Juve extend lead as Milan lose to Bologna
Vieri goals propel Inter to third place
Champions Milan slipped further behind Serie A leaders Juventus when they suffered a shock 1-0 defeat by mid-table Bologna at the San Siro yesterday.
Milan's second loss in a row, after the previous weekend's reverse at Livorno, leaves them on 42 points from 21 matches, eight adrift of Juventus, who won 2-1 at bottom club Atalanta.
Roma rose to fifth spot on 33 points as they fought back from two goals down to beat Messina 3-2 at the Olympic Stadium.
Inter climbed to third above Udinese, who lost 1-0 at Parma on Saturday, after beating Palermo in yesterday's late game in Sicily.
Milan were desperate to keep pace with Juve but struggled to break down a Bologna team unbeaten in five matches.
The home side created all the early pressure, with Andriy Shevchenko heading a Clarence Seedorf cross narrowly wide and midfielder Vikash Dhorasoo having a goal overruled for handball.
Bologna's tactics were simple - defend deep and hit Milan on the break - and their approach soon paid off.
A swift counter-attack in the 27th minute ended with Claudio Bellucci backheeling the ball into the path of fellow striker Tomas Locatelli who lashed it past Milan keeper Dida.
Milan quickly rediscovered their rhythm but 10 minutes before the break they were forced to send on Jon Dahl Tomasson in place of Shevchenko, who left the field limping after colliding with defender Alessandro Gamberini.
Milan continued to create chances after the break.
Bologna keeper Gianluca Pagliuca blocked a Hernan Crespo effort, a Cafu shot ran narrowly wide and Theodoros Zagorakis cleared Massimo Ambrosini's header off the line but the visitors held out.
Juventus, meanwhile, gained revenge over Atalanta, who had knocked them out of the Italian Cup early this month.
Ruben Olivera proved an excellent stand-in for injured midfielder Pavel Nedved when he ran onto a through-ball to lob keeper Massimo Taibi after 23 minutes.
The result was sealed 10 minutes from time when a shove by Atalanta defender Marco Motta on Mauro Camoranesi gave Juve a penalty that Alessandro Del Piero converted.
A Lilian Thuram own goal in stoppage time gave Atalanta a consolation but came too late for a comeback.
Inter's league form had stuttered recently with back-to-back draws against Chievo and Reggina while Palermo were full of confidence after beating Siena and Lazio.
However, despite having to do without Adriano again, Inter were still technically superior to Palermo. They also had Christian Vieri to rely on as the burly striker scored twice, one in each half, to help Inter leapfrog Udinese.
Inter are still unbeaten in the league after 21 matches. They are now seven points behind Milan but have 15 points less than runaway leaders Juventus.
In the Italian capital, Roma produced a Jekyll and Hyde performance to overcome plucky Messina.
They looked a shadow of themselves in the first half as Messina went 2-0 ahead with goals by striker Riccardo Zampagna and defender Alessandro Parisi.
Francesco Totti pulled a goal back in the 56th minute after a knockdown by Vincenzo Montella and four minutes later Totti hoisted a long ball forward for Antonio Cassano to stab home.
Roma completed their great escape with eight minutes left when Brazilian midfielder Mancini dribbled into the box, wrongfooted his marker and fired a low shot into the net.
Sampdoria were held 1-1 by struggling visitors Siena, while Dino Zoff's Serie A debut as Fiorentina coach ended in a 1-0 loss at Cagliari.
Lazio are slipping towards the relegation zone after their third league defeat in a row as a last-gasp goal by striker Emiliano Bonazzoli gave Reggina a 2-1 victory.
Serie A
Atalanta 1
Juventus 2
HT: 0-1. Att: 17,000
Brescia 0
Lecce 1
HT: 0-1. Att: 9,000
Cagliari 1
Fiorentina 0
HT: 1-0. Att: 21,000
Milan 0
Bologna 1
HT: 0-1. Att: 56,756
Palermo 0
Inter 2
Reggina 2
Lazio 1
HT: 0-1. Att: 23,000
Roma 3
Messina 2
HT: 0-2. Att: 37,000
Sampdoria 1
Siena 1
HT: 0-0. Att: 25,000
Played On Saturday
Chievo 1
Livorno 0
HT: 1-0. Att: 6,000
Parma 1
Udinese 0
HT: 1-0. Att: 11,000
Leading Scorers
17 goals - Montella (Roma).
14 - Adriano (Inter).
13 - Shevchenko (Milan).
11 - Bojinov (Lecce); Totti (Roma).
Next Fixtures
Wednesday - 8.30 p.m. Fiorentina vs Palermo; Inter vs Atalanta; Juve vs Sampdoria; Lazio vs Brescia; Lecce vs Roma; Livorno vs Reggina; Messina vs Milan; Siena vs Cagliari; Udinese vs Chievo.
Thursday - 8.30 p.m. Bologna vs Parma.
Serie B
Arezzo 0
Treviso 1
Catanzaro 1
Triestina 0
Cesena 1
Crotone 0
Empoli 1
Verona 0
Friday
Modena 2
AlbinoLeffe 2
Perugia 0
Bari 1
Pescara 2
Genoa 2
Salernitana 1
Ternana 1
Friday
Torino 2
Ascoli 1
Venezia 1
Piacenza 0
Vicenza 2
Catania 2
Serie C1(A) Acireale vs Lucchese 0-1; Como vs Vittoria 0-0; Cremonese vs Spezia 2-2; Fidelis Andria vs Pavia 2-2; Frosinone vs Pro Patria 3-2; Novara vs Lumezzane 0-1; Pisa vs Mantova 2-0; Prato vs Pistoiese 1-1; Sangiovannese vs Grosseto 0-0.
Serie C1(B) Avellino vs Foggia pp; Benevento vs Martina 0-1; Chieti vs Cittadella pp; Napoli vs Lanciano 4-1; Padova vs Giulianova 4-1; Reggiana vs Sora 0-0; Sambenedettese vs Fermana 0-1; Spal vs Vis Pesaro 0-0; Teramo vs Rimini pp.