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The leader Milan "Inter" club won their ninth consecutive victory in the Italian championship, defeating "Messina" at home in the 16th round and increasing their lead over pursuers to ten points. Three matches ended in draws, "Sampdoria" and "Torino" each earned three points away, while the match in Sicily was postponed due to heavy rain. "Inter" last week won for the eighth time in a row, equaling the club record, and the match against "Messina" aimed not only to improve it but also to further distance themselves from pursuers like "Roma" and "Palermo", who will face each other on Sunday night. "Inter" break down "Sampdoria" Messina had a negative streak of four losses before this match and in the first half hour had to defend against the home favorite "Inter" attacks. Zlatan Ibrahimovic came closest to scoring in the 27th minute, but the striker from Sweden missed with his head hitting the crossbar. In the 33rd minute, the guests also had a great opportunity, but Sergio Floccari missed the target after a mistake by Maxwell. Tension grew in the match, and not giving up the ball, Marco Materazzi and clashing with a player, "Messina" coach Bruno Giordano was sent off to the stands, with Patrick Vieira pushing an opponent and avoiding punishment only because the referee did not notice the incident. However, after the break, the teams managed to calm down and in the 49th minute, "Inter" took the lead with a great strike from M.Materazzi, and ten minutes later Z.Ibrahimovic secured the victory for Milan's team. Later, Luigi Lavecchia, who came on the pitch as a substitute for the visitors from Sicily, hit the post, but "Inter" easily maintained their lead and clinched a record ninth consecutive victory. Fierce match in Livorno, where the local team faced Rome's "Lazio". The first goal was scored in the 25th minute by the visitors from the capital - with a beautiful strike in his 100th match for the team, Macedonian Goran Pandev found the net. After the goal, the home team captain Cristiano Lucarelli lost his temper and hit an opponent in the nose, but the referee only showed him a yellow card. In the nervous end of the first half, C.Lucarelli and defender Dario Passoni had a couple of chances to equalize the score, but they failed to score. In the second half, the fierce battle continued on the field, and fortune turned its back on "Lazio" - around the hour mark, "Livorno" gained a quantitative advantage, as Tommaso Rocchi received a red card for a foul against Antonio Filippini, and five minutes later C.Lucarelli leveled the score with a header after a cross from the wing. After taking the initiative, "Livorno" forced the visitors' goalkeeper Angelo Peruzzi to fend off a long-range shot from D.Passoni, a couple of times C.Lucarelli missed with his head, and at the end of the match, "Lazio" also failed to snatch a victory. Lietuvis Tomas Danilevicius did not play in the draw. The match between the underdog "Ascoli" and "Torino" was dramatic. The Turin team, playing away, took the lead in the 60th minute after Alessandro Rosina converted a penalty, and later the same player hit the post, giving the hosts a chance to equalize - Marco Di Loreto committed a foul against Andrea Paolucci, and the referee showed a red card to the offending player and awarded a penalty. However, Christian Abbiati saved Sasa Bjelanovic's shot from the spot, and as the game continued, "Torino" launched a counterattack, with A.Rosina securing victory for his team with his second goal and helping them climb into the top ten in the league table. "Bergamo" Atalanta shares points with "Torino" and "Livorno" in the 6-8 positions after letting victory slip from their hands in a draw with "Siena". They are one point behind these three teams against "Reggina", who won away thanks to Fabio Quagliarella's only goal in the middle of the second half against Genoa's "Sampdoria", while "Parma" and "Chievo" ended their match in a 2-2 draw. The match between "Catania" and "Empoli" was postponed due to heavy rain. In the central round of matches, the local club and "Palermo" will play in Rome on Sunday evening.
