Italian Calcio Serie A 2009/2010

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Brief reports from Serie A matches played on Sunday:

AC MILAN 1 CAGLIARI 0

Clarence Seedorf sidefooted home the winner after Cagliari defender Diego Lopez collided with keeper Federico Marchetti while trying to head back the ball, although TV replays suggested Lopez may have be given a shove by Filippo Inzaghi.

Cagliari, who had won five of their previous six games, gave a spirited display and hit the post with a powerful shot by Andrea Cossu shortly after the break.

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CATANIA 2 REGGINA 0

Ciro Capuano’s left-footed piledriver set the home side on their way to a first league win since December.

Alessandro Potenza took advantage of a blunder by defender Maurizio Lanzaro, who completely missed the ball when trying to head away, to secure the points as bottom side Reggina rarely threatened.

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FIORENTINA 2 CHIEVO VERONA 1

Adrian Mutu coolly drove home the winner deep into stoppage time, although s***mishes broke out as the visitors were angry the Romanian had scored with one of their players down hurt.

Mutu’s strike partner Alberto Gilardino headed in the equaliser in the 73rd minute after defender Santiago Morero had fired in from close range to give the visitors the lead.

Second-from-bottom Chievo had midfielder Vincenzo Italiano sent off for a second yellow card in the 82nd.

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LECCE 0 LAZIO 2

Lazio’s Pasquale Foggia opened the scoring in the 10th minute with a volley that took a big deflection from Lecce defender Guglielmo Stendardo on the way in.

Aleksandar Kolarov completed a strong run with a splendid diagonal strike from the left to make it 2-0 six minutes into the second half as Lazio ended a six-match winless run in the league.

Lecce hit the woodwork three times, but Lazio had a first-half goal by Goran Pandev wrongly disallowed for offside.

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NAPOLI 0 GENOA 1

Genoa were rewarded for showing more determination in the second half when substitute Bosko Jankovic rifled home the only goal.

Napoli have picked up just two points in their last seven games and were jeered off the pitch by the home fans.

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SAMPDORIA 1 ATALANTA BERGAMO 0

Giampaolo Pazzini gave Samp the spoils just after the hour mark with his fourth goal in as many games after being set up by Antonio Cassano’s delightful chip over the defensive line.

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TORINO 1 UDINESE 0

Defender Paolo Dellafiore scrambled in after a corner to give Torino a win that lifts them out of the relegation zone.

Udinese defender Maurizio Domizzi was sent off for dissent in stoppage time.

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Played on Saturday:

BOLOGNA 1-2 INTER MILAN

Inter’s title charge continued as substitute Mario Balotelli scored the winner with a free kick near the flank which sailed into the corner.

Esteban Cambiasso had put the champions ahead after Adriano had again seemed to handle before Miguel Britos equalised with his first goal for struggling Bologna when the Uruguayan defender powered in a header from a corner.

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AS ROMA 1-0 SIENA

Rodrigo Taddei curled a loose ball beautifully into the top corner midway through the second half to boost the home side’s Champions League qualification hopes.

The hosts laboured at times and lost Brazilian defenders Juan and Cicinho to injury ahead of their European trip to Arsenal on Tuesday.

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PALERMO 0-2 JUVENTUS

Second-placed Juve stayed nine points behind Inter thanks to a stunning strike from Mohamed Sissoko and David Trezeguet’s first league goal of the season.

Mali midfielder Sissoko danced through the home defence before firing into the top corner midway through the first half. Trezeguet, out for five months with a knee injury, slotted home in the second half after former Palermo forward Amauri’s strong run and pullback.

The Sicilians hit the bar through former Juve striker Fabrizio Miccoli early on and had several other chances.

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Brief reports from Serie A matches played on Sunday:

ATALANTA BERGAMO 0 CHIEVO VERONA 2

Former Atalanta forward Antonio Langella opened the score with a left-footed strike in the 78th minute.

The home side had defender Thomas Manfredini sent off four minutes later for a high elbow. Sergio Pellissier converted an 89th-minute penalty to make sure the strugglers returned to Verona with a precious win.

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CAGLIARI 0 TORINO 0

Cagliari’s Alessandro Matri hit a great chance straight at Torino keeper Matteo Sereni in the first half and Andrea Lazzari headed wide from a good position in the second.

