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In the second round of Serie A matches in Italy on Saturday, one of the championship favorites, Inter Milan, once again failed to secure victory - they played to a draw for the second time in a row, this time against Palermo.
In other matches of the day, the Brescia team with Marius Stankevicius, who played the entire match, could not resist the Lecce club away from home and became the absolute bottom of the league.
1 - 1
46' [1 - 0] Adriano
66' [1 - 1] Luca Toni
80' Alessio Biava (Palermo) sent off the field
The visitors started the match more powerfully, pressing their opponents in their half of the field and scoring in the 9th minute, but the goal was disallowed as the ball had rolled out of bounds. After eight minutes, Palermo once again sent the ball into the net, but this time the referee noted a questionable offside.
Tensions grew in the middle of the first half when L.Toni hit M.Materazzi in the cheekbone with his elbow. The Inter defender started bleeding heavily, but after receiving medical attention, he was able to continue playing, although the perpetrator was not punished.
The first goal in the second half came just 30 seconds in - after a great pass from Ze Maria, Adriano headed the ball past the opponents' goalkeeper. This was the Brazilian striker's seventh goal this season, and he continued his streak of scoring in every team match.
However, Palermo did not give up, and in the 67th minute, Lamberto Zauli outsmarted three defenders, passed the ball to L.Toni, who equalized the score. Shortly after gaining confidence in their abilities, the Sicilians almost took the lead when F.Brienza's shot was deflected by goalkeeper F.Toldo.
In the 80th minute, A.Biava received a red card for a foul on O.Martins near the penalty area, and with 5 minutes left to play, a powerful shot from Adriano hit the crossbar. Later, C.Vieri and L.Toni had opportunities to snatch victory, but the match ended in a draw.
4 - 1
27' [0 - 1] Andrea Caracciolo
38' [1 - 1] Valeri Bojinov
50' [2 - 1] Sasa Bjelanovic
72' [3 - 1] Valeri Bojinov
82' [4 - 1] Guillermo Giacomazzi
74' Matias Almeyda (Brescia) sent off the field
Although the visitors took the lead first after A.Caracciolo's goal on his 23rd birthday, the hosts dominated the match and soon equalized when Bulgarian V.Bojinov scored his and the team's first goal after a mistake by D.Adani.
In the second half, after 5 minutes of play, E. Rullo dribbled past M.Stankevicius on the left side and passed the ball to S.Bjelanovic, who managed to send it into the net surrounded by two defenders. In the 72nd minute, the same V.Bojinov got another opportunity and capitalized on it to increase the lead.
Shortly after, Brescia's chances became even more complicated - the hot-headed M.Almeyda received a red card for too many disputes with the referee. At the end of the match, the hosts scored another goal through G.Giacomazzi.
