Milan remain second after 2-0 loss at Lazio

Rome: AC Milan wasted a chance to take the Serie A lead with an uninspired 2-0 loss at Lazio on Wednesday, while Diego Milito scored four goals in Inter Milan's 4-4 draw with Palermo under the snow at the San Siro.

With Italian league leader Juventus' match with Parma on Tuesday postponed due to snow, Milan needed only a point to draw level at the top of the table.

It looked like the Rossoneri might get that single point with a draw until Brazil playmaker Hernanes struck for Lazio in the 76th. Lazio's 34-year-old captain, Tommaso Rocchi, added another goal in the 85th to seal the Roman club's first league win over Milan in 14 years.

Juventus still leads with 44 points, followed by Milan (43), Udinese (41), Lazio (39) and Inter (36).

"We played an ugly match, but it's still a long season and this doesn't make it an open road for Juve," Milan manager Massimiliano Allegri said. "I'm sure this loss will do us well. In the last matches, even when we won we didn't always play great. I repeat, this will help."

Udinese beat Lecce 2-1 with goals from newly signed Michele Pazienza and Antonio Di Natale.

In Milan, Milito accounted for all four of Inter's goals — including a penalty — although Fabrizio Miccoli scored a hat trick for Palermo and equalized in the 85th. It snowed from start to finish and, while the lines were painted pink, they were still difficult to see as the snow settled on the central section of the pitch.

"I'm a bit upset because Palermo scored four goals with five shots on goal, but anyhow this match was a real advertisement for football because the two squads never gave up," Inter manager Claudio Ranieri said.

Three other matches slated for Wednesday were also postponed due to snow: Bologna-Fiorentina, Siena-Catania and Atalanta-Genoa.

Elsewhere, Cagliari beat Roma 4-2 with two goals from Brazilian forward Thiago Ribeiro and one each from Mauricio Pinilla and Victor Ibarbo; and all Napoli could manage in a 0-0 draw at Cesena was a shot that hit the post from Edinson Cavani.

In Rome, Lazio looked like it was in for a rough night when leading scorer Miroslav Klose missed the game with an apparent muscle problem, but Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic had an off night and the Rossoneri produced few chances.

Both sides pleaded for penalties to no avail early in the second half, and Hernanes — known as "The Prophet" — finally found the target with a difficult shot around former Lazio captain Alessandro Nesta.

Hernanes had another chance five minutes later when he missed wide after being left unmarked inside the area. Rocchi doubled the lead when he was also left alone in front of the net, collecting a pass from Senad Lulic to score his 99th Serie A goal.

"We were lacking a big win like this. It's important for us and also for me personally," said Hernanes, who has been slowed by an injured ankle this season. "I'm still improving but I'm very happy, and when that's the case things go well. The merit goes to the entire squad."

At the San Siro, Andrea Mantovani put Palermo ahead in the 16th but Milito equalized in the 22nd by taking advantage of a failed clearance. Miccoli put Palermo up 2-1 in the 52nd after fighting off defender Andrea Ranocchia, but Milito equalized with a penalty in the 55th after Ezequiel Munoz had been penalized for a foul on Yuto Nagatomo.

Milito made it 3-2 for Inter in the 61st, even though he was clearly offside, before the 1.68-meter (5-foot-6) Miccoli equalized with a header in the 66th.

Milito took advantage of a cross from captain Javier Zanetti in the 68th for his fourth goal, yet Miccoli still managed the final equalizer with an angled shot after taking a through ball from Josip Ilicic as Inter defender Lucio trailed behind helplessly.

Earlier, several officials spoke out about the inability to deal with snow at stadiums.

"The facilities are not in shape," Juventus general director Giuseppe Marotta said. "I hope next season they evaluate the schedule with more attention."

Serie A president Maurizio Beretta responded by saying Italy needs a new law to provide more funding to build new, safer stadiums with modern technology, while players association president Damiano Tommasi said the league needs to move more games to warmer periods.