© EuroFootball.com
On Sunday, the remaining eight matches of the twenty-first round took place. The leader "Juventus" achieved a hard-fought victory, while "Milan" and "Roma" crushed their opponents.
The "Juventus" club at home, after a tough battle, defeated the "Empoli" team with a score of 2-1 and restored an eight-point lead in the tournament table against Milano's "Inter" club. Two minutes into the match, "Empoli" player Sergio Almiron unexpectedly put the team ahead with a shot from twenty meters. However, after fifteen minutes, "Juve" defender Fabio Cannavaro equalized the score with a header. The same player secured the victory for the hosts with a goal eleven minutes before the end of the match. The goal was once again scored with a header.
In third place, AC "Milan" did not spare the "Siena" team on the road, crushing them with a score of 3-0. Brazilian Kaka scored two goals for the Milan team, while Andriy Shevchenko also scored once. Recently joined "Milan" striker Marcio Amoroso spent the entire match on the bench.
Arguably the most impressive victory of the season was achieved by "Roma," who defeated "Udinese" away with a score of 4-1. Although the visitors played without Francesco Totti, taking advantage of a red card shown to "Udinese" player Giampiero Pinzi, the capital team managed to score four goals. The young players of the "Roma" club proved their worth, especially the performance of Amantino Mancini, who scored two goals.
At home, "Fiorentina" as expected defeated the "Messina" club. The match ended with a score of 2-0. The most valuable player of the match was Luca Toni, who scored two goals and hit the crossbar twice.
"Livorno" somewhat halted the rise of "Treviso" team. The teams played to a 1-1 draw. "Treviso" led from the eighth minute until the end, but in the final moments of the match, during added time, the "Livorno" team managed to equalize the score.
A surprising victory was achieved by "Reggina," who defeated the "Sampdoria" team at home with a score of 2-1. An excellent goal was scored by "Reggina" forward Carlos Paredes in the seventh minute. Vitalijus Kutuzov's equalizing goal gave hope to the "Sampdoria" club, but soon after, the "Reggina" team surged ahead again after Nicola Amoruso's corner goal and maintained this lead until the end of the match.
"Parma" defeated "Chievo" at home with a score of 2-1. The home team's coach Mario Beretta previously led the "Chievo" team last year, so these matches were very important for him to prove his worth against his former employers, and his team did not disappoint him by beating the former coach's team in nerve-wracking matches with a decisive goal from the penalty spot by Fabio Simplicio in the 83rd minute.
In the battle of underdogs, "Ascoli" defeated the bottom-dwelling "Lecce" club at home with a score of 2-0. After these matches, "Lecce" dropped to the last place in the tournament table and was even surpassed in the championship by debutant "Treviso."
Sunday match statistics:
1 - 1
7` [0 - 1] Reginaldo
90` [1 - 1] Fabio Galante
76` Gustavo Lazzaretti ("Treviso") sent off
2 - 1
7` [1 - 0] Carlos Humberto Paredes
44` [1 - 1] Vitali Kutuzov
45` [2 - 1] Nicola Amoruso
1 - 4
40` [0 - 1] Amantino Mancini (pen.)
62` [0 - 2] Daniele De Rossi
66` [1 - 2] Antonio Di Natale
75` [1 - 3] Amantino Mancini
79` [1 - 4] Cristian Chivu (pen.)
23` Giampiero Pinzi ("Udinese") sent off
0 - 3
12` [0 - 1] Kaka
69` [0 - 2] Andriy Shevchenko
84` [0 - 3] Kaka
2 - 0
5` [1 - 0] Marco Ferrante
36` [2 - 0] Sasa Bjelanovic
2 - 1
3` [0 - 1] Sergio Bernardo Almiron
17` [1 - 1] Fabio Cannavaro
77` [2 - 1] Fabio Cannavaro
2 - 1
26` [0 - 1] Amauri
45` [1 - 1] Marco Rossi
82` [2 - 1] Fabio Simplicio (pen.)
80` Alberto Fontana ("Chievo"), 87` Marco Rossi ("Parma") sent off
2 - 0
45` [1 - 0] Luca Toni
73` [2 - 0] Luca Toni
Top goalscorers of the championship:
1. Luca Toni ("Fiorentina") - 21;
2. David Trezeguet ("Juventus") - 15;
3. Alberto Gilardino ("Milan") - 12;
4-6. Cristiano Lucarelli ("Livorno"),
Andriy Shevchenko ("Milan"),
Francesco Totti ("Roma") - 11 each;
7-9. Francesco Tavano ("Empoli"),
David Suazo ("Cagliari"),
Enrico Chiesa ("Siena") - 10 each.
Tournament table:
