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On Sunday, the remaining 4 matches of the Italian championship took place. The league leader became "Inter", "Palermo" lost their first points, and after the failure of the previous round, "Roma" won a crushing victory.
In the match between Milan's "Inter" and "Chievo", the home team led by as much as four goals, but in the final minutes they almost squandered their advantage. The match ended with a score of 4-3.
The first goal of the match was scored in the 11th minute – after Olivier Dacourt's pass, Hernan Crespo sent the ball into the net. In the first half of the second half, "Inter" completely dominated and in the 58th minute Walter Samuel doubled the difference between the teams. Just six minutes later, Dejan Stankovic scored the third goal for his team with a great shot from 30 meters. Four minutes later, Hernan Crespo scored his second goal in the match.
After this goal feast, the hosts relaxed and, as it later turned out, it almost turned their match into a tragedy. In the 76th minute, "Chievo" earned a penalty kick and Emanuele Pesaresi successfully converted it. Ten minutes later, Simone Tiribocchi further narrowed the gap between the teams with a precise long shot into the opponents' goal. Just two minutes later, Matteo Brighi scored his third goal for his team, this time seriously scaring "Inter" fans. However, the visitors failed to score a fourth goal, and the Verona team ended the match without earning any points.
"Palermo" will no longer be able to celebrate the top spot in the standings after this round – the club gave up this position by losing 0-2 to the average "Empoli" as guests.
The visitors had a great opportunity to take the lead in the first half of the match when the referee awarded a penalty to "Empoli". However, Franco Brienza failed to convert the penalty, and the score remained 0-0. Taking advantage of this, the hosts took the lead in the 28th minute – Luca Saudati scored the first goal of the match with a header.
In the second half, the hosts cemented their lead when Sergio Almiron's excellent long-range shot hit the opponent's net. The match added to the woes of the "Palermo" club as Roberto Guana received a red card at the end.
After the failure of the previous round against "Inter", "Roma" recovered. The capital club crushed "Parma" 4-0 away.
Returning to the lineup after a long injury, Vincenzo Montella led the visitors in the fifth minute by controlling the ball between two defenders and sending it into the net. Just before the end of the first half, "Roma" doubled their lead – Simone Perrotta, in the midst of a counterattack, once again outsmarted the "Parma" goalkeeper.
In the 54th minute, Aleandro Rosi scored his first goal in the "Serie A" championship, solidifying his team's victory. The "Roma" completed the rout of their opponents in added time when after a pass from Ricardo Faty, Alberto Aquilani scored.
The increasingly aggressive "Lazio" club secured their second consecutive victory at home, beating the "Atalanta" team 1-0. The only goal of the match was scored by Sebastiano Siviglia in the 69th minute after a close-range shot.
In other matches, "Ascoli" played to a 1-1 draw at home against the "Sampdoria" team. The hosts took the lead in the 16th minute after Marco Delvecchio's goal. Their chances of winning three points increased further when a red card was shown to the opponent's player Giulio Falcone in the 55th minute. However, "Sampdoria" did not break and managed to equalize the score thanks to Gennaro Del Vecchio's goal.
The newcomers "Torino" finally won their first points, playing to a 1-1 draw away against the "Reggina" team. Although the Turin club was behind from the 56th minute, Alberto Zaccheroni's players managed to equalize the score and earn their first point.
"Siena" managed to win their first points at home, despite the last half hour playing with ten men, in a goalless draw against "Cagliari".
In the last match of this round, "Fiorentina" continued their unsuccessful season by losing 0-1 away to the "Udinese" team. The hosts sealed the victory with Vincenzo Iaquinta's goal in the 40th minute.
Top scorers of the championship:
1. Rolando Bianchi ("Atalanta") - 4;
2-4. Hernan Crespo ("Inter") - 3;
Mario Frick ("Siena") - 3;
Christian Rigano ("Messina") - 3.
Standings:
