thrilling 4-4 draw with Udinese at the San Siro on Sunday. In a pulsating encounter, Antonio Di Natale gave the visitors the lead after 35 minutes when he fired a low shot past Marco Amelia in the Milan goal, only for Brazilian striker Pato to level proceedings on the stroke of half-time.
Alexis Sanchez restored Udinese's advantage eight minutes after the break and Di Natale scored his second on 66 minutes to give Udinese a 3-1 advantage. But an own-goal from Medhi Benatia with 12 minutes remaining was quickly followed by another strike from Pato to level the scores.
An 89th-minute strike from German Denis looked to have secured a win for Udinese, but Milan again had other ideas. Enter Ibrahimovic, who latched on to a through ball from new signing Antonio Cassano to fire a left-foot shot past Udinese goalkeeper Samir Handanovic and ensure a share of the spoils.
Elsewhere on Sunday, Napoli closed the gap on Milan with a sensational 3-0 victory over Juventus at the Stadio San Paolo. The win was inspired by Uruguay striker Edinson Cavani, who once again was deadly in front of goals. Cavani netted twice in seven first-half minutes before wrapping up his hat-trick just nine minutes into the second half.
He has now scored 20 goals for Napoli in all competitions this season, with 13 coming in the league. A hot-streak that has seen him strike five times in his last four matches has Walter Mazzari's side flying and they are now just four points behind Milan. Napoli's win meant Lazio dropped down to third after they were surprise losers at home, defeated 2-1 by relegation-threatened Lecce.
An own-goal from Fernando Muslera handed Lecce the lead on 39 minutes, though Stefano Mauri equalised two minutes after half-time. Carlos Grossmuller sealed the win with 18 minutes to play, although the three points were not enough to pull Lecce out of the relegation zone and they remain in 18th position.
Another side trying to chase Milan, Roma, also failed to claim a point as Sampdoria produced a strong 2-1 win. Roma took an early lead through striker Mirko Vucinic, but were pegged back by a penalty from Nicola Pozzi before Stefano Guberti scored the winner seven minutes from the end of a spiteful match that had three players sent off.
Sampdoria duo Stefano Lucchini and Daniele Gastaldello and Roma goalkeeper Julio Sergio were all given their marching orders by referee Gianluca Rocchi.
Inter Milan's renaissance under new coach Leonardo continued when they scored a 2-1 win over Catania away from home. Alejandro Gomez gave Catania the lead after 71 minutes, but a brace from midfielder Esteban Cambiasso helped secure all three points for the champions and made it two wins from two for their new boss.
Bologna climbed to 10th spot in the table with a 2-0 win over Bari, while Fiorentina enjoyed a 3-2 win over Brescia.
Brescia led 2-0 at half-time thanks to goals from Alessandro Diamanti and Nicolas Cordova, but Fiorentina hit back in the final 18 minutes of play with goals to Alberto Gilardino, Mario Santana and Adem Ljajic sealing a valuable three points.
Cagliari claimed a 2-1 away win over Parma, while Genoa's trip to Cesena and Palermo's visit to Chievo Verona both resulted in goalless draws.
Napoli will look to bridge the gap on Serie A leaders AC Milan on Saturday when they play host to Fiorentina.
They will be hoping for more good form from Uruguayan striker Edinson Cavani, whose hat-trick on Sunday led them to a 3-0 win over Juventus.
The 23-year-old became the joint top scorer in Serie A with 13 goals as Napoli cut Milan's lead to just four points at the top of the league, after Massimiliano Allegri's side were held to a 4-4 draw at home by Udinese.
Also on Saturday, Inter Milan will look to continue their good form under new boss Leonardo when they welcome Bologna to the San Siro.
Leonardo has won all three matches since taking over from Rafael Benitez on December 24, after the defending champions lost patience with the Spaniard.
On Sunday, Milan can hold on to their four-point buffer if they manage to beat Lecce at the Stadio Via del Mare, but the hosts will be buoyed by their 2-1 away win over third-placed Lazio on Sunday.
Lazio will be looking to bounce back from that defeat when they welcome Sampdoria to the Stadio Olimpico, while Juventus are also on the rebound when they play host to bottom side Bari.
Fourth-placed Roma visit Cesena, Brescia welcome Parma and Cagliari play host to Palermo.
