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Del Piero strikes late as Juve beat Inter 2-1
(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-02-13 09:33
Walter Samuel hauled Inter level in the 74th minute when he headed a corner
past Buffon but with five minutes left a foul on Pavel Nedved just outside the
area gave Del Piero the chance to curl a perfectly-weighted free kick into the
top corner.
Alvaro Recoba almost snatched a point for Inter when he blasted a free kick
against the woodwork in stoppage time but Juve hung on to leave Inter's Serie A
challenge in tatters.
"We are delighted. I think we deserved the win for the way we played," Juve
coach Fabio Capello said.
"What pleased me the most is that we never stopped trying to go forward. We
never tried to settle for a draw.
"We have a big advantage now but we still need to be careful. There are
several dangerous teams still to come. Just look at Roma -- they've won nine
games in a row now."
SHAKY START
Milan made a shaky start at Reggina's Granillo stadium when their defence was
caught out of position by midfielder Carlos Paredes who headed past Dida in the
10th minute.
Four minutes later, however, the visitors were level through Inzaghi, who was
making only his third Serie A start of the season in place of the injured Andriy
Shevchenko.
Playmaker Kaka ended a great solo run by slipping the ball to Inzaghi on the
edge of the box and although the striker's initial effort was blocked by Ivan
Pelizzoli, he made no mistake from the rebound.
His strike partner Alberto Gilardino put Milan ahead with a diving header
shortly before halftime and Inzaghi grabbed two more after the break -- the
second in stoppage time to cap a vintage goal-poaching performance.
Fourth-placed Fiorentina arrived in Livorno full of confidence after a 2-0
midweek win over Inter but were second-best for most of the match against their
Tuscan rivals.
Luca Toni missed a great chance to give Fiore the lead against the run of
play when he had a penalty saved by Marco Amelia at the end of the first half.
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