Rome is where the heart is
AS Roma ends AC Milan's 11-match unbeaten streak
Posted: Saturday February 27, 1999 06:24 PM
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Thomas Helveg and AC Milan couldn't escape the hold of Vincent Candela and AS Roma. AP |
ROME (AP) -- Brazilian Paulo Sergio ended AC Milan's 11-match
unbeaten streak Saturday, scoring on a 64th-minute header to give AS Roma a 1-0 victory at Olympic Stadium.
The loss prevented AC Milan from taking the Serie A lead by
itself for the first time since 1996, and left its cross-town rival
Lazio atop the standings.
AC Milan dropped to 12-7-4 and 43 points, two behind Lazio which
was to play lightly regarded Vicenza in its 23rd-round match
Sunday.
Elsewhere in the Serie A Saturday, Enrico Chiesa scored twice
and Hernan Crespo one to lead Parma over Perugia 3-1 and vault into
second place with 44 points.
At Milan's San Siro stadium a sold-out crowd of 80,000 saw
struggling powerhouses Internazionale and Juventus play to a
goalless draw hich left both team 10 points or more out of the lead
and possibly out of contention.
In the only other game Saturday, Piacenza routed Bologna 5-0.
The four league matches played on Saturday involved Italian
teams engaged in European competitions next week.
Five matches, including Fiorentina-Salernitana, will complete
the 23rd-round Sunday.
AS Roma 1, AC Milan 0
At Rome's Olympic stadium, Roma overwhelmed Milan with a more
aggressive second-half play, after the visiting team wasted two
clear scoring chances early in the first half by Leonardo and
Oliver Bierhoff.
Left unmarked close to the net, Paulo Sergio got his head onto a
perfect cross by captain Francesco Totti and recorded his 10 goal
this season.
Roma improved its home record to 9-3-0 and moved into a
sixth-place tie with Inter, at 35 points.
Paulo Sergio's goal followed a powerful free kick by Totti that
hit the bar.
Roma, which slowed another title contender last Sunday by
holding Fiorentina to a goalless draw, missed a second goal in the
final minutes when Italian striker Marco Delvecchio, unexpectedly
starting in the place of newly signed Brazilian Fabio Junior,
failed to finish an easy chance.
The victory was a personal triumph for Roma's Czech coach Zdenek
Zeman, who was warmly applauded by a crowd of about 65,000 at the
end of the match.
Zeman had been approached by groups of Roman fans last month as
the team struggled through a series of poor results following a
strong start to the season.
Inter 0, Juventus 0
At Milan, Filippo Inzaghi, returning from a long injury and
fielded in the second half, wasted the best scoring chance for
Juventus in the 80th.
Minutes before, keeper Angelo Peruzzi saved Juventus, stopping a
short-range shot by Nicola Ventola off a feed from Roberto Baggio.
Ventola had replaced Chilean veteran Ivan Zamorano.
Inter, still without its long-injured Brazilian superstar
Ronaldo, increased its point total to 35 points from a 10-5-8
record.
La Juve improved to 2-1-1 under coach Carlo Ancelotti, who
replaced Marcello Lippi, and saw its overall record move to 9-7-7-.
The match was a good test for both teams heading into
Wednesday's Champions Cup first-leg quarterfinals. Inter travels to
Manchester United. Juventus plays Olimpiakos at home.
Piacenza 5, Bologna 0
At Piacenza, Simone Inzaghi, younger brother of Filippo, scored
three goals as lowly Piacenza converted three of four penalty
kicks.
The victory moved Piacenza (5-7-11) out of the relegation zone,
and came by dominating a dull and reshuffled Bologna, which rested
some key players heading into Tuesday's UEFA Cup match against
France's Lyon.
Parma 3, Perugia 1
At Parma, counter-attacks by Ivan Kaviedes and Hidetoshi Nakata
gave Perugia early chances before Parma took the lead on a
31st-minute penalty by Chiesa, awarded when Argetine forward Abel
Balbo was fouled.
Chiesa made it 2-0 in the 44th minute. Hernan Crespo scored
Parma's third goal with eight minutes left, after wasting three
consecutive chances on assists by his Colombian teammate Faustino
Asprilla.
It was Crespo's 15th season goal and moved him within three
goals of compatriot Gabriel Batistuta of Fiorentina and the league
scoring lead.
Batistuta, sidelined with a knee injury, will miss his third
consecutive league match at Salerno Sunday.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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