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On Saturday, two 21st round matches were played in the Italian league. "Lazio" unexpectedly crushed the "Palermo" team away, while "Udinese" under new coach Alberto Malesani continued to show signs of recovery.
The clash between "Palermo" and "Lazio" was dubbed a battle for a spot in next year's Champions League, and the visiting Rome club managed to win it convincingly with a 3-0 result.
"Lazio" broke through before halftime. The hosts' defender Cristian Zaccardo cleared the ball from under Stephano Makinwa's feet in the penalty area, and it ended up with another "Lazio" forward, Tommaso Rocchi. The goalkeeper managed to block the first Italian's shot, but the forward reached the goal with a second attempt.
In the 52nd minute, the Rome team scored another goal. Sebastian Siviglia jumped higher than the opponents during a penalty kick and directed his teammate's cross into the opponents' goal with his head.
"Lazio" dispelled any doubts about the outcome of the match in the 78th minute when Stephen Makinwa was fouled in the opponents' penalty area once again. This time, Eugenio Corini committed the foul against the Nigerian, and the referee promptly awarded a penalty kick to the hosts.
Former regular "Lazio" penalty taker Massimo Oddo had recently moved to the "Milan" team, so this time Tommaso Rocchi stepped up to take the penalty, and he did not disappoint, securing the crushing victory with a precise shot.
Meanwhile, Alberto Malesani seemed to bring success to the "Udinese" team. Under the guidance of the new coach, Udinese players won both games so far. This time, "Udinese" defeated "Torino" 3-2 away.
In the 18th minute, the visitors scored their first goal. Christian Obodo received a pass from Paulo Barreto and beat the opponents' goalkeeper with a precise shot. In the 32nd minute, the players switched roles – C. Obodo set up P. Barreto in front of the goalkeeper, and he doubled the difference between the two teams.
In the 61st minute, Sulley Ali Muntari shot at the goal, and the ball, rebounding off Gyano Asamoah, ended up in the net. It was a controversial goal, as G. Asamoah was offside during the shot.
However, "Torino" did not give up and tried to resist the opponents. Elvis Abbruscato softened the score in the 76th minute, making it 1-3. But the hope of "Torino" to equalize the score was dimmed by Gabriele Cioffi, who received a red card in the 85th minute and was forced to leave the field. As he left, he pushed the referee, risking strict sanctions.
Despite the numerical advantage, "Udinese" managed to complicate their situation in the 93rd minute by missing a goal. E. Abbruscato scored for a second time in the game. However, "Udinese" held onto their advantage and added another 3 points to their tally.
Results of Saturday's matches:
Lazio 3 - 0 Palermo
Udinese 3 - 2 Torino
Top scorers of the championship:
1. Francesco Totti ("Roma") – 13;
2. Gionathan Spinesi ("Catania") – 11;
3-6. Adrian Mutu ("Fiorentina") – 10;
Rolando Bianchi ("Fiorentina") – 10;
Cristiano Doni ("Atalanta") – 10;
Luca Toni ("Fiorentina") – 10;
7-11. Fabio Quagliarella ("Sampdoria") – 9;
Christian Rigano ("Messina") – 9;
Zlatan Ibrahimovic ("Inter") – 9;
Vincenzo Iaquinta ("Udinese") – 9;
Tommaso Rocchi ("Lazio") – 9;
12-13. Amauri ("Palermo") – 8;
Igor Budan ("Parma") – 8.
