INTER Milan rubbed salt into the wounds of bitter - and troubled - rivals AC Milan last night with an oh-so-easy victory in this all-Italian UEFA Cup final. Ivan Zamorano (after just five minutes), Javier Zanetti and Brazilian wonderkid Ronaldo were all on target as Milan's 'other' team lifted this trophy for a remarkable third time in seven seasons. Not even the pointless sending off of Nigerian defender Taribo West eight minutes from the end could dampen Inter's spirits. By then, they'd already comprehensively played lacklustre Lazio off the Parc des Princes pitch. The win, never in much doubt once Zamarano had struck in the fifth minute, was sweet to say the least, coming in a week when the once-superior AC Milan had slumped to new depths, blowing a 2-0 lead to Lazio in the final of the Italian Cup and suffering a 5-0 thrashing by AS Roma on Sunday. And the smiles in the Inter camp will have been all the broader because their victory came over European novices Lazio - a club that has done so much to wreck their Serie A title chances this season. A defeat and a draw in their two league clashes with the Rome club meant and Ronaldo and Co were fired up in Paris last night. And their barely controlled fury was obvious from the kick-off as they set about making up for the agony of losing to German club Schalke 04 over two legs at this stage 12 months ago. Ronaldo, full of confidence, was quickly at his lethal best in what he described beforehand as ' the biggest game' of his short but exciting career. He had the first real chance of the night, too. The current World and European Football of the Year would have expected to do better than blast a 20-yard free-kick - won when Alessandro Nesta sent him flying - high and wide. As it turned out, it didn't matter. Two minutes later, Chilean forward Zamorano, who like Ronaldo is hoping to light up France 98, illustrated just why South American football is about more than just Brazil and Argentina with a superb burst of pace and a cool finish. A long, optimistic ball out of defence caught Lazio off-guard, and they were left for dead by the pacy Zamorano, whose blistering drive gave goalkeeper Luca Marchegiani no hope. It was the Chilean's second goal of the UEFA Cup campaign, following on from a strike in the semi-finals against Spartak Moscow. Falling behind so early shocked Lazio into attack but they were unable to find a way through Inter's tight and composed defence - although sweeper Salvatore Fresi did pick up a yellow card for chopping down striker Pierluigi Casiraghi midway through the half. The closest the Romans came to an equaliser was a minute before the break when Diego Fuser fired inches wide. Matias Almeyda came on for Giorgio Venturin in central midfield after the interval but it did Lazio no good - Inter should have added a second when Zamorano's left-foot shot hit the inside of Marchegiani's right-hand post and rolled along the line to safety. The all-important goal that gave Inter some breathing space finally arrived on the hour and it was a beauty, too - Zamorano heading down for Zanetti to volley into the top left-hand corner. Ronaldo then took centre stage, adding a third ten minutes later - his 31st in 45 matches this season and sixth in this competition. The Brazilian, who scored the penalty that won the Cup Winners' Cup for Barcelona last season, looked offside but the flag stayed down as he ran away from the defence and, after a trademark stroll around Marchegiani, rolled the ball into an empty net. West then needlessly ruined his night by getting a red card only to be followed by Lazio substitute Almeyda, dismissed in the 89th minute.

WORLD CUP BOYZ CAN'T BEAT CITY! Manchester City 0 Jamaica 0   YOUNG Manchester City goalkeeper Nicky Weaver emerged as an unlikely Maine Road hero last night as he saved his side from certain defeat against World Cup-bound Jamaica. But his inspiring performance between the posts can only have deepened the depression of some City fans. Just how Joe Royle's men can hold a team heading for France 98 to a draw only days after they plummeted into the Second Division for the first time in the club's proud history? Yet for part of the answer, look no further than Weaver, signed for just £100,000 from Mansfield towards the end of the season and seemingly a prime candidate for the first-team job after the club's decision to release Martyn Margetson. The youngster proved his quality beyond doubt with a number of quite brilliant saves that kept the Reggae Boyz at bay. Portsmouth striker Paul Hall, Ricardo Gardner, Stephen Malcolm and Peter Cargill discovered Weaver is a cut above the norm as one by one they were denied by the 19-year-old's superb reflexes. The story was all too familiar at the other end, though, where Jamaican goalkeeper Aaron Lawrence barely had to move from kick-off to final whistle. His only moment of danger came in the 53rd minute when he was forced to make an acrobatic save to keep out Paul Dickov's deflected 25-yard drive.

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