"Lazio" convincingly won the Rome derby

2006-12-11 02:43 © EuroFootball.com

On Sunday, the remaining 15th round matches took place in the Italian championship. In the Rome derby, "Lazio" celebrated a crushing victory, while the leader "Inter" increased their advantage over the closest pursuer to seven points. Important victories were achieved by "Catania" and "Fiorentina", while "Milan" once again failed to secure a win.

In the first half, the pace of the game was controlled by "Roma", but just before the end of the half, "Lazio" recovered and began to threaten the opponents' goal. In the 45th minute, Massimo Oddo lifted a corner kick and his pass reached Emilson Cribari, whose header was miraculously saved by goalkeeper Doni. However, just a few moments later, "Lazio" broke through - with a stunning strike from approximately 30 meters into the top corner leaving goalkeeper Cristian Ledesma with no chance.

In the 52nd minute, a glaring mistake by Philippe Mexes allowed "Lazio" legionnaire Goran Pandev to find himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper. The Macedonian passed the ball past the goalkeeper Doni, who brought him down. Referee Roberto Rosetti initially did not see anything, but after consulting with the linesman, he decided to award a penalty to "Roma."

Even more confusion was caused by the red card shown to the goalkeeper, as the decision was eventually overturned, and after regarding it as not the last-man tackle, Doni was punished with a warning. With emotions running high on the field, penalty kick duties fell to "Lazio" captain Massimo Oddo, who scored his team's second goal.

"Lazio" accelerated and sealed their victory in the 73rd minute. Tommaso Rocchi passed the ball to his teammate Stefano Mauri, who found himself alone against the goalkeeper and slotted the ball past him, but it hit the crossbar. However, Massimo Mutarelli was the first to react to the ball and secured his team a crushing victory in the Rome derby.

"Inter" took advantage of this "Roma" setback and, thanks to a 3-0 away win against "Empoli," increased their lead over "Roma" to seven points.

The first goal of the match was scored in the 60th minute. Zlatan Ibrahimovic's shot hit the crossbar, but the ball bounced to Hernan Crespo, who put his team ahead.

In the 78th minute, "Empoli" defenders left Zlatan Ibrahimovic unmarked, and he received the ball, took a shot, and the ball bounced off the inside of the post and into the goal.

Eight minutes later, "Inter" definitively dashed the opponents' hopes of at least securing a point. Nicolas Burdisso crossed the ball into the opponents' penalty area, and Walter Samuel's header beat the opponents' goalkeeper.

"Milan" continued their unsuccessful streak at home, playing out a goalless draw with the team of "Torino." In the 76th minute, "Milan" had a great opportunity to score a winning goal after the referee awarded a penalty kick to the "Torino" team, but Alberto Gilardino's shot hit the post.

"Catania" managed to rise to fourth place in the league table after a 1-0 victory against the "Udinese" team. The victory was brought by Gionathano Spinesi's header in the 67th minute.

"Fiorentina" also secured three important points, defeating the "Chievo" team 1-0 away. The most prolific scorer for the Florence club this season, Adrian Mutu, scored the only goal of the match.

"Atalanta" almost squandered a three-goal lead in the match against "Messina," which ended 3-2. After a Cristiano Doni goal in the 67th minute, the Bergamo club led 3-0, but the Sicilians managed to score two goals. However, "Messina" players failed to equalize the score.

The other two matches ended goalless. "Sampdoria" played out a 0-0 draw with "Siena," while "Cagliari" shared points with "Parma."

Results of Sunday's matches:

Empoli 0 - Inter 3

Roma 0 - Lazio 3

Torino 0 - Milan 0

Udinese 0 - Catania 1

Chievo 0 - Fiorentina 1

Messina 2 - Atalanta 3

Sampdoria 0 - Siena 0

Cagliari 0 - Parma 0

Top scorers of the championship:

1-2. Christian Rigano (Messina) - 9;