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On Sunday, 35 matches were played in the Italian league. AS Roma's Lazio took a huge step towards qualifying for next year's Champions League by defeating their opponent, while the main competitors Palermo, Milan, and Fiorentina failed to secure victories. Chievo and Torino secured victories, pushing the struggling Siena into the relegation zone.
At home, Lazio defeated Livorno with a score of 1-0, allowing them to reclaim the third spot which they lost to Milan in the previous round. Luis Jimenez scored the winning goal for the capital club in the 27th minute. The Chilean received the ball from his teammate Goran Pandev and, despite being surrounded by three defenders, accurately struck the ball into the opponent's goal from the edge of the penalty area.
Lazio's fiercest rivals, Roma, also had reason to celebrate as they secured the second spot in the championship and a direct path to the Champions League. The Romans defeated Palermo 2-1 away.
The visitors were led by a brilliant goal from team captain Francesco Totti. The most prolific scorer in the Serie A championship sent the ball into the net from a penalty kick from a distance of 30 meters. Roma's second goal was scored by defender Marco Cassetti, who received a pass from Simone Perrotta and outsmarted the opponent's goalkeeper.
Palermo managed to score a consolation goal at the end of the match, but it did not change the outcome. David Di Michele struck the ball towards Roma's goal, but the visitors' goalkeeper deflected the ball. However, it bounced to Palermo's midfielder Giovanni Tedesco, who also scored. Although Roma defender Philippe Mexes tried to clear the ball, it had already crossed the goal line.
On the other hand, the two clubs vying for a spot in the Champions League, Milan and Fiorentina, faced each other. The match ended in a 0-0 draw, with Milan narrowly missing out on a win.
The 26th minute saw another controversial decision by the referee. The ball bounced off Alessandro Gamberini's chest onto his hand, and the referee awarded a penalty kick to Fiorentina. However, the visitors' defender accidentally touched the ball with his hand. Nevertheless, Kaka, who stepped up to take the penalty kick, hit the crossbar.
Sunday's match results:
2 – 1
43‘ [0 – 1] Sulley Ali Muntari
66‘ [1 – 1] Davide Marchini
85‘ [2 – 1] Andrea Capone
80‘ Vincenzo Iaquinta ("Udinese") sent off
1 – 0
27‘ [1 – 0] Luis Jimenez
0 – 0
1 – 0
5‘ [1 – 0] Franco Semioli
1 – 0
19‘ [1 – 0] Alessandro Rosina
3 – 1
12‘ [1 – 0] Luca Ariatti
47‘ [1 – 1] Simone Vergassola
65‘ [2 – 1] Christian Vieri
90‘ [3 – 1] Moris Carrozzieri
90‘ Alberto and Valerio Bertotto ("Siena") sent off
2 – 1
23‘ [1 – 0] Nicola Pozzi
26‘ [2 – 0] Sergio Almiron
28‘ [2 – 1] Gionatha Spinesi
0 – 1
72‘ [0 – 1] Hernan Crespo
0 – 0
1 – 2
17‘ [0 – 1] Francesco Totti
36‘ [0 – 2] Marco Cassetti
86‘ [1 – 2] Giovanni Tedesco
Top goal scorers of the championship:
1. Francesco Totti ("Roma") – 22;
2. Cristiano Lucarelli ("Livorno") – 18;
3. Rolando Bianchi ("Reggina") – 17;
4-5. Luca Toni ("Fiorentina") – 16;
Gionatha Spinesi ("Catania") – 16;
6-8. Zlatan Ibrahimovic ("Inter") – 15;
Adrian Mutu ("Fiorentina") – 15;
Tommaso Rocchi ("Lazio") – 15;
9-11. Vincenzo Iaquinta ("Udinese") – 14;
Christian Rigano ("Messina") – 14;
Nicola Amoruso ("Reggina") – 14.
League table:
Note: Due to a corruption scandal, Fiorentina had 15 points deducted, Reggina had 11 points deducted, Milan had 8 points deducted, and Lazio had 3 points deducted. Due to financial reasons, Siena had 1 point deducted.
