Miroslav Klose scored deep into stoppage-time to give SS Lazio a 2-1 derby win over 10-man AS Roma on Sunday and bring some drama to Serie A on a day when five of the seven matches ended goalless.
In doing so, Lazio ended a run of five successive defeats against Roma, four in the league and one in the cup, the last four of them under coach Edoardo Reja.
Pablo Osvaldo gave Roma an early lead, before Hernanes leveled early in the second half with a controversial penalty which also resulted in Roma’s Simon Kjaer being sent off.
Photo: AFP
Juventus and Udinese stayed level at the top of Serie A after Juve’s visit to Chievo Verona and Udinese’s trip to Atalanta BC were among the 0-0 draws.
Cesena captain Adrian Mutu was sent off for elbowing against his former team Fiorentina, where he spent five seasons before joining the Cavallucci Marini in the summer, in another goalless match.
Genoa and Lecce also failed to hit the target, as did third-placed Cagliari and AC Siena, while Bologna won 2-0 at Novara Calcio.
The drama was saved for the evening as Argentine-born Italy forward Pablo Osvaldo burst through to fire Roma ahead after only five minutes at the Stadio Olimpico.
Lazio leveled six minutes after the break when Kjaer brushed Cristian Brocchi, who went sprawling theatrically in the area and celebrated as if he had scored the title-winning goal when the referee pointed to the penalty spot.
Kjaer was sent off and Brazilian playmaker Hernanes coolly converted the penalty.
The remaining 40 minutes were action-packed as Lazio pushed forward and depleted Roma attempted to counter.
Klose headed against the bar and Djibril Cisse hammered a volley against the foot of the post for Lazio as Roma appeared set to hold on for a draw.
However, Germany forward Klose made up for a series of misses — firing one effort over from 10m with the goal at his mercy — by scoring with virtually the last kick of the match.
Matuzalem found Klose with a cleverly flicked ball and he held off his marker and coolly slotted the ball home to spark wild celebrations.
Juventus were fortunate to salvage a point following a controversial decision to disallow Cyril Thereau’s 20th-minute strike for Chievo Verona for an alleged foul on Andrea Pirlo.
To add insult to injury, Thereau was booked for playing on after the whistle.
Chievo also had a penalty turned down in the second half when Sergio Pellissier appeared to be tripped, while substitute Alessandro del Piero had Juve’s best effort when he headed against the post.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Forget Real Madrid, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, the world’s best soccer team — statistically speaking — might be a little-known outfit from the closed central Asian nation of Turkmenistan. Founded last year, Arkadag, named in honor of former Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, have been unstoppable, notching up 36 consecutive domestic victories in a run still ongoing. The side have not lost a single competitive match and swept to a league and cup double in their inaugural season — success unthinkable almost anywhere else. However, in Turkmenistan, it could hardly have gone any other way. The energy-rich country is one of the most closed
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping