Zlatan Ibrahimovic put Inter in front in the 15th minute when he sidestepped his marker and arrowed a low drive home from the edge of the area.

Palermo almost snatched a point when they held on to Igor Budan's equalizer in the 26th minute but Cruz notched the winner on the rebound.

Ibrahimovic was sent-off after the winner with a second booking. He was handed the first yellow card five minutes earlier.

Inter's eighth league victory raised their point tally to 27, placing them as joint leaders with Palermo who eased past Torino 3-0.

The Italian League's surprising package enjoyed an easy encounter with goals from Eugenio Corini, David Di Michele and Amauri sealing the victory.

However, Palermo's triumph was marred by the injury of Italian international striker Di Michele, who was forced to leave the pitch in the last ten minutes of the game.