Ronaldo hit by injury

Inter Milan striker Ronaldo has been ruled out for two months after twisting his right knee during his side's 6-0 win against Lecce yesterday.

The Brazilian limped off soon after converting a penalty and tests later revealed he had suffered tendon damage. The Italian club said he will need at least four weeks of complete rest.

Coupled with AC Milan's decisive win, AS Roma's 4-1 humiliation of league leaders Lazio in the Rome derby threw the Italian championship wide open. Roma's win was a personal and tactical victory for their new coach, Fabio Capello, whose men exploited a Lazio defence that was regularly caught out by the long ball.

Lazio's first defeat of the season in all competition is bound to have repurcussions on the team as they prepare for next week's first test in the Champions League second round.

Roma's win catapulted them into second place in the table, just two points behind Lazio and Juventus, whose 3-1 victory over AC Milan in Turin last night pushed them to the joint-top spot.

Real Madrid lost yet more ground in the Spanish league yesterday, despite the appointment of coach Vicente del Bosque in place of sacked John Toshack, as they could only draw 1-1 at home to Real Sociedad.

As French striker Nicolas Anelka yet again failed to break his duck since arriving in the summer from Arsenal it was left to Brazilian Savio to score for Real midway through the second half. But the one goal proved insufficient. Real's eternal rivals, Barcelona, had an even worse weekend as they slid to their third straight league defeat on Saturday, going down 3-1 at bogey side Valencia on the back of losses against Deportivo La Coruna and modest Malaga.