Chievo relegated after fluctuating final day
MILAN: Chievo were relegated from Serie A on Sunday after a 2-0 defeat by fellow strugglers Catania and Siena's 2-1 win over Lazio.
Five sides were battling to avoid the final relegation spot on the last day but Chievo were the only team that failed to win and were thus condemned to the drop.
Catania looked set for relegation at halftime with the score goalless but Fausto Rossini and Mauro Minelli saved the Sicilian club, who had been forced to play home games away from their stadium since a policeman died in riots there in February.
Siena were five minutes from going down when Paolo Negro tapped in their winner while Parma saved themselves with a 3-1 win over Empoli and Reggina survived after beating a depleted AC Milan 2-0.
Chievo, who started the season in the Champions League qualifiers having finished fourth last season, may feel aggrieved that Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti started the Reggina match with one member of Wednesday's European Cup-winning side.
Andrea Pirlo was accompanied in the starting lineup by fit-again striker Ronaldo but Reggina managed a relatively simple victory thanks to Nicola Amoruso's excellent turn-and-shot and Daniele Amerini's controlled finish.
Looked doomed
Siena narrowly avoided joining Messina and Ascoli in Serie B next season but for much of the second half it looked like they would go down.
Striker Massimo Maccarone won and scored a penalty to ease Siena's first-half nerves but Lazio's Tomasso Rocchi netted from the spot in the second period as the hosts looked doomed irrespective of Catania's result against Chievo in Bologna.
Defender Daniele Portanova hit the bar with a header and then had an effort ruled out for offside with Siena starting to believe it would not be their day.
However, with five minutes left Negro found himself with an open goal and he tapped in to trigger huge celebrations among the Tuscan side's supporters.
At the other end of the table, Inter Milan were presented with the championship trophy after their 3-0 victory over Torino. Roberto Mancini's side had wrapped up the title last month but waited until the last match to fully celebrate.
Their tally of 97 points, with just one defeat, is a record in a top European league.
Second-placed AS Roma ended the season in style with a 4-3 home win over Messina as the league's top scorer Francesco Totti netted his 25th and 26th goals of the campaign.
Fiorentina, who comfortably secured a UEFA Cup place last week despite a 15-point deduction for their part in last season's match-fixing scandal, rounded off the campaign with a 5-1 demolition of Sampdoria.
Injured striker Luca Toni celebrated with his Fiore team mates after the match amid strong speculation that he will join Bayern Munich in the close season.
Agencies
(China Daily 05/29/2007 page23)
