Juventus Stay Top But Inter Move Third After Derby Win
ROME, March 5 (Reuters) - Antonio Conte and Alessandro Del Piero scored as Juventus maintained their four-point lead at the top of Serie A on Sunday with a 2-0 win over Bari but Inter Milan moved into third place with a 2-1 derby win over AC Milan.
Inter leapfrogged over Milan and AS Roma to move three points behind second placed Lazio and seven points behind Juventus. Milan started brightly but were forced to make an early substitution when Alessandro Costacurta limped off in the 25th minute to be replaced by Luigi Sala. Costacurta's absence appeared to effect Alberto Zaccheroni's side and Inter took the lead two minutes before the break when Alvaro Recoba slipped a low cross to Ivan Zamorano and the Chile international made no mistake from close range.
Recoba, standing in for the injured Christian Vieri, was in outstanding form and hit the post with a beautifully struck left foot shot in the 54th minute. It was no surprise when Inter, more aggressive and decisive than an out-of-sorts Milan, doubled their lead in the 63rd minute when Clarence Seedorf and Zamorano linked up well to set up Luigi Di Biagio's fine right foot shot.
Inter should have had a third when substitute Adrian Mutu beat Maldini down the left and crossed for Roberto Baggio, but the former Italy international shot straight at Christian Abbiati. Milan pulled one back in the final minute when Dario Simic was judged to have tripped Massimo Ambrosini inside the area and Andriy Shevchenko scored from the spot.
HARD-EARNED WIN FOR ROMA
A Marco Delvecchio strike gave Roma a hard-earned 1-0 win at home to struggling Torino, while Pavel Nedved grabbed the only goal of the game in Lazio's away win at Lecce.
Juventus gave a typically disciplined and organised performance and dominated from the outset in their 2-0 win over Bari. But it was the 43rd minute before Juve made the breakthrough, Alessandro Del Piero set up Antonio Conte who beat Francesco Mancini with a cool finish.
Juve extended their lead nine minutes after the break when Del Piero sent Filippo Inzaghi into the area and the Italy striker was brought down by Matteo Ferrari. Del Piero converted the penalty to take his season tally to six goals -- all from the spot.
Roma looked set for a repeat of their frustrating UEFA Cup scoreless draw with Leeds on Thursday as Torino kept them at bay for more than an hour. Marco Delvecchio and Vincenzo Montella both missed good chances in the first half but Delvecchio finally found the target with a left foot shot on the turn which flew in off the post.
Lazio went close to an early lead at Lecce when Juan Veron hit the bar with a 30-metre free-kick in the sixth minute. But Czech Pavel Nedved grabbed the crucial goal with a spectacular strike from 20 metres out in the 37th minute. Veron struck the woodwork again with an identical effort midway through the second half but the Rome side had to settle for winning by just a single goal.
Parma gained their first win in nine games thanks to two goals from Hernan Crespo in their 3-0 win over Reggina. Diego Fuser opened the scoring in the third minute with a low shot from the right after he latched on to a delightful back-heel from Ariel Ortega. Crespo made it two with a close range finish in the 35th minute and sealed the win with a penalty on the stroke of halftime -- his 16th goal of the season.
