A Mateo Kovacic goal late in the first half cancelled out Martin Vazquez's early opener as Palermo drew 1-1 with Inter Milan in what proved to be an enthralling Serie A game at the Stadio Renzo Barbera.

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The deadlock was broken in the third minute when Vazquez was able to dispossess Nemanja Vidic before firing home from a tight angle.

Achraf Lazaar's cross then caused havoc in the Inter box nine minutes later, Walter Mazzarri's side managing to scramble the ball away.

The Nerazzurri struggled to find their way into the game for most of the first half, though Fredy Guarin was unlucky not to hit the target with a long-range strike just after the half-hour mark.

Inter eventually equalised just three minutes before the break, courtesy of Kovacic's opportunist strike.

Palermo then had another scare when Vidic headed the ball past Stefano Sorrentino and into the net moments later, but the referee disallowed the goal for offside.

Early in the second half, Inter then saw another goal chalked off when Mauro Icardi was deemed to be offside after bundling the ball into the Rosaneri net.

With the San Siro side now dominating proceedings, Palermo nevertheless came within a whisker of taking the lead again midway through the second half when Vazquez's shot, deflected by Andrea Ranocchia, rebounded violently off the post.

The game saw drama in the final stages, as Rosaneri coach Giuseppe Iacchini was sent to the stands, before Sorrentino pulled off a majestic save to deny Pablo Osvaldo at the death.

The result means that Palermo climb up to 16th place, while Inter are now in sixth place.