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During the weekend, the 25th round matches of the Italian championship took place. The defending champions Turin's "Juventus" club took a significant step towards the Serie A title when they won against Milan's "Inter" team in the so-called Italian derby after a fierce battle. The Milan team was overtaken by "Milan" in the tournament table, while "Roma" reduced the gap from the struggling "Fiorentina" club with a continued series of victories.
Before the match, Juventus and Inter were separated by 9 points in the tournament table, so the importance of the match was significant - a victory for the Italian champions could mean an even greater advantage over their opponents, while the Milan team playing at home hoped to reduce the deficit.
The match started openly and Inter's attack by Obafemi Martins was stopped in the last moment by Giorgio Chiellini, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic's shot, which would have been disallowed anyway due to offside, was expertly parried by the home team's goalkeeper Julio Cesar.
Soon his opponent on the other side of the field, Gianluigi Buffon had to work as well, as he resisted Esteban Cambiasso's attempt after a Luišo Figo raid and accurate pass. Juventus responded with their own attacks and J.Cesar parried Emerson's shot, while Mauro Camoranesi's strike rebounded off Walter Samuel and went past the post.
Inter gradually took the initiative and failed to capitalize on several opportunities to score, and in the 32nd minute the Milan club had to continue the match without Juano Sebastiano Veron due to injury. At the end of the half, the hosts scored a goal, but it was disallowed as Adriano sent the ball into the net from a free kick.
After the break, Juventus' defense, especially Liliano Thuram, once again saved the team, but in the 63rd minute the guests broke through - a pass from M.Camoranesi reached Zlatan Ibrahimovic near the far post, and he scored the first goal with a close-range shot.
Inter continued to apply pressure and eventually they got their reward when Walter Samuel headed the ball past G.Buffon after a corner kick. However, with just five minutes remaining until the end of the match, a controversial penalty kick was awarded in Juventus' favor, and the team's captain Alessandro Del Piero restored the visitors' lead with a great shot.
In the frantic final minutes, Juventus held on and celebrated a very important victory.
Their city neighbors Milan took advantage of the failure by winning against the "Reggina" team on the road. However, the Italian vice-champions initially fell behind after Carlo Paredeso's goal in the 10th minute, but later woke up and took home three points with three goals from Filippo Inzaghi and one from Alberto Gilardino.
The second consecutive successful round was followed by Roma's club - the capital team won against "Siena" on the road, but the visitors were saved twice by the crossbar and Enrico Chiesa missed an 11-meter penalty. The ninth consecutive victory, which brought Roma closer to the all-time Serie A record, was sealed by goals from Daniele De Rossi and Amantino Mancini as the match neared its end.
Just two points ahead of Roma is the Fiorentina team, who had to admit defeat to Livorno on the road - the winners scored two goals in the second half, with the team's attacking leader Cristiano Lucarelli scoring both. At home, Genoa's Sampdoria also secured a victory with a two-goal advantage over the "Messina" team, maintaining a minimal gap from Verona's Chievo, who won on the road against "Treviso."
Palermo continued their recovery by snatching a last-minute victory against Empoli, while the matches between the bottom teams Cagliari and Lecce, and Parma and Ascoli, ended in goalless draws.
25th round statistics:
1 - 2 39' [0 - 1] Simone Tiribocchi 47' [0 - 2] Simone Tiribocchi 77' [1 - 2] Marco Borriello
1 - 1 20' [1 - 0] Tommaso Rocchi 26' [1 - 1] Vincenzo Iaquinta (penalty)
0 - 1 90' [0 - 1] Andrea Barzagli
75' Paul Constantin Codrea ("Palermo") sent off
0 - 2 70' [0 - 1] Daniele De Rossi 90' [0 - 2] Alessandro Mancini
1 - 4 10' [1 - 0] Carlos Humberto Paredes 14' [1 - 1] Filippo Inzaghi 37' [1 - 2] Alberto Gilardino 52' [1 - 3] Filippo Inzaghi 90' [1 - 4] Filippo Inzaghi
4 - 2 17' [0 - 1] Zlatan Muslimovic 19' [1 - 1] Marcello Castellini 69' [2 - 1] Sergio Volpi (penalty) 80' [3 - 1] Max Tonetto 89' [3 - 2] Arturo Di Napoli (penalty) 90' [4 - 2] Salvatore Foti
65' Marco Storari ("Messina") sent off
0 - 0
81' Alfonso Camorani ("Lecce") sent off
2 - 0 67' [1 - 0] Cristiano Lucarelli (penalty) 76' [2 - 0] Cristiano Lucarelli
0 - 0
1 - 2 63' [0 - 1] Zlatan Ibrahimovic 74' [1 - 1] Walter Samuel 85' [1 - 2] Alessandro Del Piero
Tournament table
