Victories of favorites in the Italian championship

2005-12-21 23:23 © EuroFootball.com

Approaching the holidays in the Italian championship, the 17th round matches were played on Wednesday. In the ten matches, there were no surprises and the hosts performed better, with seven of them securing victories, two playing to a draw, and only the "Livorno" team experiencing a defeat at home against the overpowering "Milan" team.

After a draw in the previous round, the league leader Turin's "Juventus" returned to the path of victories by defeating "Siena" 2-0 at home, securing a 12-point lead over their closest pursuers and winning the title of winter champions. Defender Fabio Cannavaro scored one goal with a header for the winners, and David Trezeguet added the second, scoring for the 9th consecutive match.

Milan's "Inter" team extended their winning streak by crushing the "Empoli" team at home. Adriano put the hosts ahead after a goalkeeper error, but later suffered a head injury from one of the opponents, and was replaced by Julio Cruz, who doubled the score with a strong shot from the penalty area at the end of the half. Although Igli Vannucchi scored a great goal to reduce the deficit in the second half, Luis Figo soon restored the lead, and Obafemi Martins added another goal at the end of the match.

The "Milan" team currently trails behind "Inter", forcing the Livorno team to experience their first defeat at home in exciting matches. Alberto Gilardino scored two goals for the visitors, with one of those assists coming from Andrei Shevchenko.

Trying not to fall behind the top three, "Fiorentina" defeated the resistance of the "Palermo" team this time thanks to a beautiful goal by Martin Jorgensen. The Sicilians dominated the match, but failed to score, and in the 40th minute, the visiting goalkeeper M. Jorgensen sent the ball into the top corner of the goal with an impressive shot.

The "Roma" team ended their poor series by defeating the opponents with a 4-0 result, despite a successful game from "Chievo". Francesco Totti, the captain of the capital team, scored twice, while former "Chievo" player Simone Perrotta and Brazilian Rodrigo Taddei each added a goal. "Lazio" from Rome shares the same points with their city neighbors, after playing a goalless draw away with the "Lecce" team.

Important victories were achieved by the "Parma" and "Ascoli" teams, who won their home games with minimal margins against the "Cagliari" and "Treviso" teams respectively, moving slightly away from the bottom of the league table. Meanwhile, the so-called Stretto derby between the "Messina" and "Reggina" teams ended in a 1-1 draw.

17th round statistics:

1 - 0 | 40` [1 - 0] Martin Jorgensen
2 - 0 | 71` [1 - 0] Cristian Zapata Valencia, 80` [2 - 0] Marcello Castellini (own goal)
4 - 1 | 3` [1 - 0] Adriano, 45` [2 - 0] Julio Ricardo Cruz, 64` [2 - 1] Ighli Vannucchi, 66` [3 - 1] Luis Figo, 85` [4 - 1] Obafemi Martins
2 - 0 | 13` [1 - 0] Fabio Cannavaro, 53` [2 - 0] David Trezeguet
4 - 0 | 32` [1 - 0] Francesco Totti (penalty), 39` [2 - 0] Francesco Totti, 65` [3 - 0] Simone Perrotta, 85` [4 - 0] Rodrigo Taddei

Top scorers: