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On Saturday, two matches of Round 14 took place in the Italian league. Both championship leaders "Inter" and "Roma" managed to achieve hard-fought victories.
The league leaders "Inter" defeated "Siena" with a score of 2-0 at home. The victory for the club was determined by goals from Nicolas Burdisso, Hernan Crespo, and a saved penalty by Julio Cesaro.
In the 11th minute, Nicolas Burdisso escaped from his marker and headed the ball into the goal. This was the fourth goal by the Argentine in the last two matches.
Early in the second half, the referee awarded a controversial penalty to the hosts. "Inter" defender Maicon extended his arm to block the opponent, and despite minimal contact between the players, it was enough for the referee to point to the penalty spot. However, the Milan club was not punished as Julio Cesar saved Mario Frick's penalty.
Shortly after, the Tuscan club paid for not taking advantage of this opportunity. In the 54th minute, Hernan Crespo deceived the opposition's defender and placed the ball past the goalkeeper, increasing his team's lead.
In other matches, Francesco Totti saved the "Roma" team, who managed to defeat "Atalanta" 2-1 at home.
The beginning of the match was surprisingly started by "Atalanta", who took the lead in the 20th minute. Cristiano Doni passed the ball to Massimo Donati, whose shot was saved by the "Roma" goalkeeper, but Ricardo Zampagna was first to the rebound and put the visitors ahead.
However, in the second half, "Roma" recovered and started attacking the opponent's goal more threateningly. In the 51st minute, "Atalanta" player Simone Loria fouled Simone Perrotta in the penalty area, and the referee awarded a penalty to the visitors. Francesco Totti stepped up to take the shot and equalized the score.
In the 64th minute, "Atalanta" defender Giulio Migliaccio brought down F. Totti in his team's penalty area, and the referee once again awarded a penalty. F. Totti stepped up again and defeated the opponent's goalkeeper, putting his team ahead.
At the end of the match, the visitors attacked the opponent's goal in an attempt to equalize the score, but their hopes were shattered when Massimo Donati received a red card for a rough foul on the opponent, so despite a decent performance, "Atalanta" did not get any points from this match.
Results of Saturday's matches:
Inter 2 - 0 Siena 11' [1 - 0] Nicolas Burdisso 54' [2 - 0] Hernan Crespo
Roma 2 - 1 Atalanta 20' [0 - 1] Riccardo Zampagna 51' [1 - 1] Francesco Totti (penalty) 64' [2 - 1] Francesco Totti (penalty)
90' Massimo Donati ("Atalanta") sent off
Top scorers of the championship:
1-2. Christian Rigano ("Messina") - 9 Francesco Totti ("Roma") - 9 3-4. Amauri ("Palermo") - 7 Rolando Bianchi ("Palermo") - 7 5-10. Igor Budan ("Parma") - 6 Hernan Crespo ("Inter") - 6 Adrian Mutu ("Fiorentina") - 6 Vincenzo Iaquinta ("Udinese") - 6 Gionathan Spinesi ("Catania") - 6 Eugenio Corini ("Palermo") - 6
