Inzaghi Strike Gives Juventus One-Point Lead
MILAN, Jan 6 (Reuters) - A second-half strike from Filippo Inzaghi gave Juventus a 1-0 home win against Verona that secured
a one-point lead over Lazio in Italy's Serie A. Lazio, who lost 2-0 at lowly Venezia on Wednesday, had the salt rubbed into their wounds as all their title rivals won in Thursday's fixtures.
Marco Di Vaio grabbed the winner for third-placed Parma as they picked up an important 1-0 win away to Udinese to continue
their excellent run of form.
Inter Milan crushed Perugia 5-0, with Dutch international Clarence Seedorf scoring on his debut, while AC Milan sneaked
a 1-0 win away to Piacenza despite having Demetrio Albertini sent off in the 29th minute.
Vincenzo Montella grabbed a hat-trick for AS Roma in their 3-1
win over Bari which keeps them in fourth place.
Juventus, now unbeaten in 11 league games, struggled to impose themselves against a well-organised Verona side until the 47th minute when Alessandro Del Piero fed Alessio Tacchinardi, who set up a simple chance for Inzaghi.
Juventus coach Carlo Ancelotti said Verona had made his team fight all the way for the three points. "Italian football is so well balanced that it doesn't take much for one of the smaller teams to give a big team a real game. We didn't play well but of
course I am glad we are top," Ancelotti said.
Roma's Montella reminded Italy coach Dino Zoff of his finishing abilities against Bari. Montella opened the scoring in the third minute after a Dimitri Alenichev shot had been parried by Bari goalkeeper Francesco Mancini. Then 17-year-old striker Antonio Cassano pulled Bari level two minutes later, his second consecutive goal after his debut winner against Inter in December.
Montella restored Roma's lead with an opportunist finish from close range in the 29th minute and completed his hat-trick with a confidently converted 59th minute penalty.
AC Milan played for an hour with only 10 men after Demetrio Albertina was sent off but Oliver Bierhoff's 31st minute strike
was enough for them to pick up three points against Piacenza.
Seedorf, Inter's new signing from Real Madrid, marked his
debut with a goal and an assist as they romped to a 5-0 win over Perugia.
Seedorf set up Grigoris Georgatos from a neatly worked corner in the 18th minute and the Greek wing-back finished in style with a flying 25-metre drive. Seedorf added the second a minute before
the break and then goals from Christina Vieri, Vladimir Jugovic and an own goal from Paulino Hilario completed the rout.
Fiorentina, who have impressed in the Champions League this
season, remain in mid-table after they were held to a goalless draw at Lecce.
Torino face a long fight to avoid a swift return to Serie B after they lost 2-1 to Reggina. Mohamed Kallon opened the scoring for Reggina in the ninth minute but striker Emanuele Calaio equalised in the 65th minute, just seven minutes after entering as a substitute. Kallon grabbed the winner in the final minute as he was brought down in side the area and rose to convert the
penalty.
