Saturday 24 February
Atalanta 1-1 Palermo
Riccardo Zampagna marked his 250th appearance for Atalanta with a goal in a 1-1 draw with out-of-form Palermo. Despite sitting third in Serie A, the Rosanero have won just one of their last six games and have stumbled in the race for the second Champions League spot. Atalanta, meanwhile, are enjoying a happy return to the Italian top flight and this result puts them on the cusp of the UEFA Cup places and continues their unbeaten start to 2007. Zampagna's goals have been pivotal to this success and he got them off the mark in the 13th minute, before Aimo Diana equalised just before the hour mark with his first goal for Palermo.
Chievo 3-0 Torino
Erjon Bogdani hit a brace - his first goals for Chievo - as the Flying Donkeys put some daylight between themselves and the drop zone with a comprehensive 3-0 victory over Torino. Bogdani's first-half double put the hosts in control, with Matteo Brighi's strike two minutes after the restart making absolutely sure of a first win in five weeks for the Verona side. Sergio Pellissier passed up the chance to add further gloss to the scoreline when he missed the target from the penalty spot just after the hour mark. But by then the win was in the bag, moving Chievo level with their opponents on 22 points from 24 matches.
Sunday 25 February
Catania 2-5 Inter
Inter continued their march towards a second straight Scudetto with a 5-2 victory over Catania on Sunday in Cesena. Walter Samuel opened the scoring for the Nerazzurri on the stroke of half-time before Santiago Solari doubled the advantage shortly after the restart. Fabio Grosso put the league leaders three ahead on 57 minutes but Catania didn't lie down and Gionathan Spinesi brought them back into the game eight minutes later. Inter's three-goal advantage was restored by Zlatan Ibrahimovic but the visitors were made to sweat when Giorgio Corona once again reduced the arrears with 16 minutes remaining before Julio Cruz killed the game off. Catania were forced to play the final three minutes with 10 men after Spinesi was sent off for a second bookable offence.
Roma 3-0 Reggina
Roma kept a firm grip on second place with a convincing 3-0 victory against Reggina at the Stadio Olimpico. The Giallorossi moved eight points clear of third-placed Palermo as the Sicilian giants were held to a draw by Atalanta on Saturday night. Francesco Tavano's 55th-minute strike put them on their way and Philippe Mexes doubled the lead shortly after the hour mark. Francesco Totti's 81st-minute penalty was saved but Cristian Panucci completed the triumph with Roma's third in injury time.
Milan 1-0 Sampdoria
Massimo Ambrosini scored in the last minute of the game to earn AC Milan all three points from a 1-0 win against Sampdoria in a game where both sides were reduced to 10 men. Massimo Oddo saw red for Milan when the game was just 10 minutes old, before numerical parity was restored when Ruben Olivera walked six minutes before the interval. And just as the game appeared to be heading for a stalemate, midfielder Ambrosini headed home to move Carlo Ancelotti's side up to fifth in the hunt for a Champions League spot come the end of the season. But it could have been so different had Angelo Palombo's shot from distance been only centimetres more accurate and it would have gone in instead of rebounding off a hapless Dida's post.
Cagliari 0-2 Lazio
Lazio climbed into the Champions League places after claiming a 2-0 victory over 10-man Cagliari. Heading into the game the Biancoceleste were fifth, but Empoli's failure to win at Fiorentina lifted Delio Rossi's men above their rivals to fourth. Sanchez Emilson Cribari and Tommaso Rocchi's first-half goals were enough for the Romans, who also kept their excellent start to 2007 intact.
Fiorentina 2-0 Empoli
A goal in each half from Adrian Mutu and Luca Toni enabled Fiorentina to see off Empoli in the Tuscan derby. The Viola, who were hit by a 15-point penalty for their involvement in the Calciopoli scandal, have done their utmost to still mount a challenge for a place in Europe next season. And this victory moves them within six points of Lazio, who currently occupy fourth position - the lowest spot which would guarantee Champions League football in 2007.
Udinese 3-3 Parma
Guiseppe Rossi's 86th-minute penalty earned Parma a crucial point in their relegation battle at Udinese. The Gialloblu, beaten in their three previous games, took the lead through Igor Budan before Antonio Di Natale's header squared things up before the break. The game swung further in Udinese's favour when Di Natale added his second of the game from the penalty spot but Parma pulled level 14 minutes later through Francesco Parravicini. Alberto Malesani's men appeared to have snatched victory with six minutes left on the clock courtesy of Chris Obodo's superb left-footed shot but Rossi was to have the final say on matters two minutes later as they remained four points adrift of safety.
Messina 1-0 Siena
Edgar Alvarez came off the bench to grab an injury-time winner for Messina, who ended a dire run of results with a 1-0 victory over Siena. Alvarez's late strike gave Messina their first win in the league since October 29, ending a run in which they had taken five points from 15 games, sending the club plummeting down the table. It was a first win for coach Alberto Cavasin who was appointed earlier this month to try and turn the fortunes of the club around.
Livorno 0-0 Ascoli
Ascoli are now six points from safety after a goalless draw with mid-table Livorno. Both sides were guilty of missing chances in a stalemate that does neither side any favours, with Livorno's hopes of a UEFA Cup spot taking a knock after they ended their three-month winless run last weekend. Livorno's Cristian Lucarelli came the closest to breaking the deadlock, but his second-half effort cannoned off the bar, but there was little to choose between the teams on the day.
No comments:
Post a Comment