Title-holders Inter Milan secured an easy 2-0 win on Sunday over Ascoli to remain joint leaders of Serie A with Palermo, who beat Sampdoria at home by the same score.
Third-place Roma trail on 20 points, having won 3-1 in a late game against guests Fiorentina as Daniele De Rossi and a brace from Brazilian Rodrigo Taddei canceled out a goal scored by Fiorentina's Tomas Ujfalusi in the first half.
Promoted Atalanta follow one point adrift, after a 2-0 upset of troubled 10-man AC Milan, who like Fiorentina, Lazio and Reggina, received point penalties as a result of a match-fixing scandal.
Atalanta took the lead from a searing Nicola Ventola drive on 50 minutes and sealed their win in injury time, as Andrea Soncin fired home off the bar.
Milan, who have now suffered a second straight defeat and trail the leaders by 17 points, played the last 15 minutes with 10 men, when an injury sidelined Gennaro Gattuso after Carlo Ancelotti had already fielded three substitutes.
Ascoli started confidently at the Giuseppe Meazza, using the offside trap to frustrate Inter forwards Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Hernan Crespo.
Constant possession paid off for Inter on 40 minutes as captain Javier Zanetti easily flicked home an assist from Ibrahimovic.
An own-goal by Mirko Cudini sealed Inter's win on 53 minutes as the defender stunned his keeper, botching a low cross from the just-fielded Luis Figo.
A chance for a consolation goal went begging as Julio Cesar deflected a spot-kick taken by Michele Fini.
In Palermo, the hosts clinched their fourth straight win at home to Sampdoria.
Captain Eugenio Corini made it 1-0 on 35 minutes with a slightly deflected free kick and Cristian Zaccardo secured the win on 70 minutes, finishing off after a scramble in the area.
Sampdoria defender Christian Terlizzi was dismissed with three minutes remaining.
"We played an evenly balanced first half, but we played better in the second half, and I think we deserved the win. We have the best attack [23 goals], but today we were clever also in defense," Palermo coach Francesco Guidolin said.
Luka Doncic on Monday scored 36 points as the in-form Los Angeles Lakers powered to their sixth straight victory with a 100-92 defeat of the Houston Rockets. A crucial showdown between the third and fourth-ranked NBA Western Conference teams ended with the Lakers pulling away in the final minute of the fourth quarter to claim an impressive win on the road. The victory gives the Lakers (43-25) a valuable cushion over the Rockets (41-26) as they jostle for post-season positions in the West. Doncic was once again instrumental in dragging the Lakers over the line while a hard-nosed defensive effort
‘THAT’S US’: Before each WBC game, Venezuelan players gather around a drum in the dugout for the tambor, coastal Afro-Venezuelan music and dance Venezuelan players on Monday night danced in the dugout before the first pitch, then pranced past Italy and into their nation’s first World Baseball Classic (WBC) final. Ronald Acuna Jr, Maikel Garcia and Luis Arraez hit run-scoring, two-out singles in a rapid seventh-inning rally that sparked a 4-2 victory and vaulted Venezuela into a title matchup against the US. Players celebrated in the clubhouse before quickly turning focus to the final. “A lot of dancing,” Garcia said. “We have to show the world who Venezuela is.” Before each WBC game, Venezuelan players gather around a drum in the dugout for
Japan’s national baseball team manager Hirokazu Ibata has said he would step down following Japan’s 8-5 loss to Venezuela in Miami in the quarter-finals of the World Baseball Classic. The newspaper Sports Hochi reported Ibata saying it was his “intention to resign.” Japan are the defending champions and had won the event three times. It marked Japan’s first failure to reach the WBC semi-finals despite a team stacked with MLB talent including Shohei Ohtani. “The result is everything,” Sports Hochi reported Ibata as saying. “Although we lost this time, I hope Japan will grow stronger and win next time.” Japan
Retired NBA big man LaMarcus Aldridge, a seven-time All-Star, is to visit Taiwan early next month for the first time to promote an NBA event, the league’s Taiwan Web site said on Monday. During his visit, Aldridge would meet fans on April 4 and 5 at Banciao Stadium in New Taipei City during the Rising Stars Invitational Taiwan Regional Qualifiers, NBA Taiwan wrote on Facebook. Tickets became available on FamiTicket on Monday at noon and can be reserved until 11:59pm on March 31, with a maximum purchase of two tickets per person, it said. The tickets are divided into three
RSS