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Due to the participation in the Champions League quarter-finals, three Serie A teams played their 30th round matches on Saturday. There were two surprises - Milan failed to beat Marius Stankevicius' Brescia team at home, while Juventus ended in a draw in a real thriller against Fiorentina. Meanwhile, Inter celebrated a narrow victory against Bologna.
Championship leaders immediately pressed their opponents and took the lead in the 15th minute when Rui Costa sent the ball into the net with a great strike from the left side. Both teams failed to capitalize on good opportunities to score for the rest of the first half, so Milan maintained a minimal lead.
After the break, the visitors improved, but A.Caracciolo's shots kept flying wide of Did's guarded goal. As the match was approaching the end, it looked like the hosts would still secure three points, but P.Wome scored the equalizer after a successful pass by M.Stankevicius in the final minutes of the game.
In a rare and tumultuous match in Florence, Fiorentina and Juventus clashed. The two clubs had been rivals for a long time, but their matches did not take place for three years because the teams played in different leagues. The intrigue of the meeting was added by the fact that several Fiorentina players had previously played for Juventus, and half of the rights to them still belonged to the Turin club.
The hosts started the match more actively, but the visitors almost took the lead when F.Cannavaro's header was caught by S.Cejas on the goal line. However, the match continued, and soon G.Pazzini's powerful shot from the penalty area put G.Buffon at a disadvantage.
In the 22nd minute, A.Del Piero received a pass and shot towards the goal, which was unsuccessful, but S.Cejas failed to catch the ball and it rolled into the net. Just nine minutes before the break, Fiorentina once again took the lead when G.Chiellini accurately headed the ball into the net after a pass from M.Jorgensen.
In the second half, F.Capello brought on third forward M.Zalayeta, but the visitors equalized again in the 59th minute due to a goalkeeper error - S.Cejas came out of the goal, pushed the ball away from his defender, and Z.Ibrahimovic took advantage, sending the ball into the net.
The match continued at a high tempo, and in the 75th minute, Fiorentina once again took the lead - D.Dainelli scored the third goal with a header after a pass from M.Donadel. Shortly after, A.Del Piero missed another opportunity, but with 8 minutes remaining, Z.Ibrahimovic bypassed the goalkeeper and equalized with a beautiful combination.
Neither team was satisfied with this result, so they both tried to snatch a victory, but the match at the Artemio Franchi stadium ended in a high-scoring draw.
Following a defeat in the derby on Wednesday, Inter managed to recover and took the lead in the fourth minute against Bologna after a goal by Julio Cruz. Interestingly, Cruz joined the Milan team from the Bologna team.
The hosts' player I.Tare equalized in the 10th minute, but the goal was disallowed for offside. Soon after, the referee disallowed A.Van der Meyde's goal for Inter, while Bologna took the initiative and sought to equalize.
In the second half, the game on the field remained unchanged, with Bologna continuing to press the opponents and failing to capitalize on scoring opportunities. Inter achieved a narrow victory and secured third place with five points ahead of Udinese, playing their round match on Sunday.
