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In the Italian championship on Sunday, all 34th round matches were played at the same time. Despite not very successful results, seven goals guaranteed tickets to the next season's UEFA Champions League qualification matches for Rome's "Lazio" - who lost 7-1 to champions Milan "Inter" and AC Milan, which only managed a draw against newcomers "Catania", dropped to fifth place after "Empoli" and "Palermo". The struggles for survival intensified further, with only three points separating the 11th and 18th places.
The "Lazio" team managed to squander a two-goal lead and in a very intense match, lost 4-3 to the championship winners "Inter" as visitors.
Just at the beginning of the match, the visitors shocked their opponents by scoring two goals within the first 5 minutes. In the third minute of the match, Dejan Stankovic lost the ball near his team's penalty area, and "Lazio" striker Goran Pandev took possession of it and struck the ball into the net. The ball, touching Marco Materazzi on its way and changing direction, went into the goal. Just two minutes later, Luis Jimenez crossed the ball into the "Inter" penalty area, and unmarked Massimo Mutarelli directed it into the goal.
However, unlike in the Italian Cup match against "Roma", "Inter" managed to recover and return to the game. In the 20th minute, Hernan Crespo, receiving a pass from his teammate Maicon, reduced the gap, and in the 35th minute, the Argentine was left unmarked in front of the opposition goal and, receiving a pass from Patrick Vieira, punished the opponents for the second time. However, just six minutes later, "Lazio" once again surprised their opponents. Cristian Ledesma, with a precise penalty, once again gave the lead to the visitors.
Yet the second half belonged to the "Inter" team, which finally managed to break through and take the lead. In the 81st minute, Hernan Crespo scored his third goal, this time receiving a precise pass from Mariano Gonzalez and sending the ball into the net from close range. The "Lazio" defenders tried to show the referee that the Argentine was offside during the pass, and Sebastian Siviglia, having quarreled excessively, received a red card. Then Marco Materazzi secured the victory for the "Inter" club, scoring in his usual manner - with a header after a corner kick.
Results of the 34th round:
"Parma" 4 - 1 "Messina" 23' [1 - 0] Giuseppe Rossi 28' [2 - 0] Zlatan Muslimovic 30' [3 - 0] Giuseppe Rossi 33' [4 - 0] Andrea Gasbarroni 87' [4 - 1] Christian Rigano
"Udinese" 2 - 3 "Atalanta" 28' [1 - 0] Gyan Asamoah 50' [1 - 1] Riccardo Zampagna (penalty) 68' [2 - 1] Gyan Asamoah 74' [2 - 2] Fernando Damian Tissone 86' [2 - 3] Christian Vieri
"Fiorentina" 1 - 0 "Cagliari" 7' [1 - 0] Giampaolo Pazzini
"Inter" 4 - 3 "Lazio" 3' [0 - 1] Goran Pandev 5' [0 - 2] Massimo Mutarelli 20' [1 - 2] Hernan Crespo 35' [2 - 2] Hernan Crespo 41' [2 - 3] Christian Daniel Ledesma 81' [3 - 3] Hernan Crespo 85' [4 - 3] Marco Materazzi
82' Sebastiano Siviglia ("Lazio") sent off
"Roma" 0 - 1 "Torino" 13' [0 - 1] Roberto Muzzi
"Catania" 1 - 1 "Milan" 5' [0 - 1] Clarence Seedorf 61' [1 - 1] Gionatha Spinesi
"Livorno" 1 - 0 "Sampdoria" 72' [1 - 0] Antonio Filippini
"Reggina" 1 - 1 "Chievo" 51' [0 - 1] Matteo Brighi 53' [1 - 1] Rolando Bianchi
"Ascoli" 3 - 2 "Palermo" 10' [0 - 1] Fabio Henrique Simplicio 24' [1 - 1] Viktor Boudianski 30' [1 - 2] Radoslaw Matusiak 48' [2 - 2] Michele Paolucci 61' [3 - 2] Viktor Boudianski
70' Fabio Henrique Simplicio ("Palermo") sent off
"Siena" 2 - 0 "Empoli" 11' [1 - 0] Daniele Portanova 90' [2 - 0] Massimo Maccarone
34' Richard Vanigli ("Empoli") sent off
League Table:
