Serie A - Week 32: Sunday Review

Filippo Inzaghi's hat-trick inspired AC Milan to a 5-1 success against Torino that projected the Rossoneri up to second in Serie A, but Fiorentina spurned the chance to move back into fourth spot with a 3-1 reverse away to Udinese. Elsewhere Roma and Chievo picked up crucial wins.

AC MILAN 5-1 TORINO
AC Milan leapt above Juventus into second place in Serie A thanks to an impressive 5-1 win over Torino. Filippo Inzaghi was Milan's hero with a hat-trick, aided twice by the vision and skill of David Beckham. Ricardo Kaka added a fourth from the penalty spot in a one-sided game before Ivan Franceschini claimed a consolation goal 10 minutes from time. But Massimo Ambrosini restored Milan's four-goal advantage with the last kick of the game as Carlo Ancelotti's side joined Juve on 64 points, 10 behind runaway leaders Inter.

UDINESE 3-1 FIORENTINA
Fiorentina failed to capitalise on Genoa's defeat by Lazio as they slumped to a 3-1 defeat at Udinese to remain in fifth position. Udinese were always in control of the game and showed no tiredness from their 3-3 draw with Werder Bremen on Thursday as they raced into the lead thanks to Kwadwo Asamoah after 10 minutes. Gaetano D'Agostino doubled their advantage with a dubious penalty two minutes into the second half before Dario Dainelli's first goal of the season after 67 minutes brought Fiorentina back into the game. But D'Agostino's second and Udinese's third two minutes later decided the encounter to lift Udinese back into the top half of the table.

ROMA 3-2 LECCE
Francesco Totti struck twice to help Roma get back to winning ways and dent Lecce's hopes of avoiding relegation with a 3-2 victory. Totti had put the Eternal City giants ahead early on before Matteo Brighi's strike made it 2-0 after just 13 minutes. Having dominated the opening stages, the Giallorossi sat on their lead and ended up paying for it soon after. Gianni Munari reduced the deficit on the half-hour mark before substitute Dimitrios Papadopoulos levelled the scores after 55 minutes. However, Totti's penalty on the hour mark, which was awarded after Julio Baptista was brought down by Edinho, snatched all three points for the Romans. And, to make matters worse for the visitors, Luca Ariatti was shown a straight red. The result leaves Roma five points adrift of Genoa, who hold the fourth and final qualifying place for next season's Champions League.

PALERMO 4-1 BOLOGNA
Palermo heaped more misery on troubled Bologna and their new coach Giuseppe Papadopulo with an emphatic 4-1 victory at the Stadio Renzo Barbera. Papadopulo, who replaced Sinisa Mihajlovic last week, had been hoping his arrival would spark his relegation-threatened side to life. But Palermo were gifted the lead early on through Manuel Belleri's own goal and never looked back. Simon Kjaer and Davide Succi stretched the hosts' advantage before Bologna found themselves playing with 10 men following the dismissal of Sergio Volpi. Marco di Vaio then managed to get the visitors on the scoresheet, but it was nothing more than a consolation as Edison Cavani rounded off the win for Palermo in stoppage time.

CAGLIARI 2-0 NAPOLI
Cagliari maintained their push for a European place with a 2-0 victory over a disappointing Napoli side. Goals at either end of the match from Capucio Jeda and Andrea Lazzari gave the Rossoblu the points and erased memories of their defeat by Fiorentina last weekend. It was the first defeat for Napoli under coach Roberto Donadoni, whose side had drawn their first four matches under his tenure following his appointment last month.

SIENA 0-2 CHIEVO
Two goals by Sergio Pellissier guided Chievo to their fifth away win of the season as they won 2-0 at Siena in Serie A. Pellissier opened the scoring with a left-footed shot halfway through the first half before sealing the victory shortly after half-time with his sixth goal in six games. The result means Chievo move to within three points of their hosts as they edge away from the bottom of the table.

CATANIA 2-0 SAMPDORIA
A Giuseppe Mascara penalty and an early second-half strike from Jorge Andres Martinez were just reward for Catania as they eased their relegation fears with a home win over Sampdoria. But the home side did not dominate the Serie A clash as Sampdoria went close to hitting back on several occasions. Antonio Cassano could have added his name to the scoresheet on more than one occasion but his failure in front of goal summed up a disappointing day for the visitors.

ATALANTA 0-1 REGGINA
Reggina defeated Atalanta 1-0 for their first victory in 2009 to revive their hopes of avoiding relegation. Amaranto striker Fabio Ceravolo scored the only goal of the game after 40 minutes to seal a win that takes them to within four points of safety with six games remaining. Nevio Orlandi's men could have won by a a bigger margin but were denied by the woodwork on three occasions.

SERIE A REVIEW:
[Saturday 18 Apr] - [Sunday 19 Apr]