Juventus Climbs to Top With 1-0 Triumph
Copyright � 2000 Nando Media
Copyright � 2000 Agence France-Presse
MILAN (January 6, 2000 5:41 p.m. EST http://www.sportserver.com) - Juventus was riding high at the top of the Serie A for the first time this season on Thursday, after Filippo Inzaghi guided it to a 1-0 victory over Verona in its first match of 2000.
Lazio's shock 2-0 defeat to Venezia on Wednesday was followed by wins for all the other major challengers - with Inter Milan crushing Perugia 5-0, Roma beating Bari 3-1 and Parma and AC Milan both notching 1-0 victories.
Inzaghi, dubbed "SuperPippo" by the adoring Delle Alpi stadium crowd, struck in the 47th minute, steering the ball home from close-range after Gianluca Zambrotta had shredded the Verona defense with a run down the left.
Inzaghi's eighth goal of the season enabled his team to leapfrog over Lazio in the table despite a tough battle against its mid-table opponents.
"This was an important result for us," said coach Carlo Ancelotti. "And at the end of it all, that's what counts.
"You can't expect to be on top form all the time, but if you have character and willpower - even when things are going against you - you can still get a win."
With Juventus top on 32 points and Lazio second on 31, this season's championship is fully living up to its billing of being the toughest-ever - with just six points separating the top six clubs.
Parma stayed third (30 pts) after beating Udinese. Marco Di Vaio got the winner soon after the re-start, knocking home a low cross from Diego Fuser.
Coach Alberto Malesani kept both feet on the ground, despite his team's rise from third from bottom at the start of October.
"This championship is strange, because the top six sides are all playing the same kind of football from a tactical point of view - so the difference comes down to the duels between individual players," he said.
"We're doing well, but all of the top clubs will be there at the end."
AS Roma, meanwhile, had hat-trick hero Vincenzo Montella to thank for their win over Bari. Montella poached two goals before converting a penalty after Bari's Moroccan defender Rachid Neqrouz was sent off for a hand-ball in the area.
Asked about his team's performance without star player and skipper Francesco Totti, who was suspended, Roma coach Fabio Capello said: "It shows that they have character and conviction.
"It was a tough match, but it was crucial to win it and now we're up there with the top of the class."
Montella, who arrived during the summer, added: "I'd been a few goals short since I joined Roma. But I'm alright now."
Like Bari, AC Milan also had to play with 10 men at Piacenza.
The champions had midfielder Demetrio Albertini sent off for a second bookable offence in the 29th minute but it didn't stop his teammates taking the lead minutes later - Germany's Oliver Bierhoff catching the Piacenza defense napping as Brazilian Leonardo floated in a free-kick.
Milan coach Alberto Zaccheroni said: "We suffered. We were playing for a lot of the game with 10 men against a Piacenza side who never gave up.
"But we showed great concentration and determination, qualities which at time we've lacked, and we're deservedly taking home three points."
Dutchman Clarence Seedorf made a dream debut for Inter Milan little more than a week after it paid Real Madrid $24 million for the midfielder.
Greek wingback Grigorios Georgatos smacked them into a 18th-minute lead with a 22-metre shot after collecting a corner sent over by the Dutchman, who then went one better by scoring a superb goal in the 44th minute - beating two men before unleashing an angled shot.
Christian Vieri, the world's most expensive footballer at nearly $50 million, headed home a Georgatos cross, Vladimir Jugovic added a fourth and Perugia defender Paulino Hilario ended the rout with an own goal.
Coach Marcello Lippi was delighted with the result, but made it clear his real aim was to get his side playing like this more often.
"There's more enthusiasm in the squad since we started training after Christmas, thanks partly to the new players," he said. "Five goals are a lot and it was a very positive match for the team.
"But now I hope we can have that continuity which we've been lacking up until now."
Seedorf said: "For a debut, I couldn't have asked for any more than that."
Fiorentina were held to a disappointing goalless draw at Lecce, while Reggina's Sierra Leone striker Mohammed Kallon, still only 20, scored both goals as they beat Torino 2-1, the second goal a 90th-minute penalty.
Bologna beat bottom club Cagliari 1-0 in the night match, with Swedish giant Kennet Andersson getting the first-half match-winner.
