Football: West strikes late for Inter

The Nigerian defender, Taribo West, struck a late winner to give Internazionale a 2-1 win at Atalanta yesterday and keep them on top of Italy's Serie A.

Yuri Djorakaeff's header from a corner put Inter ahead in the 27th minute, but Atalanta equalised in the 80th minute when Nicola Caccia lobbed Gianluca Pagliuca. In the last minute, though, West pounced with his first goal in Serie A.

Parma stayed within five points of Inter, beating Empoli 2-0 with late goals from Brazil's Adailton and the Argentinian defender Nestor Sensini. Roma won 3-1 at Bari, where Francesco Totti scored twice, while a sublime chip from Alen Boksic sealed Lazio's 3-0 home victory over Sampdoria.

The Argentinian striker Gabriel Batistuta increased his seasonal tally to nine goals with two in Fiorentina's 5-0 rout of Lecce. Milan achieved back-to-back victories for the first time this season, beating Brescia 2-1. The Brazilian veteran Leonardo scored both goals.

Another Brazilian, Giovane Elber, was on target for Bayern Munich in a 1-0 win at home to lowly Arminia Bielefeld in the German Bundesliga. Bayern stay second, four points behind Kaiserslautern, who battled to a hard-fought 4-3 home victory over Hansa Rostock. The former Aberdeen striker Scott Booth scored Borussia Dortmund's equaliser in a 1-1 draw at Borussia Monchengladbach.

Spartak Moscow won 2-0 at second-placed Rotor Volgograd to retain the Russian Premier League title in a close finish to the season yesterday.