19 February 2006
 
CHIEVO 0-0

PALERMO
     
Attendance : 5,000
Assist : n/a
 
 
FIORENTINA 1-2

LAZIO
Bojinov 60  

Behrami 32
   

Rocchi 49
     
Brocchi failed to close down Belleri as he ran onto a loose ball, Behrami flicked it
away from Pasqual and Kroldrup, ran left and lobbed over Lobont. Liverani hit a
perfectly weighted lob over the top of the Fiorentina defence, Rocchi got goal-side
of Di Loreto and powered a header into the net. After Toni missed an easy header
Bojinov gave Fiorentina hope with a stunning right foot volley from the edge of the
box. The gifted youngster Montolivo, on a second half sub for the increasingly poor
Fiore, caught the outside of a post with brilliant shot from distance and Toni missed
another chance in the dying minutes.

It just wasn't happening for Fiorentina. They had plenty of possession in the
attacking third but appeared to be gripped by nerves and were hurrying passes
and shots. Had Totti not been injured today I would have said Fiorentina are
****ed. They have a sizeable advantage over Livorno and now Cassano has gone
Roma don't have anyone to fill the void. As far as the other Champions League
places are concerned Inter have hit a bit of a slump and are finding goals hard
to come by. Milan have too much firepower to finish outside the top three and
Juve are of course home and hosed.

Attendance : 30,196
Assists : Belleri, Liverani, Toni
 
 
LECCE 0-0

REGGINA
     
Attendance : 12,000
Assist : n/a
 
 
ROMA 1-0

EMPOLI
Perrotta 15    
     
Perrotta tapped in after Cejas was forced to clear a backpass thus earning Roma
their 10th win in a row, equalling a record held by Bologna and I believe also
Juventus and Milan. Roma's joy was short-lived following news that Totti could
be out for 2 months with a fractured ankle. Totti fell awkwardly after Vanigli
hacked him down from behind and was stretchered off after just 12 minutes.

Attendance : 44,000
Assist : n/a
 
 
SAMPDORIA 1-2

ASCOLI
Volpi 71  

Quagliarella 56
   

Budan 86
     
This was a strange, strange match. Ascoli have a dreadful away record so it was a
major surprise to see them play so well against a team like Samp. Quagliarella, who
moves in slow motion but appears to have excellent technique, intercepted a
clearance by bouncing a ball off his chest and volleying past Antonioli. He struck the
woodwork with a fine solo effort in the first half. Volpi got hold of another clearance to
blast in the equaliser. Flachi was sent off for applauding the ref when he failed to
give a decision Samp's way, a ridiculous dismissal. Budan came off the bench to
head in the winner.

After an awful start to the season Ascoli are now in a very comfortable 11th place.

Attendance : 20,000
Red Card : Flachi 75 (Sampdoria)
Assists : n/a, n/a, Cariello
 
 
TREVISO 0-1

PARMA
   

Simplicio 14
     
Attendance : 4,577
Assist : Bolano
 
 
UDINESE 1-2

SIENA
Iaquinta 38 (Pen)  

Volpato 34, 39
     
Siena took the lead completely against the run of play when 19 year old Volpato
headed in D'Aversa's free kick. A lucky penalty got Udinese level. Portanova sliced the
ball in the air and he turned it struck his arm and the ref pointed to the spot. Siena
restored their lead a minute later. Volpato read Udinese's offside trap and ran in on
Zapata's blindside, skipped over a challenge from De Sanctis and tapped the ball
into an empty net. He should have had a hat-trick but missed a good chance late
in the first half.

Attendance : 16,000
Assists : D'Aversa (fk), n/a, Locatelli
 
 
18 February 2006
 
MESSINA 2-2

JUVENTUS
Floccari 3, 86  

Ibrahimovic 18
   

Mutu 81 (Pen)
     
With one eye on Europe Capello rested several players and played a back four of
Pessotto, Kovac, Cannavaro and Balzaretti. Messina took full advantage, a simple
through pass found Floccari racing through a large gap left by Cannavaro and
Balzaretti and he took the ball wide before shooting inside the far post, his first ever
Serie A goal. Del Piero laid off Vieira's pass via Camoranesi's dummy to Nedved,
Nedved passed to Ibrahimovic and showing all too rare composure (he missed an
absolute sitter minutes earlier) he fired the ball into the bottom corner. Cannavaro
got a second yellow for a sneaky trip. Farina, who I've never liked, gave Juve a penalty
after Ibrahimovic took a dive in the box. The Italian media will go crazy over this one
but Ibrahimovic is a fine, fine actor, much better than Nedved for example, and in
real-time this looked a stone wall penalty. Mutu converted but Floccari headed in
Sullo's free kick to give Messina a deserved point.

I don't think Buffon has kept a clean sheet since returning from injury. A very
entertaining match thanks to Juve's unbelievably poor defending.

Attendance : 35,000
Assists : Donati, Nedved, Ibrahimovic (won fk), Sullo
 
 
LIVORNO 0-0

INTER
     
Attendance : 13,500
Assist : n/a
 
 
MILAN 1-0

CAGLIARI
Gilardino 23 (Pen)    
     
Attendance : ?
Assist : Inzaghi (won pen)
 
 
R Mehdi