Inter held 0-0 draw by Udinese

Inter Milan were held to a 0-0 draw at home here by Udinese in the Italian Serie A.

After missing key chances in a 1-2 home defeat to Atalanta at the weekend, Inter again suffered in front of the San Siro fans to leave themselves vulnerable in fifth place in the standings Thursday, reports Xinhua.

Inter dominated in possession but had just a handful of chances, the best of them coming late when Esteban Cambiasso's powerful shot was palmed clear and Maurizio Domizzi acrobatically blocked Danilo D'Ambrosio's header on the rebound.

Visiting goalkeeper Simone Scuffet also made a terrific save to deny Hernanes on a disappointing evening for the hosts.

Udinese may have regretted resting top scorer Antonio di Natale as their attacks rarely bore fruit apart from one of the rare opportunities before the break.

Bruno Fernandes' 20-yard effort was awkwardly spilled in the 41st minute by Handanovic, who would have been relieved to see Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu steer the rebound into the side netting.

Inter, growing increasingly frustrated at the lack of success their repeated attacks were having, resorted to long-range attempts.

Walter Samuel and Palacio each wasted free headers while Mauro Icardi somehow cleared the crossbar from close range. But Udinese's goal was living a charmed life and after Domizzi got back to block D'Ambrosio's header, they could be sure of a point.