Catania will be looking to bounce back from Thursday's 2-0 Coppa Italia defeat to Juventus - and put some breathing space between themselves and the relegation zone - when they host Chievo Verona.
And Genoa will have to be wary of in-form Udinese striker Antonio di Natale when they welcome his side to the Stadio Luigi Ferraris.
Di Natale's brace in the 4-4 draw with Milan lifted his tally for the season to 13, level with Cavani, and helped move his side into eighth place in Serie A.
Serie A wrap: Inter win, Napoli held 16 January 2011
Resurgent Inter Milan leapt to fourth on the Serie A table with a 4-1 thumping of Bologna on Saturday, while Napoli were held by Fiorentina.
The defending Scudetto champions have won three from three since replacing manager Rafael Benitez with Leonardo, leaping over Roma into the top four ahead of the latter's clash at Cesena on Sunday.
Serbia international Dejan Stankovic opened Inter's account in the 20th minute, tapping in from close range after latching onto an inch-perfect pass by Samuel Eto'o.
Diego Milito was released by Thiago Motta on the half hour, with the Argentine attacker forcing his way down the left and chipping over Bologna goalkeeper Emiliano Viviano from a tight angle.
Inter kept up the pace in the second half as Eto'o nabbed a quick-fire brace to improve his season tally to nine.
The prolific Cameroonian pushed a low ball wide of Viviano after a clever one-two with Milito in the 63rd minute, then struck again nine minutes later with a terrific free kick that looped over the wall and tucked neatly inside the left post.
Uruguayan striker Henry Gimenez nabbed a consolation goal for Bologna in the 77th minute, pouncing on a loose ball near the six-yard box following a corner-kick scramble.
The win sees Inter improve to 32 points on the table and two points shy of the Champions League places occupied by Milan, Napoli and Lazio, with two games in hand.
Napoli, meanwhile, saw their chase of Milan's lead falter with a 0-0 draw at home to Fiorentina.
Walter Mazzarri's men dominated for long periods and had the better of the goal-scoring chances but could not put away the visitors.
Making matters worse for Napoli, defender Gianluca Grava was stretchered off near the half-hour mark with what appeared to be a serious knee injury.
Napoli remain second on the table but could be as many as six points adrift of Milan after the Serie A leaders travel to relegation battlers Lecce on Sunday.
AC Milan return to the Serie A winners list on Sunday with a 2-0 victory over Cesena at the San Siro, keeping second-placed Napoli at bay in the process.
Coming off the back of two league draws, Milan needed to reinforce their spot on top of the table and did so via a Maximiliano Pellegrino own-goal and a Zlatan Ibrahimovic strike in second-half injury time.
The result ensured AC Milan maintained their four-point lead over title challengers Napoli, who clinched their own 2-0 win earlier in the day. Goals from Ezequiel Lavezzi and Edinson Cavani lifted their side to a comfortable away win over bottom-side Bari.
Inter Milan manager Leonardo's honeymoon ended when his side suffered a 3-1 loss at in-form Udinese, breaking a run of four straight Serie A wins under his reign.
Dejan Stankovic gave Inter the lead after 15 minutes, but Cristian Zapata equalised soon after before Italy World Cup striker Antonio di Natale scored his 14th goal of the league season to put the hosts ahead after 25 minutes.
Maurizio Domizzi's goal made sure of the result in the 69th minute, helping Udinese to their third win from their past four league matches.
In other results, Inter's loss meant Lazio held on to fourth place despite their 3-1 defeat in a spiteful affair against Bologna. Sergio Flocarri gave Lazio the lead after five minutes, but a Gaston Ramirez goal was followed by a brace from Marco di Vaio to give Bologna the win and lift them six places to ninth on the league table.
Referee Gianluca Rocchi issued seven cautions throughout the match and tensions boiled over with five minutes to play when Lazio defender Andre Dias and Bologna substitute Henry Gimenez were both given their marching orders for their part in an ugly melee.
Juventus and Sampdoria played out a goalless draw at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris, while Alberto Gilardino salvaged a point at home for Fiorentina when he cancelled out David di Michele's opener for Lecce to secure a 1-1 draw.
And Chievo Verona and Genoa played out 0-0 draw at the Stadio Marc'Antonio Bentegodi.
