Napoli went into their game yesterday evening knowing that a win would re-launch their faltering challenge for the Scudetto after both of the Milan clubs dropped points to the bottom two in Serie A.
Inter were held to a 1-1 draw at Brescia on Friday evening in a game which they dominated, but could have lost had Júlio César not saved Andrea Caracciolo’s penalty in the 90th minute. Samuel Eto’o put the visitors ahead from an 18th minute corner but they failed to convert a series of subsequent chances to extend their lead, Goran Pandev proving particularly wasteful in front of goal. Caracciolo levelled the game with six minutes of normal time remaining, and he then went on to first miss Brescia’s penalty and then earn himself a second yellow card for kicking the ball away in stoppage time.
AC Milan were also held to a 1-1 draw by a well-organised Bari side at the San Siro. Bari took the lead from a set-piece before half time, but Antonio Cassano came off the bench to earn a point for the home side. Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimović received a straight red card for a body punch which he swung at Marco Rossi late in the game – will he miss the Milan derby as a result?
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| Cassano celebrates scoring against his hometown club |
Their listless first half performance at Parma indicated that Napoli were reluctant to take advantage of the points dropped by the two teams above them in the table. Ezequiel Lavezzi sprung to life after the break however, and the Argentinian set up an equaliser for Marek Hamšík before lifting the ball over the Parma goalkeeper to put Napoli ahead. Daniele Galloppa was sent off for the home team about half an hour before Christian Maggio wrapped up the points for Napoli just before the final whistle. With just nine games to go, and with Inter and Milan still to play one another, Napoli are now just six points off top spot.
Lazio have not won a Rome derby while playing as the away side since 1998, a trend which continued yesterday when they lost 2-0 thanks to a brace from Roma captain Francesco Totti. Tempers frayed during a tense affair which saw Lazio finish with nine men. Stefan Radu and Christian Ledesma were both dismissed in the second half, for a headbutt and dissent respectively. Roma are now just two points behind their rivals, who fall out of the top four for the first time since late September.
The Udinese goal machine motored on this weekend, this time visiting Cagliari and winning 4-0. Mehdi Benatia opened the scoring, and Antonio Di Natale added two more to his tally, but the goal of the game was a superb individual effort from Alexis Sanchez. Udinese have the best record in Serie A in 2011, and yesterday they moved into the Champions League spot which had previously been occupied by Lazio.
The last time Juventus lost four games in a row was almost fifty years ago, and they managed to avoid doing so this season by earning a draw at Cesena on Saturday. Juve appeared to receive very favourable treatment from referee Mauro Bergonzi on the night, but still finished with ten men and failed to defend a two-goal lead. Goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon was lucky to only see yellow when he conceded a penalty by bringing down Cesena’s Marco Parolo in the 41st minute.
Juventus were 2-0 up at the time, thanks to two impressive finishes from Alessandro Matri. Luis Jiminez then converted the above-mentioned penalty, and Juventus were reduced to ten men when Marco Motta received a second yellow before the break. An eventful second half was predictably dominated by Cesena, but Buffon pulled off some fantastic saves to preserve Juve’s advantage. What looked like a definite Cesena penalty for a foul by Giorgio Chiellini was ignored by the referee, before Parolo capitalised on a half-clearance to earn a share of the spoils for the home side. A point was the least Cesena deserved, and they are now unbeaten in four games.
Juventus were 2-0 up at the time, thanks to two impressive finishes from Alessandro Matri. Luis Jiminez then converted the above-mentioned penalty, and Juventus were reduced to ten men when Marco Motta received a second yellow before the break. An eventful second half was predictably dominated by Cesena, but Buffon pulled off some fantastic saves to preserve Juve’s advantage. What looked like a definite Cesena penalty for a foul by Giorgio Chiellini was ignored by the referee, before Parolo capitalised on a half-clearance to earn a share of the spoils for the home side. A point was the least Cesena deserved, and they are now unbeaten in four games.
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| Buffon: "Thanks ref!" |
Elsewhere, Genoa made it two defeats from two games for new Palermo coach Serse Cosmi. Another new coach got off to a losing start yesterday when Catania beat ten-man Sampdoria 1-0 to continue their impressive home record. Fiorentina won away from home for just the second time this season, beating Chievo 1-0. Bologna also won 1-0 on the road, and the three points earned at Lecce will help their push for survival in Serie A.
Serie A: week 29 results
AC Milan 1-1 Bari
Cagliari 0-4 Udinese
Catania 1-0 Sampdoria
Chievo 0-1 Fiorentina
Genoa 1-0 Palermo
Lecce 0-1 Bologna
Parma 1-3 Napoli
Roma 2-0 Lazio
Cesena 2-2 Juventus
Brescia 1-1 Inter
