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On Wednesday, the 8th round matches took place in the Italian championship. "Inter" achieved a crushing victory, while the other league leader, "Palermo," won the Sicilian derby. "Milan" managed to win after a weekend defeat, while "Roma" continued their streak of poor results at home but narrowly escaped defeat against the "Ascoli" club. "Sampdoria" and "Fiorentina" also earned three points in this round.
"Inter" finally managed to secure a convincing victory. The Milan club defeated Tomo Danilevičius's "Livorno" team 4-1 at home.
Right at the start of the match, luck smiled upon the "Inter" team – a cross from Alvaro Recoba was deflected into his own net by "Livorno" defender Marc Pfertzel. The visitors failed to recover from this shock, and after 13 minutes, the Italian champions scored another goal – A.Recoba lifted a corner into the penalty area, where Marco Materazzi doubled the lead with a header.
Tomas Danilevičius was the only one in his team to have several opportunities to score in the first half, but his shots went wide. However, the players of the Milan club relaxed a bit in the second half and paid the price for it – in the 69th minute, Cristiano Lucarelli was left unmarked in the penalty area and reduced the deficit with a header.
However, the hopes of "Livorno" were dashed just two minutes later when after a pass from Dejan Stanković, "Inter" legionnaire from Sweden Zlatan Ibrahimović scored his team's third goal. Just seven minutes later, "Inter" finally finished off their opponents. Luis Figo lifted a corner, and after a scramble in the penalty area, Julio Ricardo Cruz scored with a header.
"Inter" is not allowed to enjoy sole leadership in the league, as "Palermo," following their victory over "Milan" the previous weekend, secured another win by defeating the "Messina" team 2-1 in the Sicilian derby.
However, it was not the "Palermo" players who scored first in this match. In the 7th minute, Christian Rigano sent the ball into the net after a pass from Salvatore Masiello, unexpectedly putting the "Messina" team ahead. However, "Palermo" did not falter and equalized in the 24th minute. Cristian Zaccardo scored with a header from a corner kick.
Just before the end of the first half, emotions flared on the field. "Messina" defender Angelo Rea collided with "Palermo" forward Davide Di Michele, and the referee awarded a penalty to the visitors, although replays showed that the collision occurred outside the penalty area. The "Messina" players argued vehemently with the referee, but D. Di Michele stepped up to take the penalty and coolly converted it to beat the opposing goalkeeper.
Once again, the forwards of the "Milan" club failed to score, but the team was saved by defender Marek Jankulovski, and the "Rossoneri" managed to defeat the "Chievo" club 1-0 away. The Czech decided the match in the 31st minute when he took a shot from 20 meters out and the ball flew into the corner of the goal.
"Roma" once again failed to overcome their opponents. This time the capital team played 2-2 at home against the "Ascoli" club.
In the 22nd minute, the visitors took the lead when defensive errors from "Roma" allowed former Roma player Marco Delvecchio to score with a header. However, at the start of the second half, the hosts managed to equalize after a fantastic long-range shot from their captain Francesco Totti.
But "Roma" fans' joy was short-lived – just 14 minutes later, the visitors took the lead once again. The defense of the capital club once again faltered, and Saša Bjelanovičius scored with a header. Just a few minutes later, "Ascoli" defender Mirko Cudini brought down Francesco Totti in his own penalty area, and the referee awarded a penalty. F.Totti stepped up to take the penalty, but his shot was spectacularly saved by experienced goalkeeper Gianluca Pagliuca.
However, the capital team managed to salvage a draw in the dying minutes of the match. G.Pagliuca saved F.Totti's penalty, but the ball fell to "Roma" defender Philippe Mexes, who equalized the score.
"Sampdoria" secured a 2-0 victory at home against the "Lazio" club, which ended the match with nine players.
The first goal for the Genoa club came from a mistake by the "Lazio" defender. Manuele Belleri made an error, allowing "Sampdoria" player Fabio Quagliarella to be one-on-one with the opposing goalkeeper, and the Italian striker beat his opponent.