Otherwise it was a dull, error-ridden affair.

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PALERMO 0 CATANIA 4

Argentine Pablo Ledesma scored with a diving header in the 14th minute after inspired Japanese forward Takayuki Morimoto broke free from his marker and floated a cross into the centre of the area.

Palermo midfielder Mark Bresciano was given a red card two minutes later for a nasty challenge on Morimoto, who sprinted on to a long ball to double the lead with a diagonal shot in the 37th.

Giuseppe Mascara scored the goal of the day with a remarkable hoof from just beyond half way in the 44th and Michele Paolucci completed the rout in the second half.

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REGGINA 1 FIORENTINA 1

Alessio Sestu gave the hosts the lead with a beautiful right-footed strike form outside the area in the 21st minute but former Reggina forward Emiliano Bonazzoli scrambled the ball in to level two minutes later.

Francesco Cozza contrived to hit the crossbar when presented with an open goal in the second half for basement side Reggina.

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SAMPDORIA 2 AC MILAN 1

Antonio Cassano headed the home side in front after a corner in the 33rd minute. Milan protested furiously that keeper Christian Abbiati had stopped the ball before it crossed the line, but TV replays seemed to show the referee made the right decision.

Giampaolo Pazzini put them further ahead, showing great skill to shake off the attention of Daniele Bonera before slotting into the far corner six minutes into the second half for his fifth goal in as many games.

Milan’s Alexandre Pato nodded in a Giuseppe Favalli cross 10 minutes from time to set up an exciting finale. His compatriot Emerson had an equaliser disallowed for offside shortly after.

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SIENA 0 GENOA 0

Genoa had a Diego Milito goal disallowed for a dubious offside call in the 25th minute and they hit the post late on with a Raffaele Palladino strike. But the match was evenly balanced and a draw was a just result.

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UDINESE 2 LECCE 0

Gaetano D’Agostino deservedly put Udinese on top with a splendid free kick on 75 minutes and Giovanni Pasquale took advantage to tap in after Lecce keeper Francesco Benussi spilled the ball in a dreadful blunder in stoppage time.

Lecce, who dropped to second from bottom with their fourth consecutive defeat, had Luca Ariatti sent off for stamping 12 minutes from time.

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INTER MILAN 3 AS ROMA 3

Roma were rewarded for a strong start when Daniele De Rossi soared to nod in a Marco Motta cross in the 23rd and John Arne Riise slipped the ball through keeper Julio Cesar’s legs from a tight angle six minutes later.

Inter responded with teenage striker Mario Balotelli, who sidefooted into the corner shortly after the break.

Midfielder Matteo Brighi restored the visitors’ two-goal cushion only for Balotelli to cut it again with a penalty conceded for a foul on him by De Rossi.

Substitute Hernan Crespo, making a rare appearance, completed the comeback with a header in the 79th.

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Played on Saturday:

LAZIO 2 BOLOGNA 0

Mauro Zarate struck twice to give Lazio their first league win at home in two months and make it a bitter return to the Stadio Olimpico for Bologna boss Sinisa Mihajlovic, who played for the Rome side between 1998 and 2004.

The Argentine forward ended his goalless spell, which stretched back to December, by curling in a free kick on 36 minutes and chipping his second with nine minutes to go after a one-two with Tommaso Rocchi.

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JUVENTUS 1 NAPOLI 0

Juventus kept up the chase of leaders Inter Milan thanks to a lucky strike by Claudio Marchisio that looked to be going wide before taking a deflection off Napoli’s Manuele Blasi at the end of the first half.

The visitors’ eighth consecutive away defeat will increase the pressure on coach Edy Reja, whose side have dropped to 11th after picking up two points in eight games.

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Antonio Floro Flores scored two late goals Sunday for Udinese to beat nine-man Reggina 2-0 in the Serie A and bounce back from its midweek UEFA Cup loss.

Floro Flores reached Giovanni Pasquale's cross to score in the 85th minute, and he made it 2-0 in injury time by shooting low inside the near post.

The loss leaves Reggina stranded at the bottom of the standings with 20 points, seven from safety with seven rounds remaining. Udinese, which was beaten 3-1 by German club Werder Bremen on Thursday in the UEFA Cup, is 13th with 29 points.

