Ten-Man Juventus Good Enough For Victory
Copyright � 2000 Nando Media
Copyright � 2000 Agence France-Presse
MILAN (February 27, 2000 6:11 p.m. EST http://www.sportserver.com) - Juventus needed only 10 men to score a morale-boosting 2-1 win over title rivals AS Roma on Sunday night and restore its four-point lead in the Serie A.
Filippo "SuperPippo" Inzaghi scored the winner which took Juventus to 50 points - ahead of Lazio (46), AC Milan (45), Inter (43) and Roma (42), which saw its title ambitions badly dented in Turin.
Juventus deserved the victory, but there was controversy in the 29th minute when Roma striker Marco Delvecchio suffered a crunching tackle from behind by Alessio Tacchinardi just inside the penalty area.
The referee waved play on and two minutes later Juventus was in front, Dutch midfielder Edgar Davids hitting a spectacular first-time volley from outside the area.
Roma leveled seven minutes later when Delvecchio got in front of his marker to hook a high-ball past Juventus' Dutch keeper Edwin Van Der Sar.
But there was more drama five minutes before the break when Juventus defender Paolo Montero punched away a long ball that would have put Roma skipper Francesco Totti clean through.
The Uruguayan was promptly sent off, but it didn't prevent Juventus from restoring its lead within a minute of the re-start, thanks to a shrewd substitution by coach Carlo Ancelotti.
Ancelotti took off midfielder Antonio Conte for defender Alessandro Birindelli to shore things up at the back. And it was the right wingback who sent over the cross, which Roma keeper Francesco Antonioli flapped at and Inzaghi guided over the line from just a few centimeters out.
Juventus, which has by far the best defense in Italy with just 11 goals conceded in 23 games, then dug in for its points and might even have snatched a third goal.
Ancelotti said: "It wasn't easy against a Rome side like this one, and with only 10 men for more than half the game. The team were both good and courageous. They played the second half with great heart and great humility.
"When you're a man down, you probably play with more tension, more character and more determination," he added. "And whenever times have been hard, this team has always brought out its very best."
Roma coach Fabio Capello said: "Psychologically, the second goal pulled the rug from under us. We didn't play with the same rhythm and the same fluidity."
Asked to comment after watching a TV replay of Tacchincardi's tackle on Delvecchio, he said: "I think the pictures are so clear that there's no comment to be made. The pictures speak for themselves."
As for his team's chances in the title race, he added: "There are a lot of difficult matches still to go. There's no reason for us to stop now."
Elsewhere, AC Milan could only draw 0-0 at Cagliari but Inter returned to the title race by beating Venezia 3-0.
Milan had won its previous four league games before arriving in Sardinia, but was unconvincing in the first half and didn't manage a single shot on goal in the second.
Milan coach Alberto Zaccheroni seemed to like the hosts' performance more than his own team's.
"Cagliari did really well, they seemed more of a team and they believed more than we did in their ability to get a result," he said. "We, on the other hand, just didn't keep together."
Milan goalkeeper Christian Abbiati, voted man of the match, was less diplomatic in his verdict: "The real AC Milan never took the pitch.
"We were in big trouble all through the match, and above all our approach to the game was wrong."
Inter looked to have overcome its erratic form with a convincing win at San Siro - albeit one that came at a high price.
Christian Vieri opened the scoring with a superb 25-meter strike in the 42nd minute, Chilean Ivan Zamorano made it 2-0 soon after the re-start and Uruguayan Alvaro Recoba with a low drive wrapped up the points.
The bad news was losing Vieri to a thigh muscle injury, which coach Marcello Lippi said will keep him out of next weekend's derby - raising doubts too about its second crunch game the following week, against Lazio.
Lippi said: "The important thing for us is to keep in touch with the leading clubs and then go for it in the final month of the season."
Milan's wasn't the only 0-0 draw of the day: There were no goals either in Piacenza's game at Bologna and Verona's at Perugia, where the home side looked set to lose Ibrahim Ba for the rest of the season after the French winger suffered tendon damage to his left knee.
There were no winners either in Bari, where the home side finished 1-1 with Torino, but Reggina won its all-southern battle with Lecce 2-1.
