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On Sunday, the remaining 30 round matches were played in the Italian championship. "Inter" further distanced themselves from their competitors, "Fiorentina" squandered a two-goal lead, "Palermo" extended their winless streak, allowing "Empoli" to take advantage and win, while Fernando Orsi, the new coach of "Livorno", debuted triumphantly against "Livorno" at the helm.
In the championship, leaders "Inter" hosted struggling "Parma" for survival in the league and comfortably won the match 2-0.
"Inter" surged forward thanks to excellent individual actions by Maxwell. The Brazilian skillfully saved a ball falling towards the sideline, then dribbled past his opponent, passing the ball to Hernan Crespo. The Argentinean returned the ball back to Maxwell who, after outsmarting two defenders, beat the opponents' goalkeeper.
Fifteen minutes later, H. Crespo was involved in another goal-scoring combination - the forward set up Adriano one-on-one with the goalkeeper, and the latter, after shaking off two defenders, returned the ball to H. Crespo on the right side who only had to slot the ball into the empty net.
With ten minutes left in the game, Adriano narrowly missed scoring the third goal for "Inter". "Parma" goalkeeper Luca Bucci rushed out of the goal trying to punch the ball, but Adriano beat him with speed and headed the ball towards the goal, only for it to hit the crossbar and bounce off the goal line, away from the net.
"Fiorentina", losing hope of fighting for a Champions League spot, continued to drop points - this time, the Florence club, which was leading 2-0 against "Atalanta" in Bergamo, ended the match in a draw 2-2.
The visitors took the lead in the 27th minute. Reginaldo found himself in the midst of a counter-attack and with a great shot into the top corner of the net, put his team ahead. Six minutes later, "Atalanta" defender Simone Loria pushed Martin Jorgensen in his penalty area, and the referee awarded a penalty to the home team. It was successfully converted by Giampaolo Pazzini.
However, S. Loria redeemed himself in the eyes of his fans six minutes later. The player, with a precise header, narrowed the gap between the teams. In the 66th minute, another penalty was awarded, this time to the away team. "Fiorentina" defender Alessandro Gamberini held Riccardo Zampagna and Cristiano Doni, who stepped up to take the penalty, sent the ball low past the goalkeeper, equalizing the score.
In a content-rich match, local team "Torino" played to a 0-0 draw with Sicilian visitors "Palermo". Both teams had several chances to score, but both goalkeepers Christian Abbiati and Alberto Fontana played faultlessly, and the teams had to settle for a draw.
The biggest surprise of the season, "Empoli", took advantage of their main competitors' draws and further improved their position in the tournament table with a 4-1 home win against "Ascoli".
The victory for "Empoli" was a result of two players, Nicola Pozzi and Luca Saudati, who have been playing remarkably well recently. Both players scored two goals, securing another win for their team.
Fernando Orsi's debut as head coach at "Livorno" was successful - his team won 4-1 at home against "Catania", despite the visitors taking the lead. The hosts' victory was sealed by Cristiano Lucarelli's hat-trick.
The "Chievo" team managed to slightly distance themselves from the relegation zone, playing to a 1-1 draw at home against "Sampdoria", who are competing for a place in the UEFA Cup.
"Sampdoria" took the lead after one of the most impressive goals of the season - Fabio Quagliarella, making his debut for the Italian national team on Wednesday, from 40 meters away from the goal with his back turned, flicked the ball forward, and before it could hit the ground, unleashed a powerful shot under the crossbar.
However, "Chievo" managed to equalize with a simpler goal. Erjono Bogdani's header hit the crossbar, but then fell to Matteo Brighi, who sent the ball from a rebound into the net.
In a direct battle for survival, "Cagliari" secured a crucial 2-0 home win against struggling "Messina".
In the last round matches, "Lazio" defeated "Udinese" 4-2 away. This was the seventh consecutive victory for the Rome club in the Italian championship and helped the team increase their lead over the closest pursuer, "Palermo", to four points.
Sunday's match results:
2 – 0
56` [1 – 0] Maxwell
70` [2 – 0] Hernan Crespo
2 – 2
27` [0 – 1] Reginaldo
33` [0 – 2] Giampaolo Pazzini (penalty)
39` [1 – 2] Simone Loria
66` [2 – 2] Cristiano Doni (penalty)
0 – 0
4 – 1
44` [1 – 0] Nicola Pozzi
49` [1 – 1] Andrea Soncin
52` [2 – 1] Luca Saudati
71` [3 – 1] Luca Saudati
74` [4 – 1] Nicola Pozzi
4 – 1
14` [0 – 1] Andrea Sottil
20` [1 – 1] Cristiano Lucarelli
45` [2 – 1] Stefano Fiore
82` [3 – 1] Cristiano Lucarelli (penalty)
90` [4 – 1] Cristiano Lucarelli
1 – 1
27` [0 – 1] Fabio Quagliarella
32` [1 – 1] Matteo Brighi
2 – 0
12` [1 – 0] Davide Biondini
24` [2 – 0] Alessandro Budel
2 - 4
18` [0 - 1] Guglielo Stendardo
50` [0 - 2] Stefano Mauri
51` [0 - 3] Valon Behrami
58` [1 - 3] Antonio Di Natale (penalty)
60` [1 - 4] Tommaso Rocchi (penalty)
90` [2 - 4] Vincenzo Iaquinta
Top scorers of the championship:
1. Francesco Totti ("Roma") – 18;
2-5. Luca Toni ("Fiorentina") – 15;
Rolando Bianchi ("Reggina") – 15;
Zlatan Ibrahimovic ("Inter") – 15;
Cristiano Lucarelli ("Livorno") – 15;
6-7. Adrian Mutu ("Fiorentina") – 13;
Tommaso Rocchi ("Lazio") – 13;
8-10. Gionatha Spinesi ("Catania") – 12;
Christian Rigano ("Messina") – 12;
Fabio Quagliarella ("Sampdoria") – 12;
Tournament table:
Note: due to the corruption scandal, "Fiorentina" had 15 points deducted, "Reggina" - 11, "Milan" - 8, "Lazio" - 3. Due to financial reasons, "Siena" had 1 point deducted.