Both teams missed penalties Sunday, and Reggina had Maurizio Lanzaro and Antonio Barilla sent off for second yellow cards.

Like all sports fixtures in Italy at the weekend, the match was preceded by a minute's silence for the victims of the Abruzzo earthquake.

After an uneventful first half, Lanzaro pulled Floro Flores down at a corner. After the penalty was awarded, Lanzaro took his protests with referee Andrea De Marco too far and was sent off. However, Maurizio Domizzi blasted the spot kick over the crossbar.

Reggina went down to nine men when Barilla was dismissed in the 62nd.

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Defender Zdenek Grygera scored on a header in added time to earn 10-man Juventus a 1-1 draw with Inter Milan on Saturday, although it may have not been enough to prevent Inter from clinching its fourth successive Serie A title.

Teenager Mario Balotelli scored in the 64th minute for Inter and Juventus midfielder Tiago Mendes was shown a red card in the 76th.

Inter remained 10 points ahead of Juventus with six rounds remaining in the Italian league.

With both teams matching one another and few scoring chances being created, the 18-year-old Balotelli redirected in a perfect cross from Sulley Muntari, who was in turn set up by Zlatan Ibrahimovic down the left flank.

Balotelli concluded the action by beating Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon with an angled shot for his sixth score of the season.

Despite losing a man, Juventus did not give up and Czech Republic right back Grygera headed in a corner from a Sebastian Giovinco corner kick.

Earlier, Genoa's chances of qualifying for the Champions League took a hit with a 1-0 loss to Lazio.

Lazio forward Mauro Zarate showed off his speed by sprinting past the defense in the 65th, beating Brazilian goalkeeper Rubinho with an angled shot for his 12th score of the season to snap Genoa's four-game winning streak.

Genoa is still fourth with 57 points, two ahead of fifth-place Fiorentina, but it risks being overtaken when Fiorentina visits Udinese on Sunday.

The top four finishers in Serie A qualify for the Champions League.

Lazio has won two straight after beating AS Roma 4-2 in a derby last weekend and is now seventh with 47 points.

At Turin's Olympic stadium, coach Jose Mourinho lined up Ibrahimovic as his lone striker in Inter's 4-1-4-1 formation, while Claudio Ranieri countered with Alessandro Del Piero and Vincenzo Iaquinta at the front of Juventus' traditional 4-4-2.

Balotelli, who usually plays forward, lined up on the left wing of Inter's midfield and had the first chance with a shot that Buffon could only slow in the 10th. The ball trickled toward the goal until Tiago cleared it off the line.

Iaquinta had a shot deflected wide by Inter defender Walter Samuel in the 28th and Marco Marchionni wasted Juve's best chance of the half in the 31st, waiting too long to shoot and letting charging goalkeeper Julio Cesar block his shot on a counterattack.

Ibrahimovic slipped as he connected with the ball on a dangerous free kick in the 53rd and Del Piero had an even closer free kick in the 58th but his weak shot was stopped easily by Julio Cesar.

A few minutes after Balotelli scored, he risked a red card for protests, but was handed a yellow.

Ranieri sent on David Trezeguet for Marchionni in the 74th but ideas of an equalizer took a hard hit two minutes later when Tiago fouled Muntari and Balotelli in succession, earning a red card.

Still, Buffon kept Juve's chances alive with a tough save on a shot from Dejan Stankovic in the 79th and Giovinco replaced Del Piero for the final 10 minutes and set up Grygera's equalizer.

Genoa had a series of chances early in the first half negated by Lazio goalkeeper Fernando Muslera.

In the 28th, Goran Pandev's shot was blocked by Rubinho and Zarate missed the rebound.

Pandev limped off with an apparent thigh problem in the 40th and was replaced by Tommaso Rocchi.

Genoa defender Matteo Ferrari nearly scored an own-goal in second-half added time, hitting the post.

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With his brace against Lecce, Roma talisman Francesco Totti has become one of the top all-time scorers in Serie A.

His tap-in and penalty against the Saletini gave him 175 top-flight goals in his career, taking him past former Giallorossi star Amadeo Amadei. Meanwhile, 'Er Pupone' is certainly within reach of former Juventus hitman Giampiero Boniperti, who has 178 goals to his name.

Interestingly, Totti is the only one in the top ten who is still an active player, meaning 32-year-old could even surpass some of the other star names on the list before his distinguished career comes to an end.

