Serie A - Week 11: Sunday Review

A last-gasp Julio Cruz goal handed Inter a thrilling 1-0 success over Udinese at the San Siro, giving Jose Mourinho's men control of Serie A as city rivals AC Milan failed to reclaim top spot with a 1-1 draw at Lecce. Elsewhere Napoli, Juventus, Lazio, Fiorentina and Genoa kept up the pressure.

INTER 1-0 UDINESE
Inter had looked set for a frustrating afternoon as the team placed second in the standings before the game began held firm in Milan. Udinese could even have taken the lead themselves, with Antonio Floro Flores firing straight at goalkeeper Julio Cesar after a fine run early in the second half. Inter's best chance came through Javier Zanetti who struck the post with three minutes remaining. Just as it seemed Inter would never score, though, Cruz headed in from close range in added time. The result was a harsh blow for the Friulians who deserved at least a point, but return to Udine empty-handed and drop three places to fifth.

LECCE 1-1 AC MILAN
A stoppage-time equaliser from Andrea Esposito prevented a dominant Milan side from returning to the top of Serie A on Sunday night as Lecce earned a point at the Stadio Via del Mare. A Ronaldinho goal 11 minutes from time had put the Rossoneri ahead, but Esposito's last-gasp header earned Lecce a draw which ruined Milan's plans of moving back above arch rivals Inter into top spot.

NAPOLI 2-0 SAMPDORIA
Napoli returned to winning ways to climb to second in the Serie A standings and heap further misery on struggling Sampdoria. Daniele Mannini opened the scoring for the Partenopei midway through the first half and substitute Marcelo Zalayeta bagged the second to make the game safe 15 minutes from time. The Naples outfit had slipped down to fourth in the standings following a 1-0 defeat at Milan last time out. Samp remain 16th after suffering their fourth loss in 10 matches.

CHIEVO 0-2 JUVENTUS
Alessandro Del Piero celebrated his 34th birthday in style by scoring his 250th goal for Juventus as they secured a fourth consecutive league triumph away to Chievo. Del Piero broke the deadlock after 40 minutes in signature style with a swerving free-kick from just outside the area that whistled past Stefano Sorrentino. It was reward for an opening half Juve dominated and a second was not long coming after the break with Vicenzo Iaquinta tapping in the rebound after Sorrentino had saved his 54th-minute penalty. The win maintains Juve's excellent recent form that has seen them rise to sixth place, while new Chievo boss Domenico Di Carlo, who replaced Giuseppe Iachini earlier this week, saw his side slip to second from bottom.

LAZIO 3-0 SIENA
Three goals in the second half helped Lazio to their third consecutive win in Serie A as they overcame Siena at the Stadio Olimpico to move up to fourth spot. The in-form Mauro Zarate opened the scoring 12 minutes after the break, before second-half substitute Tommasi Rocchi added two goals in the final minutes to cement the win. Siena had plenty of chances to take the lead in the opening 45 minutes, but they were unable to bring their poor run of form away from home to an end.

FIORENTINA 2-1 ATALANTA
Fiorentina notched up their fourth home win of the season as they held off the challenge of Atalanta. The Viola took a two-goal lead into the break thanks to strikes from Felipe Melo and Alberto Gilardino before Sergio Floccari reduced the gap from the penalty spot late on. The win sees the Florence club move to eighth in the Serie A standings, three places and six points better off than their opponents.

GENOA 4-0 REGGINA
Diego Milito scored a hat-trick as Genoa crushed 10-man Reggina 4-0 to move to within three points of the Serie A summit. The Argentinian international took centre stage as Reggina's resistance crumbled following the dismissal of defender Andrea Costa on the stroke of half-time. Giuseppe Sculli also scored for the hosts, for whom it was a sixth successive home victory, to leave Reggina rooted to the foot of the table. The result leaves the visitors' coach Nevio Orlandi under severe pressure.

CATANIA 2-1 CAGLIARI
Rocco Sabato's late free-kick saw Catania come from behind to nick all three points at home to Cagliari. Jedaias Jeda took advantage of poor defending to head Cagliari in front in the sixth minute but Giuseppe Mascara equalised shortly before half time. And a good second-half performance paid off as Sabato pounced three minutes from time to ensure Catania got back to winning ways after three consecutive defeats. The Sicilians move up one place to ninth in the table while the Sardinians remain in 15th spot, just three points above the relegation zone.

SERIE A REVIEW:
[Saturday 8 Nov] - [Sunday 9 Nov]