Join Now  | 
Home About Contact Us Privacy & Security Advertise
Soccer America Daily Special Edition Around The Net College Soccer Reporter Youth Soccer Reporter Soccer on TV Soccer America Classifieds
Paul Gardner: SoccerTalk MLS Confidential Youth Soccer Insider World Cup Watch
RSS Feeds Archives Manage Subscriptions Subscribe
Order Current Issue Subscribe Manage My Subscription Renew My Subscription Gift Subscription
My Account Join Now
Tournament Calendar Camps & Academies Soccer Glossary Classifieds
Inter six points clear as Milan falls at Palermo
by Ian Plenderleith, December 1st, 2008 7:01AM
Subscribe to Soccer America Daily


MOST READ


[ITALY] Inter doubled its lead at the top of Serie A to six points after a home win over Napoli, and its city rival AC Milan was stunned by a 3-1 defeat at mid-table Palermo. Juventus moved up to second on goal difference from Milan thanks to a 4-0 home win over Reggina, while Roma edged Fiorentina, 1-0.

It was a landmark week for the Italian top flight -- not a single goalless tie. Four games, however, were decided by a single goal, and there was not exactly a flood of scoring elsewhere, Juve and Palermo being the only teams to net more than twice in a round that yielded a total of just 21 goals.

The Juventus goals against a team in the relegation zone were scored by Mauro Camoranesi, Brazilian striker Amauri (his seventh of the season), defender Giorgio Chiellini and a penalty kick from Alessandro del Piero. Juve coach Claudio Ranieri was happy enough with the win. "I saw a concentrated and patient team," he said. "It wasn't an easy match since we knew beforehand that Reggina would close the gaps. It was up to us to create space in the attack."

Inter did just enough to beat Napoli 2-1 on goals by Colombian defender Ivan Cordoba and Sulley Muntari's second game-winning goal on successive weekends. Ezequiel Lavezzi replied for the visitors, who are lodged in fourth position. "We controlled the match and played intelligently," said Inter coach Jose Mourinho. "I'm very satisfied with this victory and my players' performance, but we can play better. We're not scoring three, four of five goals a game, but we're on the right track to getting as many points as possible until the Christmas break."

The shock of the day, however, came as the pink shirts of Palermo took a 3-0 lead over injury-hit AC Milan, and then held out against a late barrage from the visitors that included a penalty kick goal from Ronaldinho. The Brazilian had already missed one spot kick in the first half, when Palermo keeper Marco Amelia saved, before Palermo scored three times after the interval through a cracking shot from Fabrizio Miccoli, and headers from Edinson Cavani and Fabio Simplicio.

"We played badly," said Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti. "We went down and deserved the defeat. We did not play how we wanted. We kept the rhythm too low. There were some signals in the match against Torino. We did not handle the result well, we were not constructive in our ball possession and didn't defend well."

A single goal from the resurgent Francesco Totti gave Roma its 1-0 win over Fiorentina, and moved the team up to 14th. In the other sole-goal games, Udinese was stunned at home by bottom team Chievo Verona thanks to a late own goal from Brazilian defender Felipe, Siena beat Torino thanks to a strike from Massimo Maccarone (his second in two games), and Cagliari beat Sampdoria thanks to Brazilian striker Jeda's fourth of the season. Catania-Lecce and Genoa-Bologna both ended 1-1, while Atalanta topped Lazio 2-0 on goals from Chilean forward Jaime Valdes and Sergio Floccare's seventh of the season.

Goals scored weekend of Nov. 29/30: 21 in 10 games (2.1 per game)
Goals scored in season 2008-09: 328 in 139 games (2.36 per game)

 



No comments yet.

Sign in to leave a comment. Don't have an account? Join Now


AUTHORS

ARCHIVES

Recent Soccer America Daily
Keane's success strengthens image of MLS    
[MLS CONFIDENTIAL] No doubt Landon Donovan's second -- and so far equally successful -- loan spell ...
What They're Saying    
"We have been inundated with applications from the cheeky to the outlandish. We've had one from ...
Real Madrid and Barcelona head rich list    
[MONEY MATTERS] By a considerable margin, Real Madrid and Barcelona are soccer's biggest moneymakers. Real tops ...
USA to host Brazil in World Cup qualifying tuneup    
[DATEBOOK] The U.S. national team will host five-time World Cup champion Brazil May 30 at FedExField ...
MLS preseason this week ...    
[SCOREBOARD] MLS exhibitions this weekend are highlighted by a rematch of the MLS Cup 2011 finalists, ...
CNN's soccer-basher suspended for homophobic tweet    
[MEDIA WATCH] Roland Martin is a dinosaur. He acknowledges he likes to take a swipe at ...
At least it made a nice photo op    
[WORLD VIEW] The photo in the Trinidad Express said it all: T&T international Anthony Wolfe stood ...
What They're Saying    
"To quit over the FA taking a stand that it was inappropriate for the England team ...
Colombian signing further proof Philly wants a different look    
[MLS SPOTLIGHT] Peter Nowak is regarded as among the more secretive of MLS head coaches, but ...
USA and Mexico to face off in U-23 tuneup    
[DATEBOOK] One of the most intriguing matchups of the winter will be the under-23 international between ...
>> Soccer America Daily Archives