Week 10 in Serie A saw Lazio remain top and Bari remain bottom, but the five clubs at the top of the table are separated by just four points. Wins by AC Milan, Juventus and Napoli all helped close the gap, while Bari’s fifth consecutive defeat has the Galletti wondering if there’s any way to stave off relegation.
Serie A Week 10: Roma Beat Leaders Lazio In The Derby Della Capitale; Four Points Separate Top Five Teams
The derby in Rome was the hottest ticket in Serie A this weekend, with AS Roma traveling... nowhere... to meet league leaders Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico. While the visitors continually tested Lazio goalkeeper Fernando Muslera, in the end Roma were only able to beat the Uruguayan through kicks from the spot. Shortly after the break, Lazio defender Stephan Lichtsteiner was judged to have handled a shot by Fabio Simplicio. Marco Borriello stepped up, sending his shot to the bottom right-hand corner of the net. Muslera scrambled and managed to get a touch on the ball, but couldn't stop it from going under him and into the net. Pasquale Foggia nearly equalized for Lazio just seven minutes before time, his shot rebounding off the woodwork. Instead it was Roma that took the next goal-another penalty, this one put away by Mirko Vučinić. Roma's 2-0 win put an end to Lazio's five match winning streak and brought AC Milan within two points of the top of the table.
Milan, meanwhile, fought off a late comeback from Bari to grab all three points and move into that second spot. Massimo Ambrosini opened the scoring for the visitors just four minutes into the match, diving to meet Clarence Seedorf’s cross to head the ball in from six yards. The Rossoneri doubled their lead in the 31st minute with Mathieu Flamini’s low shot from twenty yards. In the 65 minute, however, the Galletti found their way through when Vitaly Kutuzov sent a shot in from close range. Pato answered with a low shot soon after, giving Milan a two-goal advantage once again. Although Bari managed to pull one back in the 90th minute through Paulo Vito Barreto, Milan held on for a 3-2 win.
Inter Milan helped their rivals by allowing Brescia a 1-1 draw at the San Siro. The Rondinelle scored in the 14th minute, when a shot by Andrea Caracciolo was misplayed by Walter Samuel, allowing Caracciolo the chance to put it in the net. Samuel was carried off later in the match, with a knee injury that will likely cause the defender to miss the rest of the season. Inter continued to press for an equalizer but Brescia's stand-in keeper, Michele Arcari, managed to push away anything in his path. Instead, the Nerazzurri had to resort to sneaker methods: Samuel Eto'o appeared to slip inside the penalty area but managed to convince the referee he had been fouled by Gaetano Berardi. The normally spot-on striker had already missed a few earlier chances, but from the spot he was able to put the ball past Arcari and give Inter the equalizer.
Cesena must have been thrilled to open the scoring away at Juventus, but the 14th minute goal from Luis Jimenez wasn't nearly enough for the visitors. A penalty once again changed the flow of the match, with Alessandro del Piero converting after Maximiliano Pellegrino brought down Lorenzo Bonucci. Pellegrino was then sent off shortly before the break, paving the way for a Juve win. Fabio Quagliarella's header put the home side ahead before half time. Vincenzo Iaquinta found a third just three minutes before the end, giving Juventus a 3-1 win and keeping Cesena in the drop zone.
Napoli remain just behind Juventus, picking up a 2-0 win over bottom-dwellers Parma. Edinson Cavani bagged a brace for the Partenopei in what was otherwise a fairly boring match. Napoli typically like to keep things exciting, either going ahead only to lose the lead, as they did against Liverpool midweek, or coming back from behind to find victory. A match in which they lead from beginning to end is unusual, and might give the team confidence ahead of their Wednesday clash at Cagliari.
In other matches, Mauricio Pinilla gave the woodwork a good beating before finally putting the ball in the net, giving Palmero a 1-0 win over Genoa. Sampdoria, still without Antonio Cassano, couldn’t break down the Catania defense and had to settle for a 0-0 draw. The Blucerchiati are definitely missing the exiled player, having scored just one goal in three games in his absence.
Fiorentina managed to climb eight places with a single win, with Alessio Cerci’s 75th minute goal giving the Viola a 1-0 win over Chievo and lofting them into ninth-at least, until Palmero won later in the day. Udinese were denied a five game winning streak by visiting Cagliari, who struck early with a goal by Daniele Conti. The Bianconeri struck via Antonio Floro Flores, whose goal just before halftime was sufficient to keep Cagliari searching for their first away win. Finally, Bologna climbed out of the relegation zone with a 2-0 win over Lecce, although the Rossoblu waited until almost the last minute to pull out a win, with two goals in two minutes, scored by Marco Di Vaio and Henry Giménez with five minutes left to play.
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