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In Milan, the 266th derby between the teams of "Inter" and "Milan" took place. The championship leader "Inter" celebrated victory with a score of 2-1, despite former player Ronaldo leading "Milan" to the front.
In these matches, "Inter" had to play without Adriano, Patrick Vieira, Maicon, and Esteban Cambiasso, while their opponents were missing Kakha Kaladze, Marco Borriello, Alessandro Nesta, and Serginho. For the captain of this team, Paolo Maldini, this was his 600th match in the "Serie A" championship.
At the beginning of the match, Ronaldo was brought down and the referee awarded a penalty kick to the "Inter" goal. Andrea Pirlo's shot narrowly missed the post next to Julio Cesar's protected goal. Soon after, "Inter" suffered their first loss – the team's defender Fabio Grosso got injured and was replaced by Maxwell on the field.
"Milan" did not stop threatening the opponent's goal, with several opportunities for Ronaldo, Andrea Pirlo, and Kaka to score, only to be thwarted by the last-minute interventions of the "Inter" defenders on the field and the reliable goalkeeping of J. Cesar.
In the 30th minute, Zlatan Ibrahimovic broke into the opponent's penalty area and fell after contact with Daniele Bonera. The Swede demanded a penalty kick, but the referee showed him a yellow card for simulation. Shortly after, Ronaldo sent the ball towards the goal, but the referee disallowed the goal for offside.
As the first half ended, the "Inter" players began to attack more actively and had two excellent opportunities to score with Hernan Crespo, but the Argentinean lacked luck. However, the "Milan" players were the first to break through in these matches. Ronaldo received a pass from Gennaro Gattuso and, outsmarting the opponent Maxwell, scored with his left foot into the "Inter" goal.
At the end of the first half, another "Inter" player, Olivier Dacourt, was substituted by Walter Samuel.
At the beginning of the second half, "Milan" had an excellent chance to score a second goal. Gattuso received the ball in the penalty area and, facing the goalkeeper alone, sent the ball slightly wide.
"Inter" coach Roberto Mancini made his final substitution, bringing on Julio Cruz instead of Hernan Crespo, and this change paid off immediately. Just 15 seconds later, Zlatan Ibrahimovic broke into the penalty area on the right side and passed the ball to J. Cruz, who only had to send it into the empty goal.
Shortly after, J. Cruz almost scored one of the most impressive goals of the season. Z. Ibrahimovic outsmarted his opponent Massimo Ambrosini and crossed the ball towards the goal. The ball reached J. Cruz, but he did not have time to turn around and, back facing the goal, struck with his heel over the crossbar.
"Milan" coach Carlo Ancelotti strengthened his team's attack by bringing on Alberto Gilardino, but it was the "Inter" team that broke through. In the 75th minute, J. Cruz took advantage of a slip by the opponent Marek Jankulovski on the grass and passed the ball to the unmarked Z. Ibrahimovic in the penalty area, who defeated "Milan" goalkeeper Dida with a low shot.
At the end of the match, "Milan" tried to press their opponents and equalize the score, but the team failed to create any dangerous chances and had to admit the opponents' superiority for the second time this season.
In a very intense and thrilling match, "Lazio" defeated the "Reggina" team away with a score of 3-2 and climbed to third place in the league table.
The first goals in the match were scored by "Reggina" players. In the 26th minute, Giovanni Tedesco unleashed a powerful shot from 20 meters and the ball flew into the top corner of the "Lazio" goal. However, towards the end of the first half, "Lazio" managed to equalize the score. Tommaso Rocchi broke through on the right side and passed the ball to his teammate Christian Manfredini, who leveled the score.
In less than a minute, the match turned upside down – taking advantage of the mistakes of the "Reggina" defenders, Goran Pandev put "Lazio" ahead. In the 65th minute, "Reggina" defender Pasquale Foggia, who belonged to the "Lazio" club, equalized the score. The player directed Giovanni Tedesco's cross into his own goal with a powerful shot.
