Sunday 14 March 2010

Serie A - Week 28: Sunday Review

Clarence Seedorf fired in a thunderous strike in stoppage time to give AC Milan a 1-0 win over Chievo and slash the gap with Serie A leaders Inter to a point. Roma were held 3-3 at Livorno amid a flurry of goals in the afternoon kick-offs, which saw Juventus throw away a 3-0 lead against Siena, Palermo lose 3-2 at Udinese and Genoa beat Cagliari 5-3.

Milan 1-0 Chievo
Substitute Clarence Seedorf scored a stoppage-time winner to lift AC Milan to victory over Chievo at the San Siro. The Dutch midfielder entered the game with 11 minutes remaining and knocked in the only goal of the match to pull the Rossoneri to within one point of Serie A leaders Inter, who lost 3-1 at Catania on Friday, with ten games to go. But the contest was marred by an injury to David Beckham, who went off in the latter stages after Milan had used all three substitutes with an apparent Achilles tendon injury.


Livorno 3-3 Roma
Cristiano Lucarelli grabbed a hat-trick for relegation-threatened Livorno in a 3-3 draw with Roma, who were denied the chance to move within four points of Serie A leaders Inter. The Giallorossi squandered the lead on two occasions and also missed a penalty on an afternoon of frustration for coach Claudio Ranieri. The hosts - who remain in the bottom three but at least gained a point on fourth-bottom Lazio - took the lead after nine minutes through Lucarelli, only for Simone Perrotta to level matters within 60 seconds. Luca Toni then put the visitors in front with a controversial strike but Lucarelli netted again after 26 minutes to restore parity. A breathtaking passage of play showed no sign of abating with David Pizarro restoring Roma's lead approaching the half-hour mark and the visitors should have doubled their advantage before the break but Pizarro missed from the spot. Lucarelli was more accurate from 12 yards with 20 minutes to go and Livorno held on despite a late Roma onslaught.

Juventus 3-3 Siena
Siena launched a stunning second-half fightback to recover from 3-0 down and earn a 3-3 draw as Juventus' disappointing campaign continued at the Stadio Olimpico. Three goals in the opening 10 minutes from Alessandro Del Piero, twice, and Antonio Candreva looked to have secured the points for Alberto Zaccheroni's side, who had entered the match on the back of three wins from their last four games. But Massimo Maccarone got a goal back for the basement battlers just before the interval before two goals from Abdel Ghezzal, the second from the spot, sealed the most unlikely of comebacks. The result will boost Siena's hopes of avoiding the drop as it means they are four points adrift of safety having been unbeaten in five Serie A matches, while Juventus remain fifth, one point behind fourth-placed Palermo.

Udinese 3-2 Palermo
Antonio Floro Flores scored twice as Udinese ended high-flying Palermo's three-game winning streak to enhance their own Serie A survival chances. Floro Flores netted after 44 and 65 minutes for the Bianconeri after Fabrizio Miccoli had briefly levelled at the Stadio Frulli. Kwadwo Asamoah struck a third with 20 minutes remaining for Udinese and, despite conceding an acrobatic Edison Cavani effort 10 minutes from time, the hosts held on to add to their cushion against relegation, which now stands at seven points. Despite defeat, Palermo continue to occupy the fourth Champions League qualification spot by a point.

Genoa 5-3 Cagliari
Genoa saw off Cagliari in an eight-goal thriller at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris to move back into contention for a place in Europe next season. Daniele Dessena put Cagliari ahead after 16 minutes, but Alberto Zapater equalised from the penalty spot after 36 minutes after the home side had already been denied four times by the woodwork. Rodrigo Palacio put Genoa ahead after 39 minutes, but their joy was short lived as Daniele Conti equalised immediately. Giuseppe Sculli restored Genoa's advantage and Marco Rossi added a fourth before the break. Alessandro Matri scored the second penalty of the match after 55 minutes to make things interesting, but Omar Milanetto sealed Genoa's win just four minutes later. Genoa are now two points behind city rivals Sampdoria who hold the last Europa League spot, while Cagliari are a further three points back.

Lazio 0-2 Bari
Bari struck twice in the second half to sink relegation-threatened Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico. Sergio Almiron put the visitors on their way to victory after 51 minutes after Lazio wasted a hatful of chances to break the deadlock in the opening half. Edgar Alvarez doubled the visitors' lead shortly after the hour mark. Lazio midfielder Aleksandar Kolarov should have reduced the arrears after 77 minutes but saw his penalty saved by Bari goalkeeper Jean Francois Gillet. The outcome has lifted Bari, who gained promotion to the top flight last summer, to 11th in the standings, 14 points clear of the drop zone with 10 games remaining. The result is a further blow for Lazio, whose fans were so frustrated that they boycotted the club's previous home game. They have now claimed just one point in the last four matches and are just two points clear of third-bottom Livorno.

Bologna 1-1 Sampdoria
Bologna and Sampdoria had to settle for a point from a 1-1 draw after a dramatic final few minutes at the Stadio Renato Dall'Ara. The game looked destined to end in a goalless draw until Daniele Gastaldello grabbed what seemed certain to be the winner for the visitors after 86 minutes. But Bologna hit back to snatch an equaliser in the second minute of added time when Andrea Raggi fired in from close range after a scramble in the area. The result keeps Samp, who could've moved up to joint-fourth with a win, sixth in the standings, while Bologna are 11 points clear of the drop zone.

Parma 1-0 Atalanta
Atalanta slipped closer to the Serie A trapdoor as they went down 1-0 at Parma. Substitute Valeri Bojinov's goal 19 minutes from time decided the contest, while Atalanta added to their woes just two minutes later as Cristiano Doni was sent off for dissent. Defeat left second-bottom Atalanta four points from safety with 10 games left to play, while Parma go 13 points clear of the relegation zone.

SERIE A REVIEW:
[Fri 12 March] - [Sat 13 March] - [Sun 14 March]

No comments:

Post a Comment