Serie A 06: Hernanes’ Lazio clinches Roman derby

Highlights of the 6th round of Serie A.

Leaders: Juventus and Udinese continue to lead in the standings despite both being held to a tie away from home.  Lazio on the contrary moved up to 2nd place after defeating Roma (2-1) in the home derby led by Hernanes (photo)  who led his team to win coming back from behind. Lazio shares the position in the standings with Cagliari held to a scoreless tie at home.

Contenders: Among a string of ties, the big clubs disappointed with Napoli which was defeated at home by Parma (1-2) while struggling Inter lost at Catania (2-1). Milan on the contrary defeated Palermo (3-0) as it tries to come back from behind in the standings. Finally Bologna won at Novara (0-2)  in an early battle to move out of the relegation zone.

Results: Atalanta – Udinese 0-0; Cagliari – Siena 0-0; Catania-Inter 2-1; Cesena-Fiorentina 0-0; Chievo – Juventus 0-0; Genoa – Lecce 0-0; Lazio – Roma 2-1; Milan-Palermo 3-0; Napoli-Parma 1-2; Novara – Bologna 0-2;

Standings: Juventus, Udinese 12; Lazio, Cagliari 11; Napoli, Palermo 10; Chievo, Parma, Catania 9; Roma,  Fiorentina, Milan, Genoa 8; Siena 6; Atalanta, Novara 5; Inter, Bologna, Lecce 4; Cesena 2.

Serie A 15: Hernanes’ Lazio Demolishes Inter

In the 15th round of Serie A, Allegri’s Milan continued its run at the top easily beating at home Brescia (3-0) with Prince, Robinho and the usual Ibrahimovic scoring this easy win. Lazio however is not giving up and follows closely in second place after demolishing a disappointing Inter (3-1) led by Hernanes (photo) who scored the final goal with a beautiful set piece. Behind the top 2 teams, Juventus moved up the standings after a clear win at Catania (1-3) led by Quagliarella who scored twice but has to share third place with Napoli which narrowly defeated Palermo (1-0) with a goal in injury time . While Roma settled for a tie at Chievo (2-2), Sampdoria easily beat struggling Bari (3-0) led by Guberti’s 2 goals. In mid-table Fiorentina narrowly defeated Cagliari (1-0) led by Mutu) while Genoa won at Lecce (1-3) led by Toni. Further down the table Bologna won at Cesena (0-2) led as usual by DiVaio while Parma returned to victory at home over Udinese (2-1) with Crespo scoring twice.

Results: Catania – Juventus 1-3; Cesena – Bologna 0-2; Chievo – Roma 2-2; Fiorentina – Cagliari 1-0; Lazio – Inter 3-1; Lecce – Genoa  1-3; Milan – Brescia 3-0; Napoli – Palermo 1-0; Parma – Udinese 2-1; Sampdoria – Bari 3-0.

Standings: Milan 33; Lazio 30;  Napoli, Juventus, 27; Palermo, Inter, Sampdoria, Roma 23; Genoa 21; Chievo, Udinese 20; Fiorentina 19; Catania, Parma 18; Cagliari 17; Bologna 16; Brescia, Cesena, Lecce 12; Bari 10.

Serie A 08: Mauri’s Lazio tries to run away

In the 8th round of Serie A, Lazio continued its run at the top of the standings with another win over Cagliari (2-1) led by Floccari and Mauri (photo). Reja’s team dominated the match and won using its pragmatic approach that is frustrating its rivals. Milan is trying to keep up the pace and narrowly won at Napoli (1-2) with goals scored by Robinho and Ibrahimovic while Inter on the contrary continues to struggle. Benitez’s team barely clinched a tie (1-1) at home against tenacious Sampdoria coming back from behind with Eto’o as the usual saviour. Further behind Chievo continued its rise with a win at home over Cesena (2-1) while Juventus was held to a scoreless tie at Bologna missing a chance to move further up. In mid-table Genoa and Lecce enjoyed home wins over respectively Catania (1-0) and Brescia (2-1) despite less than impressive performances. Finally with home wins both Fiorentina (over Bari 2-1) and Udinese (over Palermo 2-1) continued their move away from the bottom of the standings.

Results: Bologna-Juventus 0-0; Chievo-Cesena 2-1; Fiorentina-Bari 2-1; Genoa-Catania 1-0; Inter-Sampdoria 1-1; Lazio-Cagliari 2-1; Lecce-Brescia 2-1; Napoli-Milan 1-2; Parma-Roma 0-0; Udinese-Palermo 2-1.

Standings: Lazio 19; Milan 17; Inter 15; Chievo 13; Juventus, Napoli 12; Palermo, Genoa, Lecce, Sampdoria 11; Udinese 10; Catania, Brescia, Roma 9; Fiorentina, Bologna, Cesena, Bari 8; Cagliari, Parma 7.

Serie A 07: Hernanes keeps Lazio in the lead

In the 7th round of Serie A, Lazio continued its run at the top of standings with yet another practical win at Bari (0-2) led by its key Brazilian playmaker, Hernanes (photo) who scored the first goal. Behind the leader however Inter and Milan are keeping up with the pace with Inter winning at Cagliari (0-1) thanks as usual to Eto’o while Milan beat Chievo  (3-1) led by Pato who scored 2 key goals. While Napoli was held to a tie at Catania (1-1), Juventus and Palermo moved up collecting easy home wins. A resurgent Aquilani led Juventus to a 4-0 win over lecce while Palermo demolished Bologna (4-1) inspired by the usual talents of Pastore. In mid table Sampdoria came back from behind to win at home against Fiorentina which is stuck in deep trouble at the bottom of the standings while Roma continued to improve with another narrow win over Genoa (2-1). Finally Udinese after a shaky start of the season surprised with a win at Brescia that allows it to leave last place behind.

