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29th round of the Italian championship started with two meetings on Saturday. Turin's "Juventus", the league leader, won their 20th victory by defeating "Reggina", while "Lazio" suffered their second consecutive loss away from home.
1 - 0 65' [1 - 0] Alessandro Del Piero
In the first half, the guests were surprisingly more active, and M.Borriello's shots threatened G.Buffon's goal several times. "Juve," on the other hand, failed to break through the well-organized "Reggina" defense.
After the break, F.Capello sent in A.Tacchinardi instead of M.Blasi, and the hosts started to play more aggressively. M.Camoranesi made a great pass into the penalty area, but Z.Ibrahimovič's shot hit the crossbar.
Soon after, "Juventus" had another missed opportunity, as a powerful shot by A.Del Piero from the penalty area also hit the goal frame. Later, M.Zalayeta had a chance to score, but his attempt was unsuccessful as the goalkeeper easily caught the ball.
However, the hosts' efforts in the 65th minute bore fruit after a superb combination - J.Zebina broke through on the right, Z.Ibrahimovič passed the ball to A.Del Piero, who only had to score a goal and lead his team in front.
"Reggina" did not give up and continued to attack the opponents' goal for the remaining part of the game, but "Juve" held on and secured another victory - now, in order to defend their champions title, "Milan" will have to defeat the "Roma" team tomorrow.
1 - 0 60' [1 - 0] Igor Tudor
In the first half, neither team managed to create very dangerous opportunities, and all the action shifted to the second half, which "Siena" started better - initially, F.Cozza failed to exploit chances, then "Lazio" threatened the goal with E.Chiesa and M.Maccarone.
After an hour of play, "Siena" finally broke through - after a corner kick, I.Tudor's shot hit the post and entered the goal. After conceding the goal, "Lazio" coach G.Papadopulo immediately strengthened the attack and pressed the opponents.
M.Oddo delivered a free kick into the penalty area, F.Couto headed it towards the goal, but E.Filippini's shot from a good position was saved by goalkeeper A.Manninger. "Siena" counterattacked, and E.Chiesa was stopped only by excellent defending from L.Zauri.
As the match approached the end, it became more open - F.Liverani's shot flew next to the post, soon the same happened after T.Rocchi's attempt. In the 74th minute, the stadium fell silent when Liverani missed the goal by a few centimeters, and later his shot was saved by the goalkeeper.
In the last moments of the match, G.Pandev could have equalized, but he failed to reach the ball flying towards the far post. "Siena" achieved a rare victory and climbed out of the relegation zone, while "Lazio" missed the opportunity to distance themselves from it.
