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Lazio held Inter loses as Fiorentina, Parma battle to draw in opener
ROME (AP) -- Lazio needed a late goal Sunday from Simone Inzaghi to begin its defense of the Serie A title with a disappointing 2-2 draw against a spirited Atalanta club. After going down a goal in the 58th minute, Lazio utterly dominated the final third of its opening Sunday night match, but was only able to convert once against the Bergamo-based Serie A newcomer. The younger brother of Juventus star Filippo Inzaghi, who had just replaced Argentine acquisition Claudio Lopez, knocked in the tying goal with 13 minutes left, knocking in an easy shot after a diving save off Pavel Nedved's left-footed blast. Elsewhere, Brazilian striker Amoroso scored both AC Parma's goals, including a late penalty shot, as the northern squad battled to a 2-2 draw with Fiorentina. Amoroso opened the feature afternoon match with a well-timed header inthe fifth minute off Sergio Conceicao's free-kick cross. After a pair of second-half Fiorentina goals, the Brazilian drew the hosts even with a penalty shot with two minutes to go after Czech defender Tomas Repka had been whistled for a last-man foul and ejected for Fiorentina. Internazionale was the Italian soccer league's first upset victim, falling to feisty Reggina 2-1, continuing the autumn woes for the high-paid Milan club. Coach Marcello Lippi, under fire for Inter's spotty play of late, said he was "ashamed to present a team that plays ... without heart." AS Roma and AC Milan each cruised to 2-0 home wins. Roma got a goal from its rising superstar captain Francesco Totti on the way to beating Bologna, which knocked one in its own net. Milan got an early goal from Germany's Oliver Bierhoff, and a late score from the Ukraine's Andriy Shevchenko. Lazio, favored by most pundits to repeat, particularly after several impressive international appearances, has now stumbled twice in four days, following Wednesday's 2-0 loss to Arsenal in the Champions Cup. The Rome club opened the scoring early, with a free-kick goal from Yugoslav defender Sinisa Mihajlovic by curving in what may have been meant as a pass from 35 meters, which veteran 'keeper Alberto Fontana badly misjudged. Otherwise, Fontana, playing his 400th professional game, staved off further damage for Atalanta with spectacular second-half saves off shots by Yugoslavia's Dejan Stankovic, Argentina's Juan Sebastian Veron and Chile's Marcelo Salas. On Saturday, Juventus star forward Alessandro Del Piero ended a long scoring drought, knocking in the game winner for the Turin team and spoiling Napoli's return to Serie A. Second-half substitute Darko Kovacevic had scored the equalizer for Juventus, after Napoli looked ready to celebrate its return to Italy's soccer elite following a two-year relegation in the Serie B. Roberto Stellone scored for Napoli in his Serie A debut. Also on Saturday, Bari and Verona played to a 1-1 draw, with each team scoring late goals. Swedish midfielder Daniel Andersson scored for Bari on a penalty kick in the 81st minute, before defender Natale Gonnella earned the draw for the visitors five minutes later with a right-footed blast. In other action on Sunday, Udinese beat Roberto Baggio's new club, Brescia, 4-2, in a wild, rain-soaked match, while Perugia and Lecce battled to a 1-1 draw. The Italian Serie A kicked off about one month later than usual because of Olympic commitments of several players, including non-Italians. Lazio 1, Atalanta 1 At Bergamo, after Mihajlovic's early goal, fellow Lazio defender Giuseppe Pancaro knocked one in for Atalanta, sending a header into his own net off the hosts' corner kick in the 21st. Crisiano Zenoni put Atalanta up in the 58th, calmly putting his first-ever Serie A goal around the diving arms of 'keeper Luca Marchegiani. Parma 2, Fiorentina 2 At Parma, the visitors drew even in the 65th minute when Alessandro Pierini connected with a scoring header off a cross from Portuguese midfielder Rui Costa. Fiorentina took the lead with just eight minutes to go on a picture-perfect chip shot from Italian midfielder Christian Amoroso, beating Parma's falling 'keeper Gianluigi Buffon. But the hosts salvaged the draw after Repka took down Emiliano Bonazzoli in front of the goal, and Amoroso calmly beat Italian national team 'keeper Francesco Toldo on the penalty shot. Reggina 2, Inter 1 At Reggio Calabria, the visitors took the lead in the 10th minute when Uruguay's Alvaro Recoba curved a left-footed shot just inside the right post. But Inter, which has already been eliminated from the Champions League, could not hold on. Davide Possanzini scored just before halftime, and Massimo Marazzina fired the winning shot over French 'keeper Sebastien Frey five minutes into the second half. Roma 2, Bologna, 0 At Rome, Totti fought off two defenders and knocked in a header to put the hosts up 1-0, only seconds before the half. A cross from Brazilian midfielder Cafu in the 62nd minute caused a collision between Bologna defender Marcello Castellini and 'keeper Gianluca Pagliuca, and the ball rolled into the visitors' net. Milan 2, Vicenza 0 At Milan, Bierhoff, who struggled last season, put in a trademark header in the 15th minute off a Demetrio Albertini pass. Albertini also set up the second score in the 84th, sending a long cross toward Shevchenko, who headed it past the diving Vicenza 'keeper. Udinese 4, Brescia 2 At Udine, the hosts went up early on goals from Roberto Sosa of Argentina and Vincenzo Iaquinta, in a match played on a rain-soaked field in this northeastern city. Brescia, hoping to ride the shoulders of recently acquired Baggio in its return to Serie A, evened the match with goals in the 65th by Pierpaolo Bisoli and the 74th by Aimo Diana. But just as quickly, Udinese retook the lead, with goals from Ghana's Mohammed Gorgo in the 78th and Roberto Muzzi in the 85th. Perugia 1, Lecce 1 At Perugia, the visitors struck first with a goal from Croatian striker Davor Vugrinec in the 23rd. Veteran defender Marco Materazzi earned the draw for Perugia by converting a penalty shot in the 73rd minute.
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