Derby win takes Juve back to the summit
Juventus returned to the top of Serie A following a 2-0 victory at home to Novara yesterday, while Inter’s revival continued as they won 1-0 at Cesena to climb to fifth place. Juve’s win enabled them to leapfrog Milan, who had taken over at the top by...
Juventus returned to the top of Serie A following a 2-0 victory at home to Novara yesterday, while Inter’s revival continued as they won 1-0 at Cesena to climb to fifth place.
Juve’s win enabled them to leapfrog Milan, who had taken over at the top by beating Siena 2-0 on Saturday.
Udinese missed the chance to draw level with Antonio Conte’s side when they were held to a 2-2 draw at Lazio and remain in third place, two points off the pace.
Juve laboured to impose themselves against their Piedmont rivals Novara, promoted from Serie B at the end of last season after a 55-year absence from the top flight.
Novara defended valiantly but were always chasing the game after Simone Pepe converted a low cross in the fourth minute to claim his fifth goal of the season.
Fabio Quagliarella, preferred in attack to Alessandro Matri, made the game safe with Juve’s second goal in the 75th minute.
“We’re good at creating chances, but less good at taking them,” reflected Juve coach Conte. “Playing like that means we take risks with the coronaries of the man on the bench!”
Udinese were in front against Lazio after 27 minutes thanks to a diving header from Antonio Floro Flores but Lazio drew level two minutes before the interval when Senad Lulic found the net.
Veteran German striker Miroslav Klose then put Lazio ahead with a crisp volley in the 51st minute for his ninth goal of the season.
But Udinese were rewarded for their positive approach when Giampiero Pinzi equalised in the 73rd minute.
Inter may be outside the title picture, but they appear to have put their early-season miseries behind them following their third straight victory.
A solitary headed goal from Andrea Ranocchia was enough to take the 2010 champions into the European places, but they are still 10 points off Juve’s pace.
“I’ve never seen my team misplace as many passes as they did today,” Inter coach Claudio Ranieri said.
“The only thing we’ll take from this match is the points. If you wanted spectacle, you needed to be watching the TV at half-past 11,” he added, in reference to Barcelona’s 4-0 defeat of Santos in the Club World Cup final.
Napoli remained in sixth place after losing 3-1 at home to Roma, who are now seventh but also on 21 points.
Napoli fell a goal behind after just three minutes when Morgan De Sanctis put through his own goal off a cross by Roma’s Argentine forward Erik Lamela.
Pablo Osvaldo, in the 59th minute, and Fabio Simplicio, in the last minute, added to Roma’s total, easing the pressure on coach Luis Enrique.
Marek Hamsik had briefly given Napoli hope with an 82nd-minute strike.
Earlier, a superb free-kick from Francesco Lodi set Catania on their way to a 2-0 victory over Palermo in the season’s first Sicilian derby.
The win took Catania up to ninth, one place behind Genoa, who defeated Bologna 2-1.
Serie A
Catania 2
Lodi 32; Lopez 61;
Palermo 0
HT: 1-0. Att: 7,265.
Cesena 0
Inter 1
Ranocchia 63;
HT: 0-0. Att: 20,138.
Genoa 2
Rossi 39; Pratto 85;
Bologna 1
Ramirez 51;
HT: 1-0. Att: 19,278.
Juventus 2
Pepe 4; Quagliarella 75;
Novara 0
HT: 1-0. Att: 39,836.
Lazio 2
Lulic 43; Klose 51;
Udinese 2
Floro Flores 27; Pinzi 73;
HT: 1-1. Att: 30,000.
Napoli 1
Hamsik 82;
Roma 3
De Sanctis 3 og; Osvaldo 59; Simplicio 90;
HT: 0-1. Att: 50,000.
Parma 3
Floccari 18; Pelle 86; Galloppa 90;
Lecce 3
Di Michele 58, 61; Cuadrado 77;
HT: 1-0. Att: 12,161.
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Juventus | 15 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 27 | 11 | 33 |
| Milan | 15 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 33 | 16 | 31 |
| Udinese | 15 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 20 | 9 | 31 |
| Lazio | 15 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 24 | 13 | 29 |
| Inter | 15 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 18 | 18 | 23 |
| Napoli | 15 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 23 | 17 | 21 |
| Roma | 15 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 19 | 19 | 21 |
| Genoa | 15 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 18 | 18 | 21 |
| Catania | 15 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 17 | 20 | 21 |
| Palermo | 15 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 16 | 18 | 20 |
| Chievo | 15 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 13 | 18 | 19 |
| Cagliari | 15 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 12 | 15 | 18 |
| Parma | 15 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 18 | 23 | 18 |
| Atalanta | 15 | 5 | 8 | 2 | 19 | 18 | 17 |
| Fiorentina | 15 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 15 | 15 | 17 |
| Bologna | 15 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 14 | 22 | 15 |
| Siena | 15 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 14 | 16 | 14 |
| Cesena | 15 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 7 | 16 | 12 |
| Novara | 15 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 15 | 27 | 11 |
| Lecce | 15 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 16 | 29 | 9 |
Next fixtures
Tomorrow: 18.00 Siena vs Fiorentina; 20.45 Cagliari vs Milan.
Wednesday: 18.00 Udinese vs Juventus. 20.45 Atalanta vs Cesena; Bologna vs Roma; Inter vs Lecce; Lazio vs Chievo; Napoli vs Genoa; Novara vs Palermo; Parma vs Catania.
Top scorers
11 goals: Denis (Atalanta).
10 goals: Di Natale (Udinese), Ibrahimovic (Milan).
9 goals: Klose (Lazio).
7 goals: Cavani (Napoli), Giovinco (Parma), Jovetic (Fiorentina).
Serie B
Varese 0 - Verona 0
Today, 20.45
Pescara vs Sampdoria
Prima Divisione ‘A’
Carpi vs Pro Vercelli 2-1; Lumezzane vs Reggiana 1-0; Monza vs Benevento 1-2; Pavia vs Foggia 0-2; Sorrento vs Pisa 1-1; Spal vs Foligno 3-2; Taranto vs Avellino 2-0; Ternana vs Como 2-1. Today: Viareggio vs Tritium.
Standings: Ternana 37; Taranto 36; Pro Vercelli, Carpi 29; Lumezzane, Como 27; Sorrento, Pisa 26; Avellino 25; Tritium 23; Benevento 22; Foggia 21; Reggiana 16; Monza, Spal 13; Viareggio 11; Pavia 9; Foligno 6.
Prima Divisione ‘B’
Barletta vs Piacenza 2-1; Bassano vs Trapani 0-7; FeralpiSalo vs Lanciano 1-1; Latina vs Spezia 1-2; Pergocrema vs Carrarese 2-2; Portogruaro vs Andria 1-1; Siracusa vs Frosinone 1-0; SudTirol vs Cremonese 2-0; Triestina vs Prato 0-2.
Standings: Siracusa 31; Trapani 28; Portogruaro, Lanciano, Barletta 27; Cremonese, Pergocrema, Carrarese 25; SudTirol, Spezia 24; Triestina 22; Frosinone 20; Piacenza, Andria, Prato 17; Latina 16; Bassano 15; Feralpi Salo 13.