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Juve go six clear as Milan mis-fire
Juventus swept into a six-point lead at the top of the table with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Fiorentina on Wednesday. Second-half sub Ruben Olivera stroked home from close range after 72 minutes to help the bianconeri edge away from Milan, who were held to a goalless draw at Brescia.
Fiorentina boasted two former Juve players in their ranks, with Fabrizio Miccoli and Enzo Maresca both with points to prove to the club who let them go over the summer.
The pair fashioned an early opening for their new side, Miccoli cleverly disguising a free-kick ten minutes in, dinking the ball to the back post when Juve expected a shot only for the unmarked Maresca to head meekly at Gianluigi Buffon.
But Maresca found the going tough against Juve's muscular midfield while Miccoli was increasingly isolated as the game wore on with Fabio Capello's well-drilled side snuffing out danger with ruthless efficiency.
But another summer Fiorentina arrival could have pegged Juve back, but Javier Portillo - on loan from Real Madrid - stabbed wide with Buffon grounded deep into injury time.
Luck was on the side of Juve as Fiorentina's other best two chances fell to defender Tomas Ujfalusi, who maldroitly fired wide having muscled onto a through ball before snatching hastily at a rebound after Buffon had palmed away a stinging Miccoli free-kick.
SUBLIME TOUCHES
But Juve - whose success this season has been built on its watertight foundations - also had their chances with Zlatan Ibrahimovic - the man whose arrival sparked Miccoli's departure - showing some sublime touches up front.
The Swede - an 18m euro buy from Ajax in the close season - was a constant cause for Fiorentina concern as his close control and awareness threatened to undo Sergio Buso's side on several occasions.
But it was not until the introduction of Olivera - for the consistently disappointing Alessandro del Piero - that Juve broke through, Mauro Camoranesi flicking on Pavel Nedved's corner to give Olivera a simple chance.
"It wasn't easy," said Juve coach Fabio Capello. "Fiorentina are a very well-organised side and one of the hardest teams to play against at the moment."
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BRESCIA 0 AC MILAN 0
Without injured striker Andriy Shevchenko, AC Milan looked short of ideas up front. The home side went close to taking the lead in the first half, Andrea Caracciolo hitting the post after 13 minutes. Milan pressed forward more urgently in the last quarter of an hour but, despite the 88th-minute sending-off of Brescia captain Luigi Di Biagio, they failed to break the deadlock.
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CHIEVO VERONA 1 ATALANTA 0
A second-half goal by striker Simone Tiribocchi left winless Atalanta four points adrift at the bottom of the standings. Tiny Chievo, meanwhile, rose to fifth.
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INTER MILAN 2 BOLOGNA 2
It was the same old story for Inter, who have now racked up nine draws in 11 games and squandered the lead in six of them. Inter twice went ahead through goals by Sinisa Mihajlovic and Adriano. Bologna defender Fabio Petruzzi cancelled out the first before striker Claudio Bellucci headed home a second equaliser two minutes from time on another frustrating night for Inter supporters.
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LIVORNO 1 LAZIO 0
Promoted Livorno made it four wins from their last five matches, thanks to Cristiano Lucarelli's header just before halftime. After the interval, Lazio striker Simone Inzaghi twice failed to capitalise after being put through one-on-one against goalie Marco Amelia.
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PARMA 1 REGGINA 0
Reggina returned to earth with a bump after their weekend win over leaders Juventus. Midfielder Domenico Morfeo gave Parma their second victory of the season with a looping header 11 minutes from the end.
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AS ROMA 0 UDINESE 3
Initially outplayed by a well-organised Udinese side, Roma then self-destructed. Striker Vincenzo Iaquinta's sweetly-struck free kick put the visitors ahead just before the interval. Vincenzo Montella almost equalised immediately after the break, but the 60th-minute sending-off of defender Luigi Sartor left the hosts a man short and gifted Udinese a penalty, which David Pizarro converted. Iaquinta added a third late on as Roma unravelled.
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SAMPDORIA 0 CAGLIARI 0
Both sides continue to hover in midtable following this low-key draw. Sampdoria playmaker Cristiano Doni came close to scoring on the hour, when his near-range header forced a diving save from keeper Theofanis Katergiannakis.
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SIENA 1 LECCE 1
Lecce avoided a third consecutive defeat when they came from behind to draw with lowly Siena. Midfielder Fabio Pecchia's glancing header gave the Tuscan side the lead after 29 minutes, but the southerners responded midway through the second half when defender Marco Cassetti unleashed a fierce equalizer from 25 metres out.
Eurosport - ih & Reuters 10/11/2004
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