The Rome team ultimately ruined their chances as Guillermo Stendardo was sent off the field for a serious foul against his opponent, and a few minutes later Sebastian Siviglia committed a foul in his own penalty area, resulting in the referee awarding a penalty, which was successfully converted by Sergio Volpi.
In the closing stages of the match, "Lazio" legionnaire Goran Pandev received a second yellow card, forcing his team to finish the match with nine players.
"Fiorentina" extended their winning streak with a 1-0 victory away against the "Torino" team. The victory was sealed by Martin Jørgensen in the 13th minute. The Danish forward, unmarked in the penalty area, received a pass from Marco Donadel and sent the ball into the net.
"Reggina" secured a crucial 3-2 victory at home against the "Parma" club, reducing their points deficit to just four. The club is now only six points away from the nearest club, which was not sanctioned with point deductions due to the referee corruption scandal.
"Udinese" maintained their 4th place in the championship, playing out a 1-1 draw away against the "Empoli" team, which is recovering after two consecutive losses in rounds 5 and 6.
"Atalanta" once again played an incredible match. Last week, the Bergamo club lost to the "Sampdoria" team 0-2, but this time they managed to snatch a victory. In this round, "Atalanta" fell behind 1-3 in the match against "Cagliari" but managed to score two goals and secure a point.
In the final moments of the match, "Catania" managed to snatch a point with a 1-1 draw away against "Siena." The hosts took the lead from the 47th minute, but the visitors equalized in the 93rd minute.
Results of the 8th round:
4 – 1 "”
2` [1 – 0] Marc Pfertzel (own goal)
13` [2 – 0] Marco Materazzi
69` [2 – 1] Cristiano Lucarelli
71` [3 – 1] Zlatan Ibrahimovic
78` [4 – 1] Julio Ricardo Cruz
"” 2 – 1 "”
7` [0 – 1] Christian Rigano
25` [1 – 1] Cristian Zaccardo
41` [2 – 1] David Di Michele (penalty)
"” 0 – 1 "”
31` [0 – 1] Marek Jankulovski
"” 2 – 2 "”
22` [0 – 1] Marco Delvecchio
50` [1 – 1] Francesco Totti
64` [1 – 2] Sasa Bjelanovic
90` [2 – 2] Philippe Mexes
"” 2 – 0 "”
53` [1 – 0] Fabio Quagliarella
75` [2 – 0] Sergio Volpi (penalty)
71` Guillermo Stendardo sent off ("Lazio”)
90` Goran Pandev sent off ("Lazio”)
"” 0 – 1 "”
13` [0 – 1] Martin Jorgensen
"” 3 – 2 "”
33` [1 – 0] Nicola Amoruso
39` [1 – 1] Igor Budan
74` [1 – 2] Andrea Gasbarroni
76` [2 – 2] Rolando Bianchi
77` [3 – 2] Nicola Amoruso
73` Matteo Contini sent off ("Parma”)
90` Giacomo Tedesco sent off ("Reggina”)
"” 1 – 1 "”
57` [0 – 1] Christian Obodo
60` [1 – 1] Davide Matteini
"” 3 – 3 "”
4` [1 – 0] Simone Loria
6` [1 – 1] Paolo Bianco
30` [1 – 2] Antonino D`Agostino
54` [1 – 3] David Suazo (penalty)
58` [2 – 3] Nicola Ventola
69` [3 – 3] Cristiano Doni
"” 1 – 1 "”
47` [1 – 0] Mario Frick
90` [1 – 1] Giorgio Corona
Top scorers of the championship:
1. Christian Rigano ("Messina”) – 6;
2-3. Mario Frick ("Siena”) – 5;
Rolando Bianchi ("Atalanta”) – 5;
4-7. Luca Toni ("Fiorentina”) – 4;
Vincenzo Iaquinta ("Udinese”) – 4;
Cristiano Doni ("Atalanta”) – 4;
Eugenio Corini ("Palermo”) – 4.
