Milan, Italy -
Inter Milan was knocked out of the Champions League by Liverpool on Tuesday but the club rebounded to record a 2-1 win over Palermo at the San Siro on Sunday.
The win restores Inter's six-point edge on second-place Roma, who earned three points on Saturday with a 2-1 comeback win against AC Milan.
Patrick Vieira's first goal in Serie A play this season put Inter up after just five minutes, but an unfortunate own goal by defender Marco Materazzi leveled the match. However, Inter surged back ahead in the 36th minute when Luis Jimenez found the back of the net to give Inter a lead that it would never give back.
The club's fast start was exactly what was needed after a tumultuous week that included speculation about the future of manager Roberto Mancini.
Vieira worked a nice one-two at the top of the box with striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic which allowed him to get inside the area. The Swede floated a perfect return pass that drew keeper Alberto Fontana off his line, but Vieira got to the ball first and nodded it past the onrushing netminder for a 1-0 lead.