Serie A - Week 33: Sunday Review

Inter suffered only their third defeat of the season as Napoli ended their winless streak with a 1-0 victory over the Serie A leaders, allowing AC Milan to close to within seven points by seeing off Palermo 3-0. Elsewhere Juve lost further ground, Genoa failed to retake fourth spot and there were vital wins in the relegation battle.

NAPOLI 1-0 INTER
Inter's lead at the top of Serie A has been cut to seven points after a second-half strike by Marcelo Zalayeta saw them go down to a shock defeat at lowly Napoli. Zalayeta beat Julio Cesar with a first-time shot from the edge of the box after 73 minutes to inflict only the third defeat of the season on Jose Mourinho's side. The defeat means the Nerazzurri are now seven points ahead of city rivals AC Milan with five games to play. For Napoli it was their first victory under coach Roberto Donadoni.

AC MILAN 3-0 PALERMO
AC Milan opened up an advantage on third-placed Juventus with a comfortable 3-0 win over 10-man Palermo at the San Siro. A penalty from Ricardo Kaka and a header from Filippo Inzaghi ensured Milan were already firmly in control before Cesare Bovo received his marching orders three minutes into the second half. Kaka, who seemed back to his best after an injury-plagued few months, slotted home another penalty eight minutes later to seal the victory. The win leaves the Rossoneri two points above Juventus. The Sicilians barely had a sight of goal and remain three points behind sixth-place Roma who occupy the last Europa League berth.

REGGINA 2-2 JUVENTUS
Juventus twice came from behind to deny Reggina a much-needed win in their fight against the drop but a 2-2 draw will have done little to ease the pressure on boss Claudio Ranieri. Juve were knocked out of the Coppa Italia in midweek and a haul of three points from four games in Serie A has all but ended their title hopes. Antonino Barilla opened the scoring for the hosts, who are now six points from safety at the foot of the table. Alessandro Del Piero levelled from the spot three minutes after the break, Emil Hallfredsson restored Reggina's lead and Cristiano Zanetti equalised after 73 minutes. The result leaves Juve two points behind second-placed Milan.

BOLOGNA 2-0 GENOA
Giuseppe Papadopulo celebrated his first win in charge of Bologna as the relegation-threatened club picked up a crucial 2-0 victory against high-flying Genoa. Marco Di Vaio and Claudio Terzi scored the goals to keep Bologna's hopes of avoiding relegation alive inside the first 25 minutes. Genoa slip to fifth in the table as a result of their second consecutive defeat and their dreams of Champions League football next season now depend on whether they can catch fourth-placed Fiorentina, a point ahead. Bologna remain in the bottom three but are just one point off safety.

TORINO 1-0 SIENA
A lone goal from Rolando Bianchi allowed Torino to edge past Siena 1-0 and remain above the relegation zone. Bianchi struck after 10 minutes to lift the Granata a point clear of the bottom three with five games remaining. Toro had gone into the game on the back of a 5-1 mauling by Milan and knowing they needed a win to make sure they stayed out of the drop zone. The three points became even more important when Toro discovered fellow strugglers all picked up positive results.

LECCE 2-1 CATANIA
Lecce secured three vital points in their battle to avoid relegation from Serie A with a 2-1 victory over Catania at the Stadio Via del Mare. The Salentini halted a run of three consecutive defeats after first-half goals from Gianni Munari and Simone Tiribocchi sealed the win, with Jorge Martinez pulling one back for the visitors. Catania were dominant in the second period but were unable to find the equaliser, and were reduced to 10 men in injury time when substitute Fabio Sciacca picked up his second yellow card of the game. Lecce remain second from bottom but the result keeps them three points from safety.

SAMPDORIA 3-3 CAGLIARI
Cagliari's push for a place in Europe next season stalled in an entertaining 3-3 draw in difficult conditions against Sampdoria in Genoa. Samp raced into a two-goal lead at half time thanks to Guido Marilungo's first goals in Serie A. Alessandro Matri and Robert Acquafresca brought the Sardinians level before Daniele Conti put them ahead for the first time with 10 minutes remaining. But Antonio Cassano ensured Samp, who reached the final of the Coppa Italia in midweek after a 3-1 aggregate win over Inter, took a point with his 86th-minute strike completing the scoring.

LAZIO 0-1 ATALANTA
Jose Leonardo Talamonti scored the only goal of the game to end Atalanta's four-game winless run at Lazio. The former Lazio defender broke the deadlock after 24 minutes to hand his team all three points at the Stadio Olimpico. The outcome allowed the Bergamaschi to climb to 11th in the standings while it leaves Lazio, who enjoyed a brilliant 4-2 aggregate win at Juventus in midweek to reach the Coppa Italia final, five points behind city rivals Roma and the last European qualifying spot.

SERIE A REVIEW:
[Saturday 25 Apr] - [Sunday 26 Apr]