Serie A wrap: Palermo leave it late 24 January 2011
Palermo scraped past lowly Brescia 1-0 in Serie A on Saturday courtesy of a late strike from defender Cesare Bovo, while Parma and Roma also won. The hosts at Stadio Renzo Barbera dominated possession, with relegation-placed Brescia appearing to have few ideas going forward.
But it looked that Brescia would pick up the point they came for before Bovo's free-kick curled past Brescia goalkeeper Michele Arcari in the 87th minute to move Palermo into seventh place on the table and equal on points with Juventus.
Two goals in the space of five second-half minutes was all Parma required to beat Catania at the Stadio Ennio Tardini. Antonio Candreva opened the scoring in the 57th minute before Sebastian Giovinco secured the win in the 62nd minute.
Roma moved to second on the table with a 3-0 triumph over Cagliari at the Stadio Olimpico. Francesco Totti put his side ahead in the 22nd minute from the penalty spot, before Simone Perrotta scored in the 70th minute and substitute Jeremy Menez topped off the win with a goal late on.
Lazio striker Mauro Zarate is facing a lengthy ban from the Serie A after a brawl at the end of the fiery clash at Bologna on Sunday.
Zarate, who only played for half the match after substituting new signing Giuseppe Sculli in the 41st minute, was caught on camera punching a referee's assistant.
Bologna won 3-1 but coach Alberto Malesani was furious after the match, claiming that Zarate also spat in the face of defender Matteo Rubin. An earlier scuffle saw Andre Dias sent off and Henry Gimenez red carded from the Bologna bench. But worse was to come at the final whistle.
A brawl broke out on the touchline with Zarate at the centre of it. Video footage showed he threw the ball at Matteo Rubin's head, then provoked a pushing match with two opponents. He tried to swing a punch at Albin Ekdal, but accidentally caught the linesman on the side of the head. "Zarate also spat at Rubin," claimed Bologna coach Malesani.
"Gaston Ramirez needs X-rays for a fractured cheekbone from Dias in the first half. Diego Perez reacted to defend his teammate, as did Gimenez before that red card." "Perhaps Zarate was coming off a period of tension and he even spat at Rubin's face after hitting him with the ball following the final whistle."
"Our Uruguayans are good people and mentally strong. It's not right that all this chaos ruins a great performance and 3-1 victory." It has been a tough month for Bologna, who were docked three points for financial irregularities and this week saw new President Massimo Zanetti resign.
Marco Di Vaio, a product of the Lazio youth academy, stunned his former club with two goals in the fiery encounter at the Dall'Ara after Sergio Floccari had given Lazio a fifth minute lead.
BERLIN (Reuters) - Bayern Munich captain Mark van Bommel has joined Serie A leaders AC Milan after losing his starting place with the German champions this season, the clubs said on Tuesday.
"Captain Mark van Bommel is joining AC Milan effective immediately," Bayern said in a statement. "The Dutch international asked for his contract to become void to transfer for sporting reasons." The 33-year-old midfielder has signed a short-term deal until June, injury-hit Milan said on their website (www.acmilan.com).
The Dutch international, who joined Bayern from Barcelona in 2006 after winning the Champions League, had dropped down the pecking order under coach Louis van Gaal with the arrival of Brazilian Luiz Gustavo in January further hampering his chances.
"I leave Bayern with a heavy heart but my head held high," said Van Bommel, who won two German championships and Cups and reached last year's Champions League final before playing at the World Cup where Netherlands reached the final.
"I spent four and a half happy and successful years (at Bayern) and would like to thank the club and the fans. Bayern will always occupy a big place in my heart," he said.
Milan are hoping he will provide some solutions to their injury crisis in midfield although Van Bommel is ineligible to play for the Italians in this season's Champions League having already featured for Bayern in the group stage.
"It was Mark's specific request to release him from his contract so he can transfer for sporting reasons," said Bayern CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. "Mark was always an exemplary professional, an important and successful player. Based on those achievements we granted his wish," he said.
The Italian side have midfielders Andrea Pirlo, Kevin-Prince Boateng, Clarence Seedorf and Gennaro Gattuso among others injured although they signed left wingback Urby Emanuelson from Ajax Amsterdam on Sunday. He is also ineligible for this season's Champions League.
