Inter and Napoli close in on Milan
Source: Agencies |
March 22, 2011, Tuesday
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INTER Milan and Napoli closed in on AC Milan at the top of Serie A on Sunday on a day when Francesco Totti scored his 200th goal in the top flight.
Following Milan's 0-1 loss at Palermo on Saturday, Giampaolo Pazzini's 52nd-minute strike was enough for a sluggish Inter to claim the three points against Lecce at the San Siro. Later, Edinson Cavani's double in a 2-1 win over Cagliari re-awakened Napoli's title challenge.
With eight matches left, the results mean Inter, at present trailing by two points, will go top should it defeat Milan in its next match - the derby coming up on April 3 following the break for international matches.
"The derby won't decide the title - there are 21 other points in play," Inter coach Leonardo said. "It doesn't matter who is in better form going into the match because the derby is such a one-off. It's a difficult game to predict and especially strange to prepare for with the international matches."
Napoli, which appeared to have thrown away a shot at the title after losing to Milan 0-3 three weeks ago, closed to within three points of the leader with victory in Sunday's late match.
Brought down
Cavani opened the scoring from the spot four minutes into the second half after Ezequiel Lavezzi had been brought down in the box.
But Cagliari, thrashed 0-4 by Udinese last week, equalized seven minutes later through Robert Acquafresca's clever finish. Five minutes on though, Cavani slotted home his 22nd goal of the season to claim the points after a fine run from Marek Hamsik.
Fourth-placed Udinese is now just six points off the pace after a long-range effort from Swiss midfielder Gokhan Inler and a penalty from Antonio Di Natale, his 25th goal of the campaign, saw it defeat Catania 2-0 for its fourth straight win.
In Sunday's early match, Roma and Fiorentina played out an entertaining 2-2 draw where Totti's second double in a week pegged back the improving visitors who had twice gone ahead in the first half through Adrian Mutu and Alessandro Gamberini.
Following Milan's 0-1 loss at Palermo on Saturday, Giampaolo Pazzini's 52nd-minute strike was enough for a sluggish Inter to claim the three points against Lecce at the San Siro. Later, Edinson Cavani's double in a 2-1 win over Cagliari re-awakened Napoli's title challenge.
With eight matches left, the results mean Inter, at present trailing by two points, will go top should it defeat Milan in its next match - the derby coming up on April 3 following the break for international matches.
"The derby won't decide the title - there are 21 other points in play," Inter coach Leonardo said. "It doesn't matter who is in better form going into the match because the derby is such a one-off. It's a difficult game to predict and especially strange to prepare for with the international matches."
Napoli, which appeared to have thrown away a shot at the title after losing to Milan 0-3 three weeks ago, closed to within three points of the leader with victory in Sunday's late match.
Brought down
Cavani opened the scoring from the spot four minutes into the second half after Ezequiel Lavezzi had been brought down in the box.
But Cagliari, thrashed 0-4 by Udinese last week, equalized seven minutes later through Robert Acquafresca's clever finish. Five minutes on though, Cavani slotted home his 22nd goal of the season to claim the points after a fine run from Marek Hamsik.
Fourth-placed Udinese is now just six points off the pace after a long-range effort from Swiss midfielder Gokhan Inler and a penalty from Antonio Di Natale, his 25th goal of the campaign, saw it defeat Catania 2-0 for its fourth straight win.
In Sunday's early match, Roma and Fiorentina played out an entertaining 2-2 draw where Totti's second double in a week pegged back the improving visitors who had twice gone ahead in the first half through Adrian Mutu and Alessandro Gamberini.
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