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Robben off as Bayern held

Bayern Munich lost their grip on third place and the final Champions League qualification berth with an away draw at local rivals Nurnberg.

Thomas Muller gave Bayern the lead after just five minutes but a bad mistake by the visiting goalkeeper Thomas Kraft led to Christian Eigler equalising after an hour.Bayern saw their three-game winning streak ended and move onto 52 points in fourth place, falling behind Hannover. Nurnberg are sixth – just two points from a spot in the Europa League.Bayern grabbed an early lead after Arjen Robben snatched the ball from Javier Pinola and crossed to Muller, who worked his way past Almog Cohen and beat Raphael Schafer from five yards.The visitors never looked like adding to their tally for the rest of the half and Nurnburg eventually scraped an equaliser 15 minutes into the second half.Kraft was culpable for the goal, his poor clearance from Cohen’s backpass going straight to Eigler, who reacted immediately to strike a looping effort which bounced over the line.Eigler nearly made it 2-1 a minute later but his shot went just wide from a tight angle.Bayern pushed forward looking to restore their lead and went close after 68 minutes but Cohen nodded clear Miroslav Klose’s header.Mario Gomez missed two top chances to give Bayern the lead, shooting wide from seven yards in the 75th minute and over the bar two minutes later.Nurnberg also had a chance to grab the win but Jens Hegeler’s shot went wide with three minutes left.Gomez failed to convert a final opportunity in the 89th minute as his first effort was stopped by Schafer and the rebound attempt blazed over. Bayern’s frustrating afternoon ended on a sour note when Robben was sent off after the final whistle for dissent.

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Totti grabs late winner

Udinese’s hopes of playing in the Champions League next season were dealt a further blow with their second consecutive defeat, a narrow reverse at home to Roma.

A penalty from Francesco Totti in the 57th minute put the Giallorossi in front, but Antonio Di Natale levelled two minutes from time.

Totti’s second with the final kick of the game broke Udinese’s hearts and earned Roma all three points to get them back into the hunt for a top-four finish.

Vincenzo Montella’s side now trail city rivals Lazio by just a point and they are just three adrift of fourth-placed Udinese, whose slim Scudetto hopes were practically ended at the Stadio Friuli tonight.

The home side had the better of a tight first half with German Denis coming close to opening the scoring in the 16th minute with a header over the crossbar.

Denis came even closer to scoring at the other end of the field in the 32nd minute when he got his head to Totti’s free-kick and almost sent the ball into his own goal, but Samir Handanovic made a good save on the stretch to push the ball behind for a corner.

Mauricio Isla dragged his shot across the face of goal in the 53rd minute as the game opened up in the second half.

Three minutes later, Roma were gifted the chance to go ahead as Giampiero Pinzi committed an unnecessary foul on David Pizarro inside the area as the ball was going behind for a goal kick.

Totti stepped up to the spot and, with a cheeky chip, he beat Handanovic for his 202nd goal in Serie A.

Juan saw his header cleared off the line by Maurizio Domizzi on the hour mark as Roma looked to wrap up the win.

But they almost threw away two points when Di Natale latched onto Bernardo Corradi’s header to beat Doni from seven yards in the 88th minute.

The home side then had a goal disallowed for a handball against Kwadwo Asamoah in stoppage time before Torri blasted a shot into the roof of the net from close range to clinch all three points for Roma with the very last kick of the game.

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Internazionale 2-0 Chievo Verona

Inter Milan ended a difficult week on a high with a 2-0 win over Chievo which lifted them back up to second in Serie A ahead of Napoli, who travel to Bologna on Sunday.

Goals from Esteban Cambiasso and Maicon in the second half earned Leonardo’s side all three points to restore faith in their title challenge after heavy defeats to AC Milan and Schalke over the last seven days.

They now trail league leaders AC Milan by two points while Chievo are still not safe from relegation, with a six-point cushion over the bottom three which could be reduced to three on Sunday.

Chievo had clearly done their homework and seen that Inter had scored within the first minute of their last two games, so they ensured they held onto possession for the first 60 seconds of the game, putting Inter straight onto the back foot.

It was a tactic which would not last the whole 90 minutes, though, and Inter soon started to make progress, thanks to their lively left full-back Yuto Nagatomo.

His low cross in the 15th minute invited Samuel Eto’o to put the Nerazzurri ahead, but the Cameroonian failed to make a good enough contact with the ball from eight yards out.

Two minutes later, Giampaolo Pazzini dragged his shot wide of the far post as Inter gained the upper hand.

Chievo were not sitting back and defending a point, though, and they had a good chance to go ahead after an hour when substitute Cyril Thereau’s cross found Kevin Constant in the centre, but he did not touch the ball from eight yards out with only Julio Cesar to beat.

Cambiasso put Inter ahead five minutes later following a bit of luck as his shot from Maicon’s pass took a deflection off Andreolli, and Stefano Sorrentino could only push the ball up against the underside of the crossbar on its way in.

Inter started to take it easy in view of their Champions League tie at Schalke on Wednesday, but they were almost punished.

Sergio Pellissier should have levelled for the Flying Donkeys in the 78th minute, but he lifted his shot over the crossbar from level with the penalty spot.

Diego Milito squandered the chance to make it two in the 81st minute when he tried to lob Sorrentino from the edge of the area before Maicon put the result beyond any doubt in the 84th minute.

Milito was on the ground claiming a penalty when the Brazilian full-back stole in to take the loose ball and place it into the bottom corner from close range to earn all three points for Inter.

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