"It's an important victory for us against a team which is in great form. Thankfully the real Inter emerged after the interval."

Elsewhere, Fiorentina gained a 2-1 win over Chievo, Bolgona defeated Cagliari 3-0 and Emanuel Icardi's 58th minute effort secured all three points for Sampdoria against Parma.

Atalanta recorded a 2-0 win at Siena courtesy of Giacomo Bonaventura's double, while Torino and Palermo's game ended goalless.

In the late game, Roma defeated Genoa 3-1 with Francesco Totti on target.

In Germany, Bayern Munich maintained its 17 point lead at the top of the Bundesliga following a 1-0 win over Hoffenheim.

Mario Gomez's strike gave Bayern its 10th straight win, despite being given a difficult afternoon by the relegation threatened side.

"The game was very difficult because of the opponent's league predicament," coach Jupp Heynckes told reporters.

"We had to work hard for the win, it wasn't brilliant or glamorous, but in return for 90 minutes work, we got three points.

"We were a bit superficial; we weren't direct enough and not lively enough. It took a while to warm up the engine."

Meanwhile, Bayern has been drawn at home to face Wolfsburg in the German Cup semifinal, while Freiburg will travel to Stuttgart in the other fixture.

In France, Lyon was held to a 1-1 draw at Brest, while Marseille reclaimed third place in Ligue 1 after coming from behind to defeat Troyes 2-1.

Lille saw off Bordeaux 2-1 in the day's late game thanks to goals from Ronny Rodelin and Salomon Kalou.

In Spain, Atletico Madrid was held to a goalless draw at Malaga as it missed out on the chance to close the gap on leader Barcelona.

Granada suffered a 2-1 home defeat by Mallorca, Espanyol drew 0-0 with Valladolid and Real Sociedad shared a six-goal thriller with Real Betis as it ended 3-3.