Juve edges Palermo as Conte back on bench
Source: Agencies |
December 11, 2012, Tuesday
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DEFENDING champion Juventus celebrated coach Antonio Conte's return with a win, beating Palermo 1-0 in Serie A on Sunday.
Stephan Lichtsteiner scored five minutes into the second half for Juventus, which also hit the goal-frame twice through Mirko Vucinic.
Palermo had a first-half strike from Fabrizio Miccoli ruled out for offside and also had Michel Morganella sent off 15 minutes from time after picking up his second yellow card.
It was Conte's first match back on the bench after serving a four-month ban for failing to report match-fixing when he coached Siena two seasons ago.
Juventus is four points ahead of Inter Milan, which beat Napoli 3-1 to move above its opponent into second place in the standings.
"I missed the smell of the grass," Conte said. "These four months have been painful, but it was a formative experience. With my absence it was as if Juve was a car starting the grand prix with deflated tires. But I have special players, a special club ... I am a bit special, too.
"I've learnt a lot in these four months. I had a club which was strongly by my side and the squad did something extraordinary. If this had happened last year, when I started at Juve, my career would have been ruined."
Elsewhere, AC Milan continued its recent resurgence with its third consecutive league victory, winning 4-2 at Torino, but midfielder Nigel De Jong's season is over after he snapped his Achilles tendon in the 21st minute.
Torino coach Giampiero Ventura was taken ill during the match and assistant Salvatore Sullo gave directions from the touchline in the second half. Ventura was checked by ambulance staff after the final whistle but the club says he is fine.
In Germany, Szabolcs Huszti drew two penalties and converted both to lift Hannover to a 3-2 victory over Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga.
The win ended Leverkusen's four-match winning run and put smiles on the faces of Bayern Munich, which ended the weekend with an 11-point lead in the standings. Borussia Dortmund, the two-time defending champion, is already 14 points behind in third.
Stephan Lichtsteiner scored five minutes into the second half for Juventus, which also hit the goal-frame twice through Mirko Vucinic.
Palermo had a first-half strike from Fabrizio Miccoli ruled out for offside and also had Michel Morganella sent off 15 minutes from time after picking up his second yellow card.
It was Conte's first match back on the bench after serving a four-month ban for failing to report match-fixing when he coached Siena two seasons ago.
Juventus is four points ahead of Inter Milan, which beat Napoli 3-1 to move above its opponent into second place in the standings.
"I missed the smell of the grass," Conte said. "These four months have been painful, but it was a formative experience. With my absence it was as if Juve was a car starting the grand prix with deflated tires. But I have special players, a special club ... I am a bit special, too.
"I've learnt a lot in these four months. I had a club which was strongly by my side and the squad did something extraordinary. If this had happened last year, when I started at Juve, my career would have been ruined."
Elsewhere, AC Milan continued its recent resurgence with its third consecutive league victory, winning 4-2 at Torino, but midfielder Nigel De Jong's season is over after he snapped his Achilles tendon in the 21st minute.
Torino coach Giampiero Ventura was taken ill during the match and assistant Salvatore Sullo gave directions from the touchline in the second half. Ventura was checked by ambulance staff after the final whistle but the club says he is fine.
In Germany, Szabolcs Huszti drew two penalties and converted both to lift Hannover to a 3-2 victory over Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga.
The win ended Leverkusen's four-match winning run and put smiles on the faces of Bayern Munich, which ended the weekend with an 11-point lead in the standings. Borussia Dortmund, the two-time defending champion, is already 14 points behind in third.
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