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Eto'o leads Inter to another win
Source: Agencies |
March 25, 2010, Thursday
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SAMUEL Eto'o scored twice - his second goal coming with a spectacular bicycle kick - and Inter Milan beat Livorno 3-0 yesterday to restore a four-point lead in Serie A.
Last week, Eto'o scored a key goal against Chelsea to ensure Inter's spot in the Champions League quarterfinals, but he hadn't found the target in the Italian league since Dec. 20.
Last-place Livorno threatened more until Eto'o was given time to line up an angled shot in the 36th minute for his opening score at the San Siro. Five minutes later, the Cameroon international took a pass from Goran Pandev and threw himself around in the air, befuddling Livorno's defense with his acrobatic goal.
"This result gives us some breathing room. Before the game we knew it wouldn't be easy, not just because of the opponent, but also considering the tough time we've had in the league lately, and for the pressure applied by the teams behind us," Inter defender Ivan Cordoba said. "But we started the game well and continued to play well until the end."
Eto'o, who swapped places with Zlatan Ibrahimovic going to Barcelona in the offseason, now has 10 goals for the Serie A season.
"There was a period in which he was having some trouble, but now he's back to being the Eto'o we all know," Cordoba said.
Brazil right back Maicon made it 3-0 with a sharply angled shot in the 61st.
Inter welcomed back defender Christian Chivu to the lineup, 77 days after he fractured his skull.
Inter leads with 63 points. AS Roma won 2-0 at Bologna to tie AC Milan for second with 59 points each. Milan allowed a 90th-minute score from Valeri Bojinov in a 1-0 loss at Parma.
John Arne Riise deflected in a long shot from Daniele De Rossi in the 49th and Julio Baptista came off the bench to score Roma's second goal in the 82nd following a near-perfect setup from Alessio Cerci.
Milan goalkeeper Christian Abbiati inexplicably gave the ball right back to Parma, leading to Bojinov's close-range score, then Milan lost key midfielder Andrea Pirlo to a red card for a hard foul a minute later.
Roma takes a 20-match unbeaten streak into its match against Inter on Saturday, while Milan faces Lazio on Sunday.
"It's going to be the game of the year against Inter," Roma coach Claudio Ranieri said. "They've been a superpower for the last few years but we're right there and we're not giving anything up."
In the fight for fourth place and the final Champions League berth, Palermo moved one point ahead of Sampdoria with a 2-2 draw at Genoa, allowing a penalty seven minutes into second-half added time for Genoa to equalize.
Antonio Cassano opened the scoring for Sampdoria in his first match against his hometown club, but Bari hit back for a 2-1 win with Brazilian forward Paulo Barreto scoring the winner with a header four minutes from time.
Cassano didn't celebrate after scoring, holding his hands together instead as an apologetic gesture to the crowd.
Juventus can tie Palermo for fourth with a win at Napoli today.
In yesterday's other games, it was: Atalanta 3, Cagliari 1; Catania 1, Fiorentina 0; Lazio 2, Siena 0; and Udinese 0, Chievo Verona 0.
Last week, Eto'o scored a key goal against Chelsea to ensure Inter's spot in the Champions League quarterfinals, but he hadn't found the target in the Italian league since Dec. 20.
Last-place Livorno threatened more until Eto'o was given time to line up an angled shot in the 36th minute for his opening score at the San Siro. Five minutes later, the Cameroon international took a pass from Goran Pandev and threw himself around in the air, befuddling Livorno's defense with his acrobatic goal.
"This result gives us some breathing room. Before the game we knew it wouldn't be easy, not just because of the opponent, but also considering the tough time we've had in the league lately, and for the pressure applied by the teams behind us," Inter defender Ivan Cordoba said. "But we started the game well and continued to play well until the end."
Eto'o, who swapped places with Zlatan Ibrahimovic going to Barcelona in the offseason, now has 10 goals for the Serie A season.
"There was a period in which he was having some trouble, but now he's back to being the Eto'o we all know," Cordoba said.
Brazil right back Maicon made it 3-0 with a sharply angled shot in the 61st.
Inter welcomed back defender Christian Chivu to the lineup, 77 days after he fractured his skull.
Inter leads with 63 points. AS Roma won 2-0 at Bologna to tie AC Milan for second with 59 points each. Milan allowed a 90th-minute score from Valeri Bojinov in a 1-0 loss at Parma.
John Arne Riise deflected in a long shot from Daniele De Rossi in the 49th and Julio Baptista came off the bench to score Roma's second goal in the 82nd following a near-perfect setup from Alessio Cerci.
Milan goalkeeper Christian Abbiati inexplicably gave the ball right back to Parma, leading to Bojinov's close-range score, then Milan lost key midfielder Andrea Pirlo to a red card for a hard foul a minute later.
Roma takes a 20-match unbeaten streak into its match against Inter on Saturday, while Milan faces Lazio on Sunday.
"It's going to be the game of the year against Inter," Roma coach Claudio Ranieri said. "They've been a superpower for the last few years but we're right there and we're not giving anything up."
In the fight for fourth place and the final Champions League berth, Palermo moved one point ahead of Sampdoria with a 2-2 draw at Genoa, allowing a penalty seven minutes into second-half added time for Genoa to equalize.
Antonio Cassano opened the scoring for Sampdoria in his first match against his hometown club, but Bari hit back for a 2-1 win with Brazilian forward Paulo Barreto scoring the winner with a header four minutes from time.
Cassano didn't celebrate after scoring, holding his hands together instead as an apologetic gesture to the crowd.
Juventus can tie Palermo for fourth with a win at Napoli today.
In yesterday's other games, it was: Atalanta 3, Cagliari 1; Catania 1, Fiorentina 0; Lazio 2, Siena 0; and Udinese 0, Chievo Verona 0.
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