© EuroFootball.com
On Sunday, the remaining eight matches of the 12th round of the Italian championship took place. The sole leader of the season after securing a victory became the "Inter" club. Meanwhile, "Roma" in third place showed no mercy to their opponents, scoring seven goals. Once again, their rivals were crushed by the "Lazio" club, while "Livorno" and "Udinese" were able to bounce back convincingly and defeat their opponents after a disappointing previous round.
"Inter" narrowly defeated the last-place "Reggina" club 1-0 at home.
The victory for the Milan club was secured by a goal scored by Hernan Crespo in the 4th minute. Getting a pass from his teammate Patrick Vieira, the Argentine striker defeated the "Reggina" goalkeeper with a precise shot. Despite conceding a goal, "Reggina" did not break and had two great opportunities in this match to equalize the score, but in one episode, the hosts were saved by Walter Samuel clearing the ball from the goal line. In the second half, "Reggina" even managed to score, but the referee disallowed the goal due to a controversial offside.
In the 37th minute of the match, "Reggina" coach Walter Mazzarri was sent off the field for comments to the referee, and in the post-match press conference, he fiercely criticized the referees. Meanwhile, in this match after a month break, the Brazilian Adriano played for "Inter". The player was given a period to rest and regain his best form, but the forward has already returned to the starting lineup.
The "Roma" team achieved the most impressive victory of the season, thrashing the "Catania" team at home with a score of 7-0.
The visitors were reduced to ten men in the 15th minute after Giuseppe Mascara received a red card, and the "Roma" players took advantage by bombarding the opponents' goal. In this match, Christian Panucci and Simone Perrotta scored two goals each, while Amantino Mancini, Vincenzo Montella, and Francesco Totti also found the back of the net. Towards the end of the match, "Catania" were left with nine men as Davide Baiocco also received a red card.
"Lazio" proved that their success in the previous round, a 5-0 win against "Udinese", was not a fluke by defeating the "Messina" club 4-1 away, surpassing them in the league table.
In the 10th minute, Stefano Mauri put "Lazio" ahead with a penalty kick. However, the hosts managed to equalize in the second half. In the 56th minute, the referee awarded a penalty kick to the visitors' goal, which was successfully converted by the most prolific player of the championship, Christian Rigano. But just three minutes later, Goran Pandev, taking advantage of the opponents' defenders' mistakes, once again put "Lazio" ahead.
Stefano Mauri sealed the victory for the capital club in the 82nd minute, showcasing excellent form in recent matches. The first shot towards goal was saved by the opponents' goalkeeper, but the ball ended up at S. Mauri's feet, and the second shot went into the net. Just two minutes later, Stephen Makinwa scored the fourth goal for "Lazio" during a counterattack, finally burying the hosts' chances of salvaging a draw.
The "Livorno" team, without Toma Danilevičius this time, managed to defeat the "Parma" team at home with a score of 3-0.
The hosts took the lead in the 26th minute after Marco Pfertzelo's goal, and in the 52nd minute, the most productive player of this season for "Parma", Igor Budan, was sent off, allowing the "Livorno" players to finish off their opponents by scoring two goals towards the end of the match.
"Udinese" bounced back after a humiliating defeat in the previous round, beating the "Siena" team 3-0. Vincenzo Iaquinta led the Udinese team to victory by scoring two goals and contributing with an assist to his teammate Gyano Asamoah's goal.
"Fiorentina" managed to squander their advantage at the end of the match against "Ascoli", which ended in a 1-1 draw. Although Luca Toni, the most prolific player of the previous Serie A season, put the Florence club ahead in the 45th minute, Saša Bjelanović's goal in the 84th minute allowed the hosts' new coach Nedo Sonetti to celebrate a point in his debut.
"Chievo" wasted a two-goal lead and played a 2-2 draw at home against "Atalanta". Despite Sergio Pellissier's goal in the 56th minute giving Verona's club a 2-0 lead, "Atalanta" managed to find the strength to fight back and equalize the score.
"Torino" finally ended their unsuccessful streak by defeating the "Sampdoria" team 1-0 at home. The hosts' victory was sealed by Alessandro Rosina's penalty kick in the 80th minute.
Sunday's match results:
1 – 0
4` [0 – 1] Hernan Crespo
7 – 0
12` [1 – 0] Christian Panucci
19` [2 – 0] Amantino Mancini
24` [3 – 0] Simone Perrotta
40` [4 – 0] Francesco Totti
48` [5 – 0] Christian Panucci
59` [6 – 0] Vincenzo Montella
70` [7 – 0] Francesco Totti
15` and 89` Giuseppe Mascara and Davide Baiocco sent off ("Catania")
1 – 4
10` [0 – 1] Stefano Mauri
57` [1 – 1] Christian Rigano
59` [1 – 2] Goran Pandev
82` [1 – 3] Stefano Mauri
84` [1 – 4] Stephen Ayodele Makinwa
3 – 0
26` [1 – 0] Marc Pfertzel
71` [2 – 0] Damiano Ferronetti (own goal)
82` [3 – 0] Cristiano Lucarelli
51` Igor Budan sent off ("Parma")
3 – 0
19` [1 – 0] Gyan Asamoah
44` [2 – 0] Vincenzo Iaquinta (penalty)
79` [3 – 0] Vincenzo Iaquinta
1 – 1
45` [0 – 1] Luca Toni
84` [1 – 1] Sasa Bjelanovic
2 – 2
25` [1 – 0] Andrea Zanchetta
57` [2 – 0] Sergio Pellissier
72` [2 – 1] Ricardo Zampagna
74` [2 – 2] Simone Loria
1 – 0
80` [1 – 0] Alessandro Rosina (penalty)
Most prolific players of the championship:
1. Christian Rigano ("Messina") - 9;
2-6. Amauri ("Palermo") - 6;
Igor Budan ("Parma") - 6;
Rolando Bianchi ("Reggina") - 6;
Vincenzo Iaquinta ("Udinese") - 6;
Eugenio Corini ("Palermo") - 6.
