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In the Italian "Serie A" championship matches of the 9th round were played on Wednesday. The league record of all time was broken by the championship leader Turin "Juventus", who won all nine matches in a row and further increased their lead against one of the two main competitors in the fight for the title, Milan's "Inter" club, which unexpectedly lost to the "Roma" team at home.
Over the weekend, "Juve" had already equaled the club's record of eight consecutive wins set in 1930 and 1985, but the victory against Genoa's "Sampdoria" at home meant that F.Capello's team managed to do what no other "Serie A" team had done before. In the match that broke the record, the Turin team scored goals through forwards D.Trezeguet and A.Mutu.
"Milan", five points behind the leader, had a tough match away against "Empoli". In the 34th minute, the league newcomer unexpectedly took the lead after I.Vannuchi's goal, but later A.Gilardino scored twice, C.Vieri added another goal, and "Milan" added three more points to their tally before the upcoming match against "Juve".
Milan's "Inter" experienced an unexpected failure in the fluctuating match at home, losing to the "Roma" team that had just started to emerge from their crisis for the first time since 1994. Roma's club was led forward by V.Montella, then both teams hit the post, and after playing half an hour, the guests' captain F.Totti scored a fantastic goal, running through half the field, deceiving two defenders and slotting the ball past goalkeeper J.Cesar from the penalty area.
After the break, a penalty was awarded to the hosts, which was converted by the same F.Totti. Despite a three-goal deficit, "Inter" did not give up, and in the 67th minute, Adriano reduced the lead with a great penalty kick, and ten minutes later, after a mistake by goalkeeper Doni, he scored again. However, Milan's team failed to equalize, and the match ended with two players being sent off the pitch - J.Veron and F.Totti receiving red cards for fighting.
With "Inter" losing, "Fiorentina" climbed to third place, thanks to two goals from the league's top scorer L.Toni in the Tuscan derby against the "Siena" team. In fifth place, with three teams, is "Palermo", who easily thrashed the league's bottom team "Lecce" at home.
Along with "Palermo", "Livorno" also has 15 points, having drawn away with "Cagliari", and the Rome "Lazio" and Verona "Chievo" clubs, whose winner was also not determined in their face-off - "Lazio" dominated in the first half and took the lead after T.Rocchi's precise strike, but in the second half, due to two defensive mistakes, they were forced to come from behind and only snatched a deserved point in the last minute when M.Oddo converted the penalty kick.
"Udinese" lost two points, barely escaping defeat away against the newcomer "Ascoli", while another debutant in the league, "Treviso", defeated "Reggina" and clinched their first victory, and the match between "Parma" and "Messina" ended in a draw.
Results of the 9th round:
2 - 3
12` [0 - 1] Vincenzo Montella
30` [0 - 2] Francesco Totti
47` [0 - 3] Francesco Totti (11m.)
67` [1 - 3] Adriano
77` [2 - 3] Adriano
90` Juan Veron ("Inter") and Francesco Totti ("Roma") sent off the pitch
1 - 3
34` [1 - 0] Igli Vannucchi
45` [1 - 1] Alberto Gilardino
50` [1 - 2] Alberto Gilardino
55` [1 - 3] Christian Vieri
1 - 1
18` [1 - 0] Michele Fini
88` [1 - 1] Jose Luis Vidigal
1 - 1
51` [1 - 0] David Suazo (11m.)
75` [1 - 1] Matteo Melara
1 - 2
18` [0 - 1] Luigi Cristiano Beghetto
78` [0 - 2] Francesco Parravicini
86` [1 - 2] Simone Missiroli
0 - 2
2` [0 - 1] Luca Toni
67` [0 - 2] Luca Toni
1 - 1
36` [1 - 0] Fabio Simplicio
77` [1 - 1] Zlatan Muslimovic
2 - 0
41` [1 - 0] David Trezeguet
57` [2 - 0] Adrian Mutu
2 - 2
31` [1 - 0] Tommaso Rocchi
47` [1 - 1] Lorenzo D`Anna
66` [1 - 2] Sergio Pellisier
90` [2 - 2] Massimo Oddo (11m.)
3 - 0
35` [1 - 0] Massimo Bonanni
62` [2 - 0] Massimo Mutarelli
90` [3 - 0] Michele Ferri
86` Eugenio Corini ("Palermo") sent off the pitch
