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Italy: Serie A match reports [Mon Sep 19th, 2005]
Rome (Reuters) - Reports of Serie A matches at the weekend:
Played on Sunday:
CAGLIARI 1 MESSINA 1
Cagliari's third coach of the season, Davide Ballardini, will hope a draw is enough to keep him in the job longer than either of his predecessors, who lasted just one game each.
Midfielder Massimo Donati put Messina ahead on the half hour, volleying in from a corner. David Suazo struck back for the home side just before half-time, sliding the ball coolly past Messina keeper Marco Storari at the end of a fine solo run.
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FIORENTINA 4 UDINESE 2
Udinese were in football heaven following their 3-0 UEFA Champions League win against Panathinaikos in midweek, but came crashing down to earth at Florence's Stadio Franchi.
A long-range drive by Sulley Muntari put the visitors ahead at the end of an edgy first 30 minutes but goals by Stefano Fiore and Luca Toni gave Fiorentina a half-time lead.
In the final 15 minutes, Udinese striker Vincenzo Iaquinta had a 'goal' ruled out for a foul and as his team-mates lost their cool and their concentration, Fiorentina struck twice, Marco Donadel scoring from a free kick and Toni grabbing his second at the end of a swift counter-attack.
Iaquinta finally got on the scoresheet with a stoppage-time penalty but could not stop Fiorentina jumping to second in the league on seven points, two behind Juventus.
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JUVENTUS 2 ASCOLI 1
Champions Juventus maintained their 100 percent start to the season thanks largely to Alessandro Del Piero. The diminutive striker fired them ahead with a penalty in the 14th minute after defender Domenico Cristiano handled.
Ascoli striker Alfredo Cariello marked his Serie A debut with a shot that deflected off Fabio Cannavaro to equalise, but Del Piero struck again with a free kick seven minutes before half-time to secure a win that left Juve alone at the top, two points clear of their rivals.
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LAZIO 3 TREVISO 1
Serie A newcomers Treviso are still searching for their first point of the season after being swept aside by Lazio at Rome's Stadio Olimpico. Clever passes by Paolo Di Canio created early goals for strikers Tommaso Rocchi and Goran Pandev before Andre Pinga struck Treviso's first goal in Serie A with a free kick on the stroke of half-time.
Defender Massimo Oddo wrapped up the win with a penalty three minutes from time after Rocchi tripped over goalkeeper Samir Handanovic.
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LIVORNO 0 AS ROMA 0
Roma midfielder Daniele De Rossi rattled the bar with a long-range effort after less than 30 seconds but that was as close as anyone came to breaking the deadlock in a nervy and often stuttering encounter.
The draw left Livorno on seven points, while Roma remain in mid-table on four points.
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REGGINA 1 CHIEVO VERONA 3
Francesco Cozza's early goal for Reggina proved to be a false dawn for the southerners, who remain marooned at the bottom after their third defeat in a row.
A brace by Daniele Franceschini and a late goal by fellow defender Davide Mandelli gave Chievo their second win in their first three games.
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SAMPDORIA 2 AC MILAN 1
Milan captain Paolo Maldini equalled Dino Zoff's record of 570 appearances in Serie A but had little else to celebrate as they slumped to their first defeat of the season.
Alberto Gilardino put Milan ahead in the 18th minute, and could have doubled their lead had he managed a more precise finish from Andriy Shevchenko's cutback.
Sampdoria striker Emiliano Bonazzoli punished his wastefulness with a close-range equaliser a few minutes before the break.
In the second half, Sampdoria harried Milan into uncharacteristic errors and Max Tonetto blasted home the winner at Dida's near post just before the hour mark. The result left Milan with four points from three matches, five behind arch-rivals Juventus.
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SIENA 1 PALERMO 2
Having claimed Inter Milan's scalp last weekend, Palermo continued their impressive start.
Cristian Terlizzi's third goal in as many games gave the visitors a 19th-minute lead but Siena struck back within a minute of the restart, Tomas Locatelli firing the equaliser.
Palermo's constant pressure paid off in the 56th minute when Stephen Makinwa struck the winner after a neat one-two with strike partner Andrea Caracciolo.
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Played on Saturday:
PARMA 1 EMPOLI 0
A goal by Italy international Bernardo Corradi gave Parma their first Serie A win of the season against an Empoli side yet to earn a point.
Visiting keeper Gianluca Berti pulled off a series of saves to keep his side in the contest, but was left flat-footed when Corradi turned his marker and angled a shot into the roof of his net in the 17th minute.
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INTER MILAN 3 LECCE 0
After last weekend's 3-2 defeat at Palermo, this was exactly the kind of morale-boosting result Inter's players must have been dreaming about. Lecce looked hopelessly out of their depth at the San Siro stadium and rarely managed to break out of their own half.
Obafemi Martins sprinted clear of the offside trap and chipped the keeper to give Inter the lead in the 25th minute. Sloppy marking allowed Dejan Stankovic to scuff in their second soon after. After the interval, Inter seemed in no urgent hurry to add to the scoreline, but Julio Cruz volleyed in a third late in the game to wrap up a one-sided contest.
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