MILAN, 3 November 2003 — AS Roma moved within two points of leaders AC Milan and Juventus as goals from Vincenzo Montella and John Carew gave them a 2-0 victory over Reggina in Serie A yesterday.
European champions Milan and Italian title holders Juventus drew 1-1 in their top-of-the-table clash on Saturday and have 20 points to Roma’s 18.
Parma moved into fourth place after they came back from 2-1 down at Brescia to win 3-2 but their Brazilian striker Adriano was carried off on a stretcher with what appeared to be a serious hamstring injury.
Inter Milan look to end their run of five straight league games without a win when they travel to Chievo Verona later.
With the top two dropping points at the San Siro, Roma took advantage to close the gap but they had to work hard for the three points against a determined Reggina.
Fabio Capello’s side got off to a good start when Montella raced on to a through ball from Olivier Dacourt and opened the scoring in the 18th minute.
But Roma were unable to take a firm grip on the game and survived a scare when Reggina striker David Di Michele had a strike disallowed for offside.
Capello sought to inject some fresh ideas into his side bringing on midfielder Daniele De Rossi and striker John Carew for Montella and Antonio Cassano — both of whom looked less than pleased with being substituted.
The switch paid off though as in the 81st minute De Rossi played a long ball from Francisco Lima into the path of Carew, who had only been on the pitch three minutes, and the Norwegian fired home. “To go all the way you need to be able to cope with suffering at home to the little sides as well as being able to take on the big boys,” said Montella. The prospect of losing the services of their prolific striker Adriano spoilt what was another excellent display from Parma at Brescia.
The home side went ahead in the third minute when Brazilian Matuzalem’s low shot beat Parma keeper Sebastien Frey but Domenico Morfeo slid in at the back post to pull Parma level eight minutes later.
Former Inter Milan midfielder Luigi Di Biagio restored Brescia’s lead in the 36th minute but just before the break Marco Marchionni leveled for Parma with a header from a Morfeo cross.
Adriano’s replacement, Italy Under-21 striker Alberto Gilardino, grabbed the winner in the 70th minute with a fine header.
Brescia had their former Parma midfielder Matuzalem sent off in the 79th minute.
Bologna’s poor season continued as they fell to a 1-0 defeat at home to Sampdoria. Cristiano Doni was on target for the visitors.
Murphy on the Spot for Liverpool Win at Fulham
In London, midfielder Danny Murphy converted a late penalty to give Liverpool a 2-1 Premier League victory over 10-man Fulham at Loftus Road yesterday.
Emile Heskey, who scored twice in Liverpool’s 4-3 midweek League Cup win over Blackburn Rovers, gave them a 17th minute lead, while French striker Louis Saha leveled for Fulham just before the break.
But the match swung Liverpool’s way in the last three minutes when Liverpool’s French substitute Florent Sinama-Pongolle was first tripped by Zat Knight for the penalty and later brutally felled by Luis Boa Morte’s knee-high challenge, earning the Portuguese forward a red card.
Groningen Fight Back to Share Points With Feyenoord
In Amsterdam, three second-half goals sealed a remarkable comeback for Groningen in their 3-3 draw with Feyenoord yesterday.
Feyenoord looked to be cruising to an easy win after Antony Lurling, Dirk Kuijt and Patrick Paauwe gave the Rotterdam side a 3-0 lead at half-time.
But eight minutes after the break Martin Drent pulled one back with a header, before Brazilian Hugo scored a second for the home side with 13 minutes remaining.
Substitute Sander van Gessel then leveled the scores a minute before the final whistle to secure a well-deserved point for Groningen.
Feyenoord remain fourth in the standings with 18 points, seven adrift of leaders Ajax Amsterdam, who beat third-placed AZ Alkmaar 3-2 on Saturday.
Serginho Greene gave RKC Waalwijk a 26th minute lead at fellow midtable side Willem II Tilburg before the home side came back to win 4-1 with goals from Tom Caluwe, James Quinn, Romano Denneboom and Bart van den Eede. At the bottom of the table Zwolle grabbed their first win of the season after beating Twente Enschede 1-0.
Torres Fires Atletico to 2-1 Victory Over Betis
In Madrid, two goals from striker Fernando Torres enabled Atletico Madrid to come from behind to claim a determined 2-1 win away to Real Betis and notch their fourth victory in a row in the Primera Liga yesterday.
Betis took the lead midway through the first half when the Brazilian midfielder stroked in from 20 meters out with a trademark free kick, but Torres leveled the game just before the break with an acrobatic flying volley.
The 19-year-old Spanish international then grabbed the winner — and his sixth goal in four games — when he blasted in from the penalty spot after Greek strike partner Demis Nikolaidis had been felled in the area.
The win sends Atletico into fifth place in the table on 16 points, one behind Osasuna who missed their chance to cement their place among the leaders when they slipped to a 1-0 defeat away to Villarreal.
