MILAN, 18 October 2004 — Brazilian Adriano scored two wonderful goals as Inter Milan beat Udinese 3-1 in Serie A yesterday while a superb Andrea Pirlo strike gave AC Milan a 1-0 win at Cagliari.
Juventus, who beat early-season surprise package Messina 2-1 on Saturday, lead Serie A on 16 points with Milan three points behind.
Chievo Verona move up to third after a second-half goal from Matteo Brighi gave them an impressive 1-0 win away to Lazio, despite playing for 55 minutes with 10 men.
Adriano was not even expected to play for Inter, having missed his initial flight back from international duty with Brazil.
The striker returned to Italy only on Saturday but was named in the starting line-up alongside Christian Vieri. It took just seven minutes at the San Siro for Adriano to show that whether he was suffering from jet-lag or not he remained in top form. The Brazilian opened the scoring with a scorching free-kick from 30 meters out which flew into the top corner.
Adriano made it 2-0 four minutes later with an outstanding solo effort, dribbling from deep in his own half, weaving past three defenders before finding the space to drive past Udinese keeper Morgan De Sanctis.
After the break Stefano Mauri pulled one back for Udinese but Vieri made it 3-1 for Inter with his first goal of the season.
Chievo had Simone Tiribocchi sent off for a second yellow card in the 35th minute of their game against Lazio at the Olympic Stadium.
The Verona side fought hard to maintain their unbeaten record and went even better when Brighi slotted home confidently after a break by Brazilian Amauri.
Lecce maintained their excellent start to the season with two goals from Serbia and Montenegro striker Mirko Vucinic giving them a 2-0 win over Palermo. But Parma’s troubles continued as they fell to a 3-1 defeat at Brescia — a result that leaves them next to bottom with just three points.
Battling Charlton Keep Unbeaten Home Record
In London, Charlton came from a goal down to draw 1-1 with Newcastle at The Valley on Sunday and maintain their unbeaten home record this season. Wales striker Craig Bellamy headed the visitors in front just before half-time, but the Londoners were level six minutes after the break when Andy O’Brien put through his own net off a Kevin Lisbie drive. Newcastle skipper Alan Shearer had an effort cleared off the line, before doing the same at the other end, while Charlton twice hit the woodwork during the closing stages.
Levante, Zaragoza Continue Fine Starts
In Madrid, Levante and Real Zaragoza maintained their excellent starts to the season with contrasting victories yesterday.
Levante, promoted from Spain’s division two last season, strolled to a 3-1 win away to Numancia to move up to provisional third place with 13 points.
Zaragoza, last season’s King’s Cup winners, joined them on the 13-point mark after grinding out a 2-1 win at home to Real Sociedad with a David Villa penalty and a deft Savio finish.
Barcelona lead the standings with 19 points from seven games following their 1-0 win away to Espanyol in the Catalan derby on Saturday.
Valencia, in second spot with 14 points, need a victory at home to Sevilla to get back to within striking distance of Barca.
Hilal Outfight Nasr 2-0 in Riyadh
Sami Al-Jaber struck once in each half as Al-Hilal managed to score a 2-0 victory against Al-Nasr and advanced to the fourth position with 11 points in the King Fahd Cup Soccer Tournament, writes Mahmoud Ahmad.
Nasr are second with 15 points.
Displaying remarkable agility, Sami opened the account in the 5th minute of the match played at Riyadh’s Prince Faisal ibn Fahd Stadium on Saturday. Hilal dominated