Committed to PEOPLE'S RIGHT TO KNOW
Vol. 5 Num 606 Fri. February 10, 2006  
   
Sports


Serie A
Draw suits Juve fine


Juventus stretched their Serie A lead on Wednesday despite a 1-1 draw at home to Parma after second-placed Inter Milan lost 2-1 at Fiorentina.

The results gave Juventus 63 points from 24 matches, nine ahead of Inter, who they meet at the San Siro on Sunday.

Third-placed AC Milan (51 points) made up ground on the top two with a 5-0 demolition of Treviso.

Juventus, who had won all 12 of their league matches at the Stadio delle Alpi this season, fell behind in the 39th minute when Daniele Dessena fired Marco Marchionni's low cross into the net at Gianluigi Buffon's near post.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic pulled Juve level five minutes later, running on to Adrian Mutu's long forward pass before slotting the ball past keeper Matteo Guardalben.

Guardalben did well to beat away a Mutu shot early in the second half, but it was Parma who wasted the best chance to retake the lead when Corradi pounced on Manuele Blasi's short backpass to go through alone on goal only to shoot wide.

The game almost ended on a sour note when Patrick Vieira went down theatrically to earn the hosts an 88th-minute penalty.

Juventus, who benefited from a series of favourable refereeing decisions in a 1-0 win over Udinese at the weekend, seemed about to win another match in controversial circumstances but Del Piero blasted his spot kick against the bar.

"We're happy -- we've got another point advantage (on Inter)," Juve coach Fabio Capello said.

"We could have had two but the pitch penalised us more than it did them. Parma's goal was a farce. Three of our players slipped over just as he (Dessena) was about to take his shot."

The post-match mood was bleaker for Inter coach Roberto Mancini, who lamented his side's inability to convert any of the chances they created through the game, but said they would be ready to face Juventus on Sunday.

Mancini's team had dropped just two points in their previous 14 Serie A matches before arriving at Florence's Franchi stadium.

The game was billed as a face-off between strikers Adriano and Luca Toni but it was unsung midfielder Cristian Brocchi who put Fiorentina ahead in the 10th minute with a shot from the edge of the area that dipped under keeper Julio Cesar.

Inter grew stronger as the first half progressed and it was only a series of good saves by keeper Bogdan Lobont that preserved Fiorentina's lead at the break.

Midfielder Luis Jimenez extended Fiore's lead when he hooked a shot round Inter defender Walter Samuel on the hour.

Although second-half substitute Alvaro Recoba pulled a goal back for Inter with a late free kick, the visitors lacked their usual fluency.

Of the top three, only Milan enjoyed an easy win as they crushed relegation candidates Treviso.

Milan kept their powder dry for the second period as Brazilian playmaker Kaka gave them a slender halftime lead with a goal in the 14th minute.

After the break, though, a 20-minute blitz by Milan from the 53rd minute saw an Andriy Shevchenko brace and a goal each by Alberto Gilardino and Filippo Inzaghi complete the rout.

AS Roma (45 points), who are fifth, racked up a club record eighth consecutive Serie A win after a stoppage-time penalty by Francesco Totti gave them a 4-3 home victory over Cagliari.

Picture
Fiorentina's ace striker Luca Toni (C) celebrates his team's second goal with a teammate while Inter Milan players (L, R) look dejected during their Serie A clash at Artemio Franchi Stadium in Florence on Wednesday. PHOTO: AFP