The newly broken top ten is listed below.

1. Silvio Piola (274)
2. Gunnar Nordahl (225)
3. Jose Altafani (216)
4. Giuseppe Meazza (216)
5. Roberto Baggio (205)
6. Kurt Hamrin (190)
7. Giuseppe Signori (18
8. Gabriele Batistuta (184)
9. Giampiero Boniperti (17
10. Francesco Totti (175)

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Champion Inter Milan was held to a 1-1 draw at home by newly promoted Bari in its first match of the new season on Sunday.

Inter's main rivals both won, with Juventus beginning its season with a 1-0 win at home to Chievo Verona thanks to a Vincenzo Iaquinta header, whilst AC Milan won away to Siena on Saturday.

Samuel Eto'o opened the scoring for Inter with his first goal for his new side when he slotted home a penalty on 56 minutes, before Vitali Kutuzov equalized with 15 minutes to go.

Jose Mourinho's team was lackluster and struggled to break down an ultra-defensive Bari side.

Mario Balotelli came on midway through the first half to join Eto'o and Diego Milito in attack, whilst winger Ricardo Quaresma was brought on at halftime to provide further attacking options.

Despite the changes Inter was unable to create any clear chances.

"We knew that the first game is always tough, especially against a newly promoted team," Inter midfielder Thiago Motta said. "We knew they would cause us problems and put us under pressure.

"In the second half we started well and had a number of chances to score. We messed them up and we missed some good chances."

Weak efforts from Eto'o, Milito, Maicon and Motta were the best Inter produced in the first half, whilst Kutuzov had the best chance for Bari, but stepped on the ball when through on goal.

Leonardo Bonucci's foul on Diego Milito gave Eto'o the chance to open the scoring and the Cameroon international obliged from the penalty spot.

The ex-Barcelona striker should have doubled the lead after Milito released him in the penalty area, but with the goal at his mercy Eto'o shot wide.

On 74 minutes Kutuzov made up for his miss earlier in the game. Antonio Langella raced down the left wing, cut the ball back and Kutuzov bundled the ball past Julio Cesar.

Despite taking a first half lead Juventus did not enjoy a comfortable evening against Chievo.

Iaquinta headed Juventus into the lead when he rose to meet a Diego freekick on 12 minutes.

On 26 minutes Iaquinta should have doubled his tally and Juventus' lead.

Amauri crossed from the left and Iaquinta rose above the Chievo defense, but Stefano Sorrentino made a despairing save with his feet

For the rest of the match Ciro Ferrara's side was unable to come to terms with Chievo's physical approach.

Sergio Pellissier constantly caused problems for Juventus' defense, even if he was unable to capitalize on any of the chances created.

"I would say in the first half we played well," Ferrara said. "In the second half though we tired a bit. Chievo is a good team and made it hard to create chances.

"I'm happy with the result rather than the performance, but it is important to win. Chievo gave us all manner of problems, but it will do us good to play a team that makes life difficult on the first day of the season."

Europa League representative's Genoa and AS Roma shared five goals as Genoa won 3-2 in a thrilling match.

After a goalless first half, defender Domenico Criscito gave the hosts the lead on 49 minutes after a mix up in the Roma defense following Giuseppe Sculli's cross.

But the lead only lasted five minutes before Marco Motta picked out Marco Andreolli with a cross. His header was saved by goalkeeper Marco Amelia but Brazilian midfielder Taddei headed in the rebound.

On 65 minutes Roma captain Francesco Totti gave Roma the lead after Genoa was unable to clear a David Pizarro cross.

Four minutes later, Alberto Zapater brought Genoa back into the lead by curling a freekick over the wall and past Roma keeper Doni.

From another set piece Genoa retook the lead. Sculli fired in a shot, Doni failed to push the ball to safety and Giuseppe Biava swept in the rebound.

"We've changed a lot from last year," Genoa coach Gian Piero Gasperini said. "It was a good match and we had to work hard as Roma has many good players.

"We had some luck, but we deserved to profit from some luck after all the chances we created."

Also Sunday it was: Catania 1, Sampdoria 2; Lazio 1, Atalanta 0; Livorno 0, Cagliari 0; Palermo 2, Napoli 1 and Udinese 2, Parma 2.

