Inter Milan kept their Serie A title hopes alive with second-half goals from Esteban Cambiasso and Maicon in a 2-0 win over a battling Chievo Verona at the San Siro on Saturday.
Argentine midfielder Cambiasso fired home in the 65th minute before Brazilian Maicon calmed Inter's nerves six minutes from the end of a feisty encounter to give the out-of-sorts champions three precious points.
Inter now have 63 points, one ahead of Napoli and two behind league leaders AC Milan, who play in the main programme on Sunday.
After comprehensive back-to-back defeats in the Milan derby and the Champions League, the champions for the past five seasons were frustrated for long periods by a lively Chievo for whom striker Sergio Pellissier missed several chances after the break.
Lucio's return from suspension to the heart of Inter's defence was a welcome boost for a side that had conceded eight goals in their past two matches.
After an aggressive opening, with the Brazilian typically in the thick of the action, the Nerazzurri had two chances within a minute to open the scoring. First, on 15 minutes, the impressive Yuto Nagatomo sprinted down the left touchline but just failed to pick out the lurking Samuel Eto'o at the near post.
Giampaolo Pazzini, brilliantly played in by Maicon's perfectly timed pass, then pulled a glorious chance just wide.
Chievo were far from overawed and almost grabbed the lead themselves just after the half-hour mark when Davide Moscardelli robbed Andrea Ranocchia and struck a first-time shot from 25 yards that also went wide.
Leonardo threw Wesley Sneijder on after the break, but it was Chievo who continued to pose the greater threat as Pellissier first headed over a Bojan Jokic cross before shooting straight at Julio Cesar on 54 minutes.
Just as 13th placed Chievo looked like they could spring an upset, Inter struck when Cambiasso was allowed plenty of space inside the area to slot home Maicon's square pass.
In a copy-cat move, Pellissier had a superb chance to equalise with 12 minutes to go but blasted over before defender Maicon doubled the advantage in the 84th, side-footing home from eight yards after the ball broke to him in the box.
Milan visit Fiorentina on Sunday while Napoli travel to Bologna.
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