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On Saturday, two round 22 matches took place in the Italian championship. "Inter" won a convincing victory, while "Lazio" failed to overcome their opponents.
In Milan, "Inter" defeated "Palermo" with a score of 3-0 at home, although the result does not reflect the course of the match. Both teams had enough opportunities to score, but only the hosts capitalized on their chances.
The match began with aggressive play from "Palermo," when several of their shots forced the "Inter" goalkeeper to worry. However, "Inter" quickly recovered and a dangerous shot from Kily Gonzalez was saved by excellent goalkeeping from the away team. A few minutes later, the hosts had another chance, but Esteban Cambiasso's shot also missed the target.
"Palermo" forward David Di Michele caused problems for the "Inter" defenders, but the home team's defender Ivan Cordoba managed to deal with this player. Half an hour into the game, the hosts created their most dangerous attack so far. After receiving a pass from Julio Cruz, Luis Figo shot towards the goal, but the "Palermo" defender cleared the ball from the goal line at the last second. However, the wait for a goal did not last long. From a corner kick, "Inter" defender Esteban Cambiasso headed in a goal and put the hosts ahead. As the second half was ending, "Palermo" defenders once again had to clear the ball from the goal line, this time after a shot from Adriano.
At the start of the second half, "Palermo" almost managed to equalize the score. Simone Barone's shot hit the crossbar. Midway through the second half, "Inter" players had to clear the ball from the goal line. Juan Sebastian Veron had to save the team. But in the 77th minute, "Inter" managed to score their second goal. From another corner kick, a shot by "Inter" defender Ivan Cordoba deflected off "Palermo" defender Christian Terlizzi and flew into the goal. The third goal was scored just three minutes later. Luis Figo scored from a penalty kick.
After these matches, there were reports that the "Palermo" coach Luigi Del Neri could be dismissed. The team led by this coach was considered one of the strongest candidates to compete for a place in the UEFA Cup before the season, but at the moment the club is only in tenth place in the table.
In other matches, "Lazio" played a 1-1 draw at home against "Cagliari." The capital club ended the match with nine players, as two players from this team - Sebastian Siviglia and Fabio Liverani received red cards. In the second half, the referee did not count a goal for "Lazio" due to a very questionable foul by Emilson Cribari against the opponents' defender, so "Lazio" fans had reason to blame the referee for the result of the match.
Saturday's match statistics:
3 - 0
33` [1 - 0] Esteban Cambiasso
77` [2 - 0] Ivan Ramiro Cordoba
80` [3 - 0] Luis Figo
1 - 1
36` [1 - 0] Paolo Di Canio
69` [1 - 1] Massimo Gobbi
