Sunday, January 13, 2008

Serie A Round-Up: Samp Thrash Palermo, Lazio Lose Again

Saturday 12 January 2008 (all times local)
18:00 Empoli 1 - 1 Reggina (report)
20:30 Catania 1 - 1 Juventus (report)
Sunday 13 January
15:00 Atalanta 1 - 2 Roma (report)
15:00 Cagliari 0 - 1 Udinese
15:00 Lazio 1 - 2 Genoa
15:00 Parma 1 - 2 Fiorentina (report)
15:00 Sampdoria 3 - 0 Palermo
15:00 Siena 2 - 3 Inter (report)
15:00 Torino 0 - 2 Livorno
20:30 Milan L - L Napoli (preview, commentary)

Atalanta 1 - 2 Roma

Roma fought back from 1-0 down to secure a positive result in Bergamo.

Ferreira Pinto took advantage of a bobbling ball in the box after a corner to fire home an early opener, but Francesco Totti was on hand in the 38th minute to power a 20-yard free-kick past the helpless Coppola.

Amarantino Mancini perhaps ensured that his new contract negotiations will go smoothly with a brilliant cut-inside and shot from the left wing just before the break.

See our full report here.

Cagliari 0 - 1 Udinese

Cagliari are in all sorts of trouble after yet again collapsing at home, this time to high-flying, but ten-man Udinese.

The Friuli outfit had by far the best of the early period, but seemed to be in real trouble when Felipe picked up a second booking for an obvious foul on the half hour mark.

But just two minutes later, the Sardinians showed why they're relegation material by gifting the visitors a lead. Quagliarella was able to orchestrate a fruitful counter-attack after a laughable surrender of possession in midfield.

Despite their numerical advantage, the hosts actually had fewer chances than their counterparts for the remainder of the game, but neither side was able to take advantage.

Larrivey, indeed, caused the most notable incident in the second period when he made it ten men per team in the last minute with a second booking.

Lazio 1 - 2 Genoa

A lucky penalty gave Genoa the chance to fight back against Lazio, and this they did with an intelligent second-half display.

It was tough-tackling, end-to-end stuff early on, with Lazio coming close from range at one end and Juric bringing out a great save from Ballotta at the other.

Genoa had a brief period to impress after that morale-boosting chance, but Lazio took the deserved lead 22 minutes in through Stefano Mauri. The midfielder capitalised on a poor punch-clear from Rubinho - who tumbled over Borriello - to stroke home from eight yards.

Another howler from the Brazilian stopper almost made it 2-0 - under no pressure, Rubinho spilled the ball after a deep free kick, only to recover as Pandev loomed large.

Lazio had greatly improved after that strike, but just after the break, Milanello was awarded a penalty after falling over in the box. He was almost as surprised as the Lazio players, but celebrated nonetheless as Borriello hit his 9th of the season past Ballotta.

Borriello then made it ten for the season with a free header two minutes later as Lazio fell to pieces. Goran Pandev, summing up Lazio's woes, passed up the chance to shoot seconds later, picking up a booking instead for falling over in the box. It was the correct decision, but the home fans were quite understandably still incensed by the earlier incident at the other end.

The biancocelesti pressed until the last, but the Grifoni had already done enough.

Parma 1 - 2 Fiorentina

Fiorentina edged a deserved win against Parmesan outfit that lacked the wherewithal to impress the home support for much of the game.

The hosts were restricted to long-range efforts - and wayward ones at that - early on as the Viola looked to continue their early-season successes.

It took them a while to do so, but Adrian Mutu managed a strike just before the interval as he headed past Bucci to crush the home support.

However, Coly pulled one back not long after the restart with his own header that left Frey stranded.

Fiorentina, though, had kept Bucci busy for most of the afternoon, although they did need a penalty to finally seal the deal. Mutu stepped up five minutes from time to convert the spot-kick after Vieri was brought down by Morrone.

See our full report here.

Sampdoria 3 - 0 Palermo

Samp utterly crushed the travel-sick Sicilians to cement their top-half ambitions.

The rejuvenated Antonio Cassano set up Bellucci for the first, his strike partner duly obliging with a fine finish from an angle.

As Palermo tried to fight back, the yellow cards flew, but they could only weather the storm for so long. Sammarco was Cassano's next beneficiary as he scored on the counter.

The second half saw a slight decrease in pace, but it was a fitting moment when Cassano himself grabbed his side's third fifteen minutes from time with a simple finish after Campagnaro's lovely cross.

Siena 2 - 3 Inter

Despite a fisrt half scare, Inter were well in control in Tuscany as Siena succumbed to a 3-2 loss against the rampant league leaders.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic took advantage of a clumsy challenge from Codrea on Cruz in the box to slot home a penalty opener, but Maccarone responded just five minutes later with a close-range header following Frick's intelligent assist. Cordoba may have steered it into the net, but the home forward claimed it nonetheless.

In any case, the visitors were too strong, as shown by Cambiasso's simple finish after Ibra's assist, and the Swede's second goal just after the interval. That was the pick of the bunch - a 25 yard rocket that well and truly summed up the nerazzurri's superiority.

However, Siena underlined some defensive issues about the visitors with a last-minute strike from Forestieri.

See our full report here.

Torino 0 - 2 Livorno

Livorno's renaissance continued with a close-fought win in Turin.

The hosts actually had the best of the early period, but were left reeling when Tavano made it 0-1 midway through the first half with a great solo run that left the home defence scratching their heads.

Still, Torino had done enough to suggest that they'd be able to equalise with a strike in the second period - or so they thought. Instead, right at the end of the first half, Tavano tapped in after Tristan hit the bar by way of an assist 49 minutes in.

Toro did recover eventually, Bottone pulling a goal back, but it was too little, too late.


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