AC Milan bounces back in style
ROME: AC Milan set aside the stories of crises and desperate home form to thrash Sampdoria 5-0 away in the latest round of Serie A matches on Wednesday.
Brazilian superstar Kaka and veteran Dutch international Clarence Seedorf started and rounded off the scoring as the Champions League holders ended a two-match losing streak in the Italian championship.
However, its chances of making ground on the main rivals for the title were not enhanced despite its overwhelming victory as all the four main protagonists Inter Milan - who is 11 points ahead of its city rivals - AS Roma, Fiorentina and Juventus won.
Inter also won big-time beating Sampdoria's city rivals Genoa 4-1 with Argentinian international midfielder Esteban Cambiasso among their scorers to record their seventh victory of the season and leave it three points clear of Roma.
Roma followed up their victory away at AC Milan on Sunday with a 3-2 win over Rome rivals Lazio, with Mirko Vucinic - who scored against AC on Sunday - making light yet again of the absence of talismanic striker Francesco Totti by scoring Roma's first goal to make it 1-1.
Thanks to a third goal from Simone Perrotta it was game over despite Lazio getting a goal 21 minutes from the end.
The seemingly reborn veteran Italian striker Christian Vieri ensured that Fiorentina stayed in the hunt as he grabbed the only goal in a 1-0 win over Napoli, while the team that Napoli seemingly fortuitously beat 3-1 on Saturday, Juventus, bounced back to keep in the race for the Scudetto.
"The Old Lady" - who was infuriated by two controversial penalties awarded against it in its clash with Napoli - beat Empoli 3-0 with French international striker David Trezeguet scoring a hat-trick - his second of the campaign after one against Livorno - to see off the minnows.
AFP
(China Daily 11/02/2007 page23)
