Roma Beat Verona As Baggio Stuns Juventus
ROME, April 1 (Reuters)(DS) - AS Roma extended their lead at the top of the Italian first division to nine points on Sunday after coming from behind to beat Verona 3-1.
Second-placed Juventus were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Brescia, for whom Roberto Baggio scored a late equaliser against his former club.
Third-placed Lazio, who face AC Milan at the San Siro in an evening kick-off, are now 12 points behind Roma.
Christian Vieri scored a hat-trick as Inter Milan won 3-2 at Perugia despite having French international defender Laurent Blanc sent off in the 48th minute for a second bookable offence. Inter stay sixth, three points behind Parma, who were held 0-0 by Bologna, and level on points with Atalanta Bergamo, who
drew 1-1 at home with struggling Napoli.
Reggina goalkeeper Massimo Taibi scored with an 88th minute header from a corner kick to give his side a last-gasp 1-1 draw at home to Udinese.
EARLY BLOW
Fabio Capello's Roma side fell behind to a 27th minute strike from Verona's Argentine midfielder Mauro Camoranesi. But Roma staged a spirited fightback in the second half. Vincenzo Montella headed home a Francesco Totti cross in the 55th minute and five minutes later Gabriel Batistuta netted from close range from a Cafu cross.
The Argentine striker, back in action for the first time since March 4, took his league tally to 15 goals this season, one fewer than Lazio's Hernan Crespo and two fewer than Milan's Serie A top scorer Andriy Shevchenko.
Brazilian Cafu, making his 100th appearance in the Italian top flight, set up Montella to head home his ninth goal of the season to crown Roma's 18th victory in 24 matches.
The team's nine-point lead at the top is now the biggest they have enjoyed all season.
"I look at the table and I see the size of the lead but I'm still very well aware of the danger posed by the teams chasing us," Capello said when asked if Roma had now wrapped up their first title since 1983.
"We spoke very calmly to one another at halftime. We said that we could not afford to lose this match, that we had to at least try to win it and that's what we managed to do."
Juventus dominated their match at the Delle Alpi but failed to add to Gianluca Zambrotta's superb 25th minute volley.
With just four minutes left to play, Andrea Pirlo chipped a ball over the top of the Juventus defence and Baggio brought it down, shimmied past Edwin Van der Sar in the Juve goal and fired into the empty net for his 167th Serie A goal.
INZAGHI OFFSIDE
Juventus striker Filippo Inzaghi put the ball in the back of the Brescia net a minute later but his effort was ruled out for offside.
"We've complicated things for ourselves because we've dropped two points on the leaders but we're still in with a chance," said Juventus coach Carlo Ancelotti.
"One point from two matches isn't enough, even if the Juventus I've seen hasn't actually played that badly."
The most remarkable goal of the day was Taibi's equaliser for Reggina against Udinese. The former Milan and Manchester United keeper advanced into the Udinese penalty area in a last desparate effort to pull his side level and rose above the visiting defence to head home.
