Ronaldinho fires
Milan to derby victory :
Ronaldinho scored his first goal in Italian football to give AC Milan
a vital 1-0 victory over Inter Milan in a pulsating city derby at the
San Siro on Sunday.
Inter Milan had two players sent off - although Marco Materazzi was
dismissed after he'd been substituted - as Jose Mourinho tasted defeat
as Inter coach for the first time.
It means that despite losing their first two matches, Milan are right
back up in the thick of the title race having won their next three in a
row.
Ronaldinho dedicated his goal to the Milan fans and club president -
and Italy prime minister - Silvio Berlusconi, who celebrates his 72nd
birthday on Monday.
"I'm very happy, I was hoping to score a goal. This one is for the
fans who've made me feel at home," said the Brazilian.
"It's a moment of great happiness, I know tomorrow is president
Berlusconi's birthday, this goal is for him."
Previous leaders Inter drop down to fourth with the loss as the Serie
A table takes on an unfamiliar look.
Lazio are the new Serie A leaders after they won 3-1 at Torino while
Napoli, one of only two remaining unbeaten teams, are up to an unlikely
second following their 1-0 success at Bologna.
Udinese are third having won 2-1 at home to Siena while Catania, who
beat Chievo 1-0, are fifth ahead of Milan and Juventus.
In Milan Inter had more of the ball but Milan were looking dangerous
on the break and on 25 minutes Kaka beat Maicon down the left before
crossing for Ronaldinho, whose left foot shot was blocked by goalkeeper
Julio Cesar.
Milan went in front on 36 minutes on the counter as Ronaldinho fed
Kaka wide on the right before charging into the penalty area to meet his
countryman's cross with a bullet header into top corner from almost on
the penalty spot.
Mourinho waited less than a quarter of an hour after the break before
deciding he'd seen enough and he threw on two strikers.
Brazilian Adriano and Argentine Julio Cruz came on for centre-back
Materazzi and winger Alessandro Mancini in a typical Mourinho
substitution. Inter's task was made tougher when Nicolas Burdisso was
sent off with a quarter of an hour left after picking up a second yellow
card. Mourinho brought on Dejan Stankovic with his final throw of the
dice and he forced Milan goalkeeper Christian Abbiati into parrying a
vicious volley before Adriano blasted the follow-up over the bar.
In a thrilling finale, Materazzi was shown a red card for berating
the referee from the sideline and Milan substitute Andrei Shevchenko
forced Julio Cesar into a fine save before Adriano headed wide from
inside the six-yard box.
Mourinho refused to comment on the referee and defended his attacking
substitutions. "I don't think either side deserved to win more than the
other, they scored a goal so well done Milan," he said. "I'm not talking
about the referee, I want to be on the bench for the next game.
"I'm not afraid, when I'm not happy with the result I take risks.
Unfortunately with 10 men I can't make more attacking changes." Lazio
have been the surprise team of this season and their fourth victory in
five matches ensured their place at the top.
Macedonia forward Goran Pandev and a brace from scudetto top scorer
Mauro Zarate, one from the spot, put them 3-0 up before nine-man Torino
scored an injury time consolation goal from a Nicolas Amoruso penalty.
Lazio coach Delio Rossi said there was still more to come from his
table-toppers.
"I'm happy to be the coach of players who give their all and play to
their best," he said. "It seemed easy today but Torino played well. I
thought in the first half they played better than us but for the rest of
the game it was all Lazio.
"We have worked hard and this group can develop and improve as we're
missing important players like (Tommaso) Rocchi and (Francesco)
Matuzalem."
In the capital, last season's runners-up AS Roma won for only the
second time this season in a 2-0 home success over Atalanta. Centre-back
Cristian Panucci opened the scoring through a deflected strike before
Montenegro forward Mirko Vucinic added the second with a slick turn and
shot.
ROME, Monday (AFP)
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