Milan, who have said they are interested in Genoa's Italy left back Domenico Criscito, face Tottenham Hotspur in the last 16 next month.
PREVIEW - Leonardo's honeymoon over as Inter hit wall
By Mark Meadows 10:57 GMT, Thu 27 Jan 2011
MILAN, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Inter Milan were walking on air after Leonardo's arrival but the Serie A champions have been running through sand in their last two games and Sunday's visit of seventh-placed Palermo (1400 GMT) will be another stiff test.
Last weekend's 3-1 league defeat at Udinese was Inter's first in six games under the Brazilian coach, who replaced Rafael Benitez on Dec. 24 after last term's treble winners had endured a difficult first half of the campaign. Wednesday's fortunate Italian Cup quarter-final win at Napoli was thanks to a penalty shootout after a poor attacking display from Inter in the 0-0 draw, where the hosts peppered the goal for long spells.
Injuries to Dejan Stankovic and Ivan Cordoba took some of the gloss off the win but the pair are suspended for the Palermo game anyway, as is left back Cristian Chivu. "We must keep in mind that the side is adapting to the change in coach and this has a bearing on performances," said Leonardo, whose fifth-placed side trail leaders and his former club AC Milan by nine points.
Striker Diego Milito may return from a minor thigh problem and last season's club top scorer is badly needed with deputy Goran Pandev looking utterly unconvincing in front of goal.
His problems underline why Inter want another striker before the end of the January transfer window with Sampdoria's Giampaolo Pazzini the favourite to join after Samp president Riccardo Garrone said "we will see" when asked about a deal. "If we can add a player it will be an improvement," Leonardo said.
Milan have already been busy in the transfer window with Antonio Cassano and Dutch duo Mark van Bommel and Urby Emanuelson arriving. The latter two made impressive debuts in midfield in Wednesday's 2-1 Italian Cup win at Sampdoria while Cassano has produced several magical passes in recent weeks.
Milan, though, are not firing on all cylinders at the moment and visit Catania (1945) on Saturday in the Sicilians' first home outing under new uncompromising coach Diego Simeone. Their quirky Massimino ground is a tough place to go at any time and Milan's long injury list adds to the difficulty.
Second-placed Napoli, four points behind Milan, entertain Sampdoria on Sunday (1400) while AS Roma in third tackle improving Bologna.
Lazio manager Edy Reja is confident his side can break their recent run of outs with victory over Fiorentina in the Serie A on Saturday.
The fourth-placed side in the Italian top flight has won just one of their past five in all competitions, slipping seven points behind league leaders AC Milan, but Reja believes his side can continue to challenge for the title if they remain positive.
"Of course you can have difficult moments during a championship, both physically and mentally. We are still in an excellent position though, even if we are having some problems. We haven't lost much ground on the table after the Christmas break.
Of course some other teams are nearer now, but we still are in a position to fight," Reja said. Reja said he felt Fiorentina are likely to play for a point in their clash at the Stadio Olimpico, and was aware of their defensive structure.
"Strangely enough, in away matches, they sometimes play even better than in home matches because they play with four backs and five midfielders, 4-5-1 when they defend, so it isn't easy to attack. That's why it will be tough, as it often happens when we meet very defensive teams," Reja said.
"Then of course they have very good players for counter-attacks, we know that and we have focused our work on that this week, considering Fiorentina's shape now. We need our determination and confidence back, without being afraid as we've shown in the last matches."
Reja said his team would push hard for the first goal on Saturday to give them the necessary confidence to down their 11th-placed opponents.
"I want a team that can be intelligent, a team with a rational play and able to take the lead. All my players must take the initiative when they catch the ball, in order to create difficulties to our opponents. That should be our attitude," he said.
Serie A champions Inter Milan have signed striker Giampaolo Pazzini from Sampdoria for 10 million pounds. Pazzini, 26, completed a medical on Friday before the transfer was finalised with French forward Jonathan Biabiany going in the other direction.
Pazzini revealed he could not resist a move to the European champions but said he was sorry to leave Sampdoria, for whom he scored six goals in 19 matches this season. "I leave a piece of my heart in Genova. But you can't say no to Inter," Pazzini said.
The striker joined Sampdoria from Fiorentina in the January transfer window in 2009, with Pazzini quickly establishing himself as a hero at his new club with 11 goals in 19 Serie A appearances before the season ended.
He notched 19 goals in the Serie A last season for Sampdoria and will complement an Inter attack that features the likes of Samuel Eto'o and Diego Milito. The sale of Pazzini will hurt Sampdoria, who also recently lost striker Antonio Cassano to AS Roma.
Biabiany arrives at the Genova-based club without a Serie A goal to his name this season but the lively forward did score six times for Parma in 29 appearances last term.
His only goal this season for Inter came in the club's 3-0 Club World Cup Final victory over African champions TP Mazembe but he has regularly featured throughout the season.
Ten-man AC Milan defied their numerical disadvantage to beat Catania 2-0 and extend their lead on top of the Serie A on Saturday. Following a goalless first half, the league leaders looked to have a fight on their hands when Mark van Bommel was shown a red card in the 54th minute at the Stadio Angelo Massimino.
But Massimiliano Allegri's side scored just four minutes later when Robinho struck the back of the net from a Zlatan Ibrahimovic pass. The two forwards combined again later to seal the result, but this time the Swede finished off the work of his Brazilian team-mate to score in the 85th minute, and fire Milan seven points clear.
Lazio joined Napoli on 40 points as one of the two teams closest to Milan on the table, following their 2-0 victory over Fiorentina at Stadio Olimpico. Czech Republic striker Libor Kozak struck a brace in the space of four second-half minutes, including a goal from the penalty spot, to help Lazio move to third in the league.
Giampaolo Pazzini scored a brace on debut as Inter Milan came from behind to defeat Palermo 3-2 in Serie A on Sunday. Pazzini, who moved to the San Siro from Italian rivals Sampdoria on Friday, single-handedly dragged Inter back into the match after the treble-winning champions found themselves two goals down by the 36th minute.
Palermo started brightly and took the lead in just the fifth minute through Fabrizio Miccoli, though his goal owed much to right-back Mattia Cassani. Cassani charged onto a wayward pass on the right flank, shimmied around Davide Santon and fired a terrific cross to Miccoli, who finished from close range.
Midfielder Antonio Nocerino put the hosts further ahead just after the half-hour mark, latching on to a loose ball in the area, working his way past Inter full-back Maicon and pushing a low shot inside the near post under a diving Julio Cesar.
But Italy striker Pazzini netted his first goal in the Inter shirt 12 minutes after the restart, pulling down substitute and fellow debutant Houssine Kharja's rising pass, turning and poking past Palermo goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu.
His second goal was no less impressive, with the 26-year-old thumping a header inside the right post from Maicon's free kick in the 73rd minute. Samuel Eto'o capped Inter's dramatic comeback three minutes later, beating Sirigu from the spot after Ezequiel Munoz dragged down Pazzini in the area.
Meanwhile, Napoli kept their title hopes alive with a 4-0 thumping of Sampdoria. Edison Cavani scored a hat-trick and Marek Hamsik grabbed another for Napoli, who remain second on the table and four points behind league leaders AC Milan.
Elsewhere, Chievo ended an eight-match winless run with a 3-0 victory over struggling Brescia, while relegation battlers Lecce and Cesena fought out a 1-1 draw.
Cagliari defeated bottom-placed Bari 2-1 on striker Alessandro Matri's brace, and Genoa overran Parma 3-1.
Roma's clash at Bologna was abandoned after 17 minutes due to excessive snow on the pitch at the Stadio Renato Dall'Ara.
Udinese moved into sixth place with a 2-1 win over Juventus in Turin. Juventus scored first through a stunning Claudio Marchisio volley after an hour but Cristian Zapata equalised seven minutes later from close range.
Alexis Sanchez scored the winner five minutes from time but the drama was far from over. Juve's Leonardo Bonucci was shown the red card for a foul on Sanchez, who was also sent off moments later for a challenge on Fabio Grosso.
AC Milan moved five points clear at the top of the Serie A on Tuesday despite being held to a 0-0 draw by Lazio.
Massimiliano Allegri's side came closest to breaking the deadlock at the San Siro when Zlatan Ibrahimovic's second-half strike beat Fernando Muslera and hit both posts before the Lazio shot-stopper recovered to gather the ball.
Allegri will be disappointed with the result as his side dominated large periods of the game with Mathieu Flamini, Urby Emanuelson, Robinho and Ibrahimovic all having golden chances to break the deadlock.
But they were forced to settle for a point and next face Genoa at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris on Sunday.
Lazio remain third, seven points adrift of Milan, and host Chievo on Sunday.
Milan could see their lead atop the standings cut to just two points should Napoli win their away clash with Chievo Verona on Wednesday.
Napoli's Serie A title hopes took a blow after they slumped to a 2-0 defeat at Chievo Verona, while Palermo heaped more misery on Juventus.
Walter Mazzarri's side had the chance to cut AC Milan's lead atop the Serie A to just two points with a win, but goals to Davide Moscardelli and Gennaro Santo powered Chievo to an important three points at the Stadio Marc Antonio Bentegodi. The result lifted Chievo into 10th place in the league, while Napoli remain five points behind Milan in second spot.
Roma climbed into fourth despite being held to a 1-1 draw at home by Brescia. Marco Borriello handed the hosts the lead just before the hour mark, but Brazilian striker Citadin Eder levelled proceedings after 69 minutes to ensure a share of the spoils.
Juventus slumped to eighth place with their second loss in a row, Luigi Delneri's side going down 2-1 at Palermo. Fabrizio Miccoli and Giulio Migliaccio gave the hosts a two-goal lead after just 20 minutes, and although Claudio Marchisio pulled one back for Juve nine minutes before the break, they could not find an equaliser. Palermo climb to sixth with the win.
Sampdoria fell to their third loss from four league matches after a 1-0 home defeat to Cagliari. Belgian midfielder Radja Nainggolan scored the only goal of the game nine minutes before half-time meaning Cagliari have now won four of their last five.
Fiorentina climbed to 11th place with a 1-0 win over Genoa at the Stadio Artemio Franchi, with Argentine winger Mario Santana scoring the winner five minutes before half-time.
Lecce moved three points clear of the drop zone with a crucial 1-0 away win over Parma, while fellow relegation battlers Cesena and Catania played out a 1-1 draw.
Udinese and Bologna also drew 1-1, after Maurizio Domizzi cancelled out Marco Di Vaio's opener for Bologna.
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ROME, Feb 3 - Inter Milan reignited their Serie A title charge thanks to Morocco midfielder Houssine Kharja setting up a 3-0 win at bottom side Bari on Thursday.
The victory lifts the defending champions to seven points behind leaders AC Milan, who drew 0-0 with Lazio on Tuesday, while a game in hand for Leonardo's third-placed side makes the scudetto run-in even more interesting.
Inter's bid for a sixth straight title was floundering under Rafael Benitez, who left in December after six months in charge, but ex-Milan boss Leonardo has quickly rediscovered the spark which took them to a Jose Mourinho-inspired treble last term.
Kharja, signed on loan from Genoa last week to boost Inter's injured ranks, broke the deadlock on 70 minutes when he finished off some good interplay with Samuel Eto'o.
Giampaolo Pazzini then netted his third goal in two games for his new club on the counter attack deep into stoppage time before substitute Wesley Sneijder marked his return from over a month out injured with the final goal.
"Tonight it was difficult to find space. We faced a Bari side who are bottom in name only," Leonardo told Sky TV. "There are still lots of games left and even if we don't forget we have won six of the last seven in the league, it doesn't count for anything now, only at the end."
The score slightly flattered Inter, whose three-pronged attack with goalpoacher Pazzini out wide looked disjointed before Dutch playmaker Sneijder's introduction.
They were also fortunate not to concede in the first half and they could have be down to 10 men before Kharja's opener after the officials missed left back Cristian Chivu lashing out at defender Marco Rossi. "We have talked about it. A wrong thing is a wrong thing. It's an internal issue and we'll deal with it," Leonardo added.
Post-match television evidence will probably lead to a ban for Chivu and could give Inter's new Japan left back Yuto Nagatomo the chance to make his debut in Sunday's big league clash at home to last season's runners-up AS Roma.
Bari, who stayed up easily last term in their first season back thanks to some delightful football, look doomed this time after falling nine points adrift of safety with 15 games left.
