23 December 2006 |
ASCOLI | 3-0 |
CHIEVO |
Paolucci 8 |
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Bjelanovic 13, 37 |
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Ascoli owed their first victory of the season
to a hat-trick of assists from '20 year old' midfielder Giampietro Perrulli, I say '20 year old' because he looks 35. All three of the goals came from crosses from the left flank. Paolucci got between two defenders and slammed a left foot volley into the roof of the net. Perrulli lobbed forward an excellent through pass to Bjelanovic and he struck a low volley wide of Sicignano before adding a second with a header. Attendance : 6,764 Red Card : Obinna 40 (Chievo) Assists : Perrulli, Perrulli, Perrulli |
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CATANIA | 4-2 |
SAMPDORIA |
Spinesi 7, 45 (Pen) |
Palombo 22 |
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Caserta 36 |
Franceschini 40 |
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Zenoni 88 (og) |
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Sampdoria's goalkeeper gave the hosts the
lead when he dived to parry a low cross, despite the fact Accardi was perfectly placed to clear, he pushed the ball straight to Spinesi leaving him with an easy tap in. Palombo vaulted himself off the back of a Catania defender to head in the equaliser. Two Sampdoria defenders, possibly nervous after Castelazzi's blunder, jumped for a cross but missed allowing Colucci to tee-up Caserta and restore Catania's lead. Franceschini equalised with a great half volley but Spinesi dealt Samp a fatal blow from the penalty spot after Franceschini charged down a shot with his arm. Spinesi may officially be credited with a hat-trick though his shot took a clear deflection off Zenoni before looping over Castelazzi. Attendance : 15,000 Red Card : Polito 90 (Catania) Assists : n/a, Zenoni, Coucci, n/a, n/a, n/a |
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FIORENTINA | 4-0 |
MESSINA |
Toni 17 |
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Potenza 22 |
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Liverani 47 |
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Mutu 51 | ||
Toni began the rout with a delicate lob over
Storari after inevitably combining with Mutu. Potenza latched onto a bouncing ball and scored at the second attempt after his initial shot was charged down and in first half injury time Liverani curled in a free kick. Montolivo released Mutu on the break and he made up ground on a defender before finding the inside of a post. Attendance : 29,220 Red Card : Zoro 44 (Messina) Assists : Mutu, n/a, Mutu (won fk), Montolivo |
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INTER | 2-1 |
ATALANTA |
Adriano 65 |
Doni 16 |
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Loria 75 (og) |
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Doni gave Atalanta the lead with a stunning
first time strike from the edge of the box. Adriano threw himself at a Figo cross to end a NINE MONTH goal drought and understandably celebrated like a man possessed. Loria, who had a wretched game in midweek against Udinese, got the last touch on a Figo free kick, heading it past his own 'keeper. The game was briefly held up after flares was thrown at Inter 'keeper Julio Cesar though fortunately these incidents have become increasingly rare over the past 18 months. Attendance : 49,659 Assists : Ariatti, Figo, n/a |
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LIVORNO | 1-1 |
TORINO |
Lucarelli 61 |
Cioffi 24 |
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Cioffi headed Torino into the lead with a
bullet header from Rosina's corner. While the Torino defence appealed for offside, Lucarelli headed in the equaliser. Attendance : 8,618 Assists : Rosina (ck), Passoni |
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PARMA | 1-3 |
LAZIO |
Budan 18 |
Stendardo 30 |
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Pandev 34 |
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Rocchi 45 |
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Both teams traded headers from corners.
Rocchi flicked a ball around a defender and from the by-line pulled it back for Pandev to slot home. A longball bypassed Parma's 50 yard offside trap and Mauri raced downfield before centring for an unmarked Rocchi to score his sixth goal of the season. Attendance : 12,427 Red Card : Siviglia 14 (Lazio) Assists : Castellini (ck), Ledesma (ck), Rocchi, Mauri |
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REGGINA | 4-1 |
EMPOLI |
Leon 4 |
Saudati 68 (Pen) |
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Amoruso 8, 27 | ||
Bianchi 44 | ||
Empoli had the best defence in Serie A
leading into this match but that particular statistic was undone inside ten minutes. Leon ran onto a loose ball and through some half hearted tackles before catching Balli by surprise with an early shot. Amoruso lashed in a rebound after Lucarelli's header struck team- mate Modesto before bouncing off Empoli's Almiron. Tedesco found Amoruso with a ball out wide and he ran into the box before shooting past Balli as three poorly positioned defenders looked on. Having scored two himself Amoruso made the fourth with a cross to Bianchi. Saudati converted a consolation penalty. More so than Inter, who have been outstanding, Reggina are the team of the season. For a club of their size, with such limited resources to overturn what eventually became an 11 point deficit for whatever role they had in the Calciopoli scandal is truly remarkable. Unlike other teams (namely Milan) they haven't moaned incessantly in the press and have gone out in every match and gave 110%. They're only three points from safety and baring a new year hangover should have little problem in leapfrogging Cagliari, Chievo and Messina to safety. Credit especially to the coach, the brilliant Walter Mazzarri and strikers Amoruso and Bianchi. Attendance : 10,440 Assists : n/a, n/a, Tedesco, Amoruso, Raggi (won pen) |
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ROMA | 2-0 |
CAGLIARI |
Taddei 5 |
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Mancini 56 | ||
Panucci beat Del Grosso to a loose ball on
the right edge of the box and floated a cross towards the centre circle, Taddei, standing side on, jumped in the air and smashed a scissor kick into the top right corner of the net. Of the many overhead kicks scored in Serie A this season this was the best, so far. Pizarro hit a ball out wide to Rosi, he played a one-two with Taddei before running into the box and pulling the ball back for Mancini to drill in his sixth goal of the season. Attendance : 36,442 Assists : Panucci, Rosi |
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SIENA | 1-1 |
PALERMO |
Molinaro 42 |
Simplicio 41 |
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Simplicio, who is a long range specialist, ran onto a loose ball before beating Manninger with a shot from the edge off the box. A minute later Molinaro headed in a Locatelli free kick. Attendance : 6,411 Assists : n/a, Locatelli |
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UDINESE | 0-3 |
MILAN |
Kaka' 31 (Pen) |
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Gilardino 35 |
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Oliveira 76 |
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Kaka' controlled a pass from Pirlo on his
chest and just as he shot Pinzi dived in with his left leg outstretched and kicked the ball away causing Kaka' to loose his balance and fall over so the ref pointed to the spot. Harsh. Four minutes later Jankulovski charged down the left flank and fired the ball into a packed penalty area, it bounced off Obodo and Gilardino jumped in the air, went horizontal and flicked out a right foot, volleying the ball into an empty net. Great finish. Brocchi chipped a ball towards Oliveira, who was standing right of centre in the penalty area, and he took in on his chest before firing between the legs of De Sanctis. The Brazilian's first goal since the first game of the season. Ancelotti has earned himself a stay of execution with two successive victories on the back of an excellent display at Fiorentina. All of this coincided with the return of Gattuso and a change in tactics. Gattuso lines up on the left, Brocchi on the right (instead of Seedorf) and Pirlo has moved up from sitting in front of the defence to the centre of midfield. Someone better tell Gordon Strachan. Attendance : 18,369 Assists : Kaka' (won pen), n/a, Brocchi |