Catania threw the Serie A title race open and took a giant step towards securing their own future in the top flight by beating 10-man Inter Milan 3-1.Diego Milito put the Nerazzurri in front in the 54th minute, but Catania refused to accept defeat and Maxi Lopez equalised 20 minutes later.
Sulley Muntari was sent off after only two minutes on the field as he gave away a penalty which was converted by Giuseppe Mascara in the 81st minute.
And Jorge Martinez sealed a deserved and important win for the Rosazzurri in the last minute as Inter showed weaknesses ahead of their trip to Chelsea in the Champions League next week.
Their lead at the top of the table could be cut to just one point if AC Milan beat Chievo on Sunday night, while Catania move eight points clear of the bottom three.
Catania started brightly, taking the game to their guests with a great degree of confidence.
They had an excellent chance to go ahead in the 12th minute when Adrian Ricchiuti found himself alone in front of Julio Cesar, but his shot was saved.
Marco Materazzi got in the way of his goalkeeper as he tried to pounce on the loose ball and a goalmouth scramble ensued in which Catania had several more chances to score before Ciro Capuano's shot from outside the penalty area was blazed over.
Catania failed to make their early dominance count and Inter slowed the play down to suit their own style of play and frustrate the home team.
They had to wait until the 34th minute for their first shot on goal, though, but it was an easy save for Andujar from Wesley Sneijder's angled effort.
Ricchiuti then had another chance with just Julio Cesar to beat, but Lucio threw himself desperately at the ball and managed to do enough to put the Catania midfielder off and even deflect his shot wide.
Inter emerged for the second half with a lot more conviction and they were ahead in the 54th minute when a long ball from Dejan Stankovic cut through the Catania defence and picked out Samuel Eto'o.
He looked up and saw Milito alongside him and gave the Argentinian a simple tap-in to put the Nerazzurri ahead.
Catania responded well, though, and Mascara sent a low free-kick just wide of Julio Cesar's goal in the 58th minute.
They seemed to be tiring and in need of a moment of inspiration, and they got it in the 75th minute with Lopez netting his third goal in Italian football.
He beat Lucio to Martinez's low cross and lifted the ball into the roof of the net from six yards.
The Sicilians suddenly found themselves in the ascendancy and Muntari gifted them the chance to go ahead with probably one of the quickest red cards in Serie A history.
He had been on the field only a few seconds when he was shown a yellow card for a foul on the edge of the penalty area and he deliberately handled the resulting free-kick inside the box to earn a second booking and give Catania a penalty.
Mascara cheekily chipped his spot-kick straight down the middle to send the Stadio Massimino wild.
And they were ripped from their seats again in the final minute when Martinez dribbled past Lucio from the left and slotted the ball past Julio Cesar to seal a remarkable victory for Catania.
Defeat for 10-MAN INTER
