Kovacevic Leads Juventus Over Inter Milan
Copyright � 2000 Nando Media
Copyright � 2000 Agence France-Presse
MILAN (April 16, 2000 9:44 p.m. EDT http://www.sportserver.com) - Yugoslav striker Darko Kovacevic showed Juventus the way to the Italian league title here on Sunday night by scoring both goals in a priceless 2-1 win over Inter Milan.
Juventus' victory in front of 80,000 at San Siro left them five points clear of Lazio at the top of Serie A - with just four matches left.
Kovacevic, whose late goal last week steered Juventus to a crucial win over Bologna after two defeats, struck in the 54th and 79th minutes.
He was only picked because playmaker Zinedine Zidane was suspended and coach Carlo Ancelotti pulled Alessandro Del Piero back into the Frenchman's role behind the strikers - naming Kovacevic to partner Filippo Inzaghi.
Dutchman Clarence Seedorf, who scored in Inter's 2-1 Italian Cup final defeat to Lazio last Wednesday, drove home Inter's consolation goal in the 83rd minute - but it was scant reward for his team's possession.
They nearly snatched a third minute lead when Luigi Di Biagio broke through the Juventus defense, goalkeeper Edwin Van Der Sar parried his shot and Ivan Zamorano just failed to snap up the rebound.
But Kovacevic fired a warning shot four minutes later when he smacked a 20-meter drive just over the crossbar and then drove another into the side-netting in the 16th minute after a neat through-ball from Inzaghi.
It took a last-gasp tackle by Mark Iuliano to stop Zamorano in the 26th minute as he latched onto Seedorf's defense-splitting pass.
And Van Der Sar could only punch away Inter skipper Javier Zanetti's well-struck drive after Uruguayan Alvaro Recoba had neatly laid the ball back.
Recoba then steered a 25-meter shot just over the bar but the best chance fell to Juve five minutes from the break, when Kovacevic headed the ball through but Inzaghi ballooned his angled shot.
Inter's best chance came minutes later when wingback Michele Serena crossed from the left but Zamorano's glancing header flew wide of the far post.
Inter kept up the pressure after the re-start and Recoba knocked over a free-kick in the 54th minute which Seedorf volleyed over the bar.
But within a minute Juventus were ahead - when Inzaghi prodded the ball through and the unmarked Kovacevic chipped keeper Angelo Peruzzi.
Inter hit back immediately and even had the ball in the Juventus net - but Recoba was ruled offside when he centered for Seedorf.
Seedorf conjured up a great chance for Zamorano in the 78th minute, but the Chilean failed to connect at point blank range.
But Kovacevic made no such mistake a few minutes later, out-jumping an exposed Peruzzi to head Gianluca Pessotto's cross from the left into the right-hand corner of the Inter net.
Inter kept going and were rewarded when Seedorf drilled a 20-metre shot into the bottom left hand corner - aided by a deflection, but their final rally bounced off the Juve defense.
The evening had started on a lighter note though for the hosts.
Inter sent a message to their injured star in a Paris hospital, with the players arriving on the pitch wearing white T-shirts with his photograph emblazoned on the front and the slogan: "Ronaldo Non Mollare" ("Ronaldo Don't
Give Up").