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Serie A top scorers on Sunday
2 Alexandre Pato (AC Milan)
Antonio Di Natale (Udinese)
1 Samuel Eto'o (Inter Milan)
Marek Hamsik (Napoli)
Pablo Osvaldo (Bologna)
Vitali Kutuzov (Bari)
Fabrizio Miccoli (Palermo)
Edinson Cavani (Palermo)
Takayuki Morimoto (Catania)
Abdelkader Ghezzal (Siena)
Francesco Totti (AS Roma)
Rodrigo Taddei (AS Roma)
Adrian Mutu (Fiorentina)
Giuseppe Biava (Genoa)
Alberto Zapater (Genoa)
Domenico Criscito (Genoa)
Vincenzo Iaquinta (Juventus)
Tommaso Rocchi (Lazio)
Alessandro Lucarelli (Parma)
Alberto Paloschi (Parma)
Daniele Gastaldello (Sampdoria)
Giampaolo Pazzini (Sampdoria)

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Two goals from Diego helped Juventus to a 3-1 win away against AS Roma at Rome's Olympic Stadium, whilst Fiorentina followed up its midweek qualification for the group stages of the Champions League by beating Palermo 1-0.

The Brazilian struck in each half to secure Juventus' second win of the season before Felipe Melo scored in second half injury time to kill off any hopes Roma may have had of a late rally.

"It was as hard as we thought it would be," Diego said, "but you have to work hard to get anything against a side of this quality. There is a great atmosphere here at Juventus and with coach Ciro Ferrara and all the players, it has allowed me to settle into the team quickly."

Roma equalized when Daniele De Rossi opened his account for the season in the 35th minute, but Luciano Spalletti's charges were unable to come back a second time

The result means Roma is bottom of the table with no points.

After a quiet 20 minutes, fullback Paolo De Ceglie went close when his header from Diego's freekick forced Roma goalkeeper Julio Bertagnoli to push the ball away for a corner.

The next chance fell to Diego and he took full advantage, breaking through midfield, brushing off defender Philippe Mexes and then flicking the ball over Bertagnoli.

De Rossi's equalizer came as a surprise. Taddei flicked the ball to him in midfield and from well outside the area he fired a long range shot past Italy international Gianluigi Buffon.

Juventus striker Amauri went close on two occasions, but it was Totti who had the best chance for Roma before halftime.

Jeremy Menez played him through on goal, but Buffon rushed off his line to palm Totti's shot to safety.

After the break Amauri went close twice and Vincenzo Iaquinta shot over when one-on-one with Bertagnoli.

In the 67th Diego scored his second. Fabio Cannavaro picked out Iaquinta, who flicked the ball into Diego's path and the midfielder made no mistake to give Juventus the lead.

As Roma chased an equalizer and Mirko Vucinic headed wide and captain Francesco Totti struck a post 10 minutes from the finish, but Melo's late goal from the edge of the area sealed the win.

Stevan Jovetic was rewarded with a starting place for Fiorentina after he had come on and turned the match around on Wednesday against Sporting Lisbon.

After five minutes he went close to opening the scoring, but Palermo goalkeeper Rubinho was equal to his shot and Alberto Gilardino couldn't turn in the rebound.

But in the 29th minute the Montenegrin did open the scoring when he redirected Gianluca Comotto's cross past Rubinho, who was totally wrong-footed.

Just before halftime Fabio Miccoli forced Fiorentina keeper Sebastien Frey to save well with a sharp shot from close range after he had found space in the area.

Both teams tired quickly in the second half, but it was Fiorentina who came the closest to adding to the score.

In the 49th Alessandro Gamberini nearly took advantage of a mix up in the Palermo defense after Juan Vargas' freekick and in the 70th Jovetic turned sharply, but fired wide from the edge of the area.

Elsewhere, two strikers strengthened their cases for inclusion in Marcello Lippi's Italy squad for the upcoming matches with Georgia and Bulgaria.

Fabio Quagliarella scored twice for Napoli in its 3-1 win over Livorno, whilst Giampaolo Pazzini opened the scoring for Sampdoria as it beat Udinese 3-1.

Also Sunday, it was; Atalanta 0, Genoa 1; Cagliari 1, Siena 3; Chievo Verona 1, Lazio 2, and Parma 2, Catania 1.