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In the 2004 Italian championship, the meeting of the two "Serie A" leaders marked the end of the year - the top-ranked Turin "Juventus" played against the defending champion "Milan". There were no goals scored in the match, so the four-point difference between the teams remained.
The coaches of the teams, F.Capello and C.Ancelotti, both had to face their former teams, and in previous matches between these coaches, the latter usually emerged victorious. Although "Juve" started the match as the league leader, recently the better form was shown by the "Milan" club, which had crushed "Fiorentina" 6-0 last week.
During the first opportunity of the match after a pass from A.Shevchenko, H.Crespo had the chance, but the Argentine was slightly held back by a defender and failed to reach the ball. Soon after, J.Zebina almost scored an own goal, redirecting C.Seedorf's ball just beyond the post.
Later, the teams exchanged complaints with the referee, as at first he did not notice Zebina's foul against K.Kaladze, and later decided that A.Costacurta's handball was accidental.
In the 17th minute, the recently voted best player in Europe, Ukrainian Shevchenko, came very close to scoring - his shot from 25 meters hit the post. "Milan" gradually began to dominate, and only successful plays by defenders and goalkeeper G.Buffon prevented "Juve" from conceding a goal before half-time.
In the second half, the visitors continued to be more active, but they failed to create more dangerous episodes, while on the other side of the field, P.Nedved threatened the opponent's goal a couple of times.
In the final minute of the match, A.Pirlo missed the opportunity to snatch victory, sending the ball wide next to the goal after a pass from Shevchenko. The "Juventus" team secured a draw and can go on holiday with a four-point lead over second-placed "Milan" and even an 11-point advantage over the third-placed "Udinese" team.
The next day's match between the 14th-placed "Messina" team and the absolute underdogs "Atalanta" was interrupted in the 23rd minute due to a storm that made the field unsuitable for playing. Although "Messina" had a minimal one-goal advantage, as A.Di Napoli scored a penalty kick, the entire match will likely have to be replayed.
