Soccer
Roma slow down pursuit of leaders Inter Milan
By DPA
Apr 19, 2008, 20:07 GMT

Milan - Roma conceded a 1-1 draw against lowly guests Livorno Saturday that thwarted their efforts to catch up with Serie A leaders Inter Milan with four games left.

Inter have now three points more than Roma, but can further stretch their lead by winning a late Sunday game at struggling Torino.

Roma settled for a disappointing draw amid rumours that the club may soon be sold to the US magnate George Soros.

Soros, however, may be facing competition as Middle-eastern investors seem to have made a hefty offer to the Sensi family, who control Roma through their oil trading business Italpetroli.

The thought of a new owner seemed to have no effects on the players, who began to attack from the start, but found good opposition from the defence-geared Tuscany guests.

Montenegro striker Mirko Vucinic scored the winner early in the second half after 54 minutes of dogged but fruitless attacks from the Rome hosts.

Bad news for Roma came from captain Francesco Totti, who fired a wide free kick before having to leave the pitch on 37 minutes with a knee injury he suffered as he tried a fast long-range shot.

Rodrigo Taddei missed a difficult volley, while his Brazilian compatriot Juan came up from the defence and saw a Livorno defender clear his header off the goal line.

Vucinic closed the first half with two wide efforts, but was perfect when he nodded a defence-splitting pass to stun Marco Amelia with a precise lob.

International midfielder Daniele De Rossi volleyed high by a hairsbreadth shortly before Vucinic's goal. The striker kept up his good showing and three defenders had a hard time blocking his spurt in the area on 74 minute.

With eight minutes to go, however, Roma paid dearly for failing to beef up their lead and conceded a bitter equalizer when substitute Alessandro Diamanti stunned Brazilian goalkeeper Alexander Doni with a nasty swerving free kick.

Two drives and a header from De Rossi went begging in the dying minutes as Amelia produced great saves to make Livorno joint last next to Reggina and Empoli.

A late Saturday game pits Fiorentina against Sicily guests Palermo at Florence's Artemio Franchi stadium.

Fiorentina lie fourth and look the retain the last available Champions League berth as they hold a four-point lead over AC Milan and Sampdoria.