Juventus Defeat Opens Up Italian Title Race
MILAN, April 30 (Reuters)(DS) - The Serie A title race was re-opened on Sunday as leaders Juventus lost 2-0 away to Verona while second-placed Lazio closed the gap to two points with a 3-2 win at home to Venezia.
AC Milan and Inter Milan boosted their hopes of clinching Champions League places with Milan winning 1-0 at home to Piacenza and Inter enjoying a 2-1 victory at Perugia.
Juventus knew a win would give them an almost unassailable lead with just two games remaining but they now face a fight to the end after they were sunk by goals either side of the break from Fabrizio Cammarata.
Carlo Ancelotti's side started brightly and Gianluca Zambrotta went close with a fierce drive that flashed just wide of the post in the 20th minute. But it was Juve goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar who made the first real save of the match when he parried an Adailton shot in the 37th minute. Cammarata pounced on the loose ball but his shot struck the post.
Eight minutes later the two Verona strikers linked up again for the opening goal when Adailton fed Cammarata on the edge of the area and he turned Mark Iuliano and slotted the ball past Van der Sar.
Verona extended their lead in the 58th minute when Martino Melis burst down the left, picked out an unattended Cammarata in the penalty area and he slid the ball home.
Juve brought out on "super sub" Darko Kovacevic for the out-of-sorts Alessandro Del Piero but the Turin side were unable to find away past a well-organised Verona defence wich has now gone 13 games without defeat.
Juventus now face a high-pressure home game against Parma before a trip to Perugia on the final day of the season.
Lazio go into their final two games, away to Bologna and at home to Reggina, boosted by a hard-earned win over Venezia. Sven Goran Eriksson's side took the lead in the 38th minute when Diego Simeone headed in a Giuseppe Pancaro cross at the far post.
The Rome side doubled their lead on the stroke of halftime when Venezia goalkeeper Francescco Benussi failed to reach a Pancaro cross and Roberto Mancini set up Simone Inzaghi for a simple tap-in.
Francesco Pedone pulled one back for Venezia but Lazio restored their two-goal advantage when Sinisa Mihajlovic whipped in a corner and Francesco Moriero headed into his own goal. Maurizio Ganz added a late goal for Venezia but their defeat means they are relegated to Serie B.
AC Milan held on to third place despite an unimpressive performance against relegated Piacenza. Massimo Ambrosini headed in a Leonardo corner in the 15th minute to secure the three points and keep Alberto Zaccheroni's side on course for a place in next season's Champions League.
Parma were held to a goalless draw at home to Udinese and ceded fourth place, the final Champions League slot, to Inter Milan who won 2-0 at Perugia.
Inter took the lead in the 28th minute when Roberto Baggio set up Clarence Seedorf and the Dutchman coolly slotted home. Uruguayan Alvaro Recoba made sure of the three points in the 65th minute with a superb individual goal, beating five Perugia defenders before a neat left-foot finish. Nicola Amoruso made Inter sweat with a goal for Perugia in
the 77th minute.
Roma's fading dreams of a first appearance in the Champions League took another blow as they were held to a 0-0 draw at lowly Bari.
At the bottom of the table Torino kept their hopes of survival alive with a 2-1 home win over Reggina.