Results: Bari – Lazio 0-2; Brescia – Udinese 0-1; Cagliari – Inter 0-1; Catania – Napoli 1-1; Cesena – Parma 1-1; Juventus – Lecce 4-0; Milan – Chievo 3-1; Palermo – Bologna 4-1; Roma – Genoa 2-1; Sampdoria – Fiorentina 2-1.

Standings: Lazio 16; Milan, Inter 14; Napoli 12; Juventus, Palermo 11; Sampdoria, Chievo 10; Catania, Brescia 9; Genoa, Bari, Cesena, Roma, Lecce 8; Cagliari, Bologna, Udinese 7; Parma 6; Fiorentina 5

Serie A 06: Mauri gives Lazio Solitary Lead

In the 6th round of Serie A, Lazio continued its practical march to the top with another narrow win over Brescia (1-0) with Mauri (photo) scoring the decisive goal. With this win, Lazio, managed by Reja, retains first place in the standings while Inter was held bacl by Juventus to a scoreless tie at home in an exciting match that either teams could have won. Behind the leader, besides Inter, we find Milan victorious at Parma (0-1) thanks to a great goal scored by Pirlo, and Napoli which led by Hamsik defeated a disappointing Roma (2-0). Another struggling team is Fiorentina which lost at home to a Pastore-led Palermo (1-2). Further down the standings, in other matches Genoa, Lecce and Udinese all enjoyed home narrow wins.

Results: Bologna – Sampdoria 1-1; Chievo – Cagliari 0-0; Fiorentina – Palermo 1-2; Genoa – Bari 2-1; Lazio – Brescia 1-0; Napoli – Roma 2-0; Inter – Juventus 0-0; Lecce – Catania 1-0; Parma – Milan 0-1; Udinese – Cesena 1-0

Standings: Lazio 13; Napoli, Milan, Inter 11; Chievo 10; Brescia 9; Palermo, Catania, Genoa, Bari, Lecce, Juventus 8; Cagliari, Sampdoria, Bologna, Cesena 7; Fiorentina, Parma, Roma 5; Udinese 4.

Serie A 05: Zarate’s Lazio catches Inter atop

In the 5th round of Serie A, Inter lost at Roma (1-0) only with a goal scored by Vucinic in injury time and after failing to convert several chances on goal. Lazio took advantage of the loss catching Inter in first place after defeating Chievo at home (0-1) with a goal scored by Zarate (photo). Despite the loss however Chievo remains in second place with Brescia (which also lost 2-1 at Bari). Behind them, Milan is surging in the standings thanks a narrow victory (1-0) over Genoa thanks to Ibrahimovic, alongside Napoli which easily defeat Cesena at home with Cavani scoring twice. Coming back to victory at home today we find two so far struggling teams: Juventus defeated Cagliari (4-2) with Krasic scoring 3 goals while Fiorentina won against Parma (2-0) after a tough first half.

Results: Bari – Brescia 2-1; Catania – Bologna 1-1; Cesena-Napoli 1-4; Chievo – Lazio  0-1; Fiorentina – Parma 2-0; Juventus – Cagliari 4-2; Milan-Genoa 1-0; Palermo – Lecce 2-2; Roma-Inter 1-0; Sampdoria – Udinese 0-0.

Standings: Inter, Lazio 10; Chievo, Brescia 9; Milan, Napoli, Catania, Bari 8; Cesena, Juventus 7; Cagliari, Sampdoria, Bologna 6; Palermo, Fiorentina, Parma, Genoa, Roma, Lecce 5; Udinese 1.

SuperCoppa 2009: Lazio beats Inter, wins cup

Lazio defeated and stunned Inter winning the Italian SuperCoppa (played between the winners of Serie A national title and the national Coppa Italia) after an intense match (2-1). The match played in Beijing saw the 2 teams playing poorly in the first half that ended in a scoreless tie. In the second half Inter was dangerous but Lazio was cynical enough to score twice first with Matuzalem and then with Rocchi building a solid lead. Inter cut the distance by scoring with the newly purchased Eto’ but Mourinho’s squad was unable to score again and avoid defeat. Lazio’s team (photo) was left to celebrate a victory that many thought impossible signaling the beginning of what may be a very interesting season.

Coppa Italia 2009: Lazio wins Cup final

After several seasons of finals played exclusively by Roma and Inter, this year both exited early allowing two mid-tier clubs to contest the national cup break this annoying oligopoly. Lazio and Sampdoria rewarded the honor by playing an exciting final so well balanced to the end that it had to be resolved on penalty. Lazio took the early lead with Zarate but Sampdoria inspired by Cassano’s talent was able to tie the match with Pazzini. In the end however it was 2 mistakes of Sampdoria’s players from penalty spot that allowed Lazio’s team (photo) coached by Rossi to celebrate the victory (7-6 with penalties) and capture the Coppa Italia trophy.