However, with ten minutes left until the end of the match, "Lazio" managed to equalize the score once again. Stephen Makinwa broke through the right side of the opponent's penalty area and unleashed an unstoppable shot into the near top corner.
In the clash between teams fighting for a place in the Champions League, the match ended in a draw. "Palermo" played a 1-1 draw at home with the "Fiorentina" team.
The "Fiorentina" players took the lead in the first half, but the goal was scored in questionable circumstances. "Palermo" defender Roberto Guana had the ball, but suddenly fell to the ground due to thigh pain. Seizing the opportunity, "Fiorentina" forward Adrian Mutu took the ball and, breaking through two opponents, led the visitors ahead. "Palermo" players protested against Adrian Mutu's unsportsmanlike behavior, but the referee just showed a yellow card to David Di Michele, who expressed dissatisfaction.
In the 70th minute, "Palermo" was reduced to ten men after Cristian Zaccardo received a red card for a reckless challenge against the opponent. However, this seemed to motivate the hosts even more to equalize the score, and a minute later, they succeeded in doing so. Playing in his debut "Serie A" match, Edison Cavani sent the ball into the opponents' goal with a great shot from the edge of the penalty area.
The "Empoli" team took a 2-0 lead but squandered their advantage and played a 2-2 draw at home with the "Livorno" team.
The hosts took a 2-0 lead after the first half thanks to goals from Francesco Pratali and Sergio Almiron. Moreover, "Livorno" played with ten men from the 26th minute, as their defender Giovanni Pasquale received a red card. However, "Livorno" did not consider giving up and in the 58th minute, Rahman Rezaei reduced the lead, while Cristiano Lucarelli scored the equalizer with a penalty shot at the end of the match.
"Torino" secured three crucial points by defeating the struggling "Catania" club 1-0 at home. The hosts' victory was determined by a superb goal scored by Alessandro Rosina in the 77th minute. The Italian received the ball in the middle of the field and, after dribbling past several defenders, sent the ball into the opponents' goal.
"Parma" also managed to snatch a draw towards the end of the match and played a 1-1 draw away with the "Atalanta" team. The latter took the lead in the 54th minute through a goal by Mario Defendi, but in the 87th minute, "Parma" defender Ferdinand Coly saved his team by scoring the equalizer.
A similar scenario unfolded in the match between the teams fighting for survival, "Chievo" and "Messina". The match in Verona ended in a 1-1 draw.
The hosts took the lead in the 73rd minute. The referee awarded a penalty kick to the "Messina" goal. Sergio Pellissier's shot was saved by the visitors' goalkeeper, but "Chievo" defender Paolo Sammarco was first to the ball and sent it into the net. However, in the 87th minute, another penalty kick was awarded, this time in the opposite penalty area. It was successfully converted by "Messina's" attacking leader, Christian Rigano.
At the bottom of the league table before this round, "Ascoli" unexpectedly defeated the struggling "Siena" team with a 1-0 score away. The visitors secured victory with a precise shot from Sascha Bjelanovic in the 23rd minute.
Sunday's match results:
Inter 3 – 1 Milan
33' [1–0] Francesco Totti (penalty)
40' [2–0] Simone Perrotta
60' [3–0] Francesco Totti
69' [3–1] Gyan Asamoah
Top scorers of the championship:
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- Francesco Totti ("Roma") – 18 goals;
- Luca Toni ("Fiorentina") – 15 goals;
- Rolando Bianchi ("Reggina") – 14 goals;
- Adrian Mutu ("Fiorentina") – 13 goals;
Zlatan Ibrahimovic ("Inter") – 13 goals;
- Gionatha Spinesi ("Catania") – 12 goals;
Tommaso Rocchi ("Lazio") – 12 goals;
Cristiano Lucarelli ("Livorno") – 12 goals;
Christian Rigano ("Messina") – 12 goals;
- Igor Budan ("Parma") – 11 goals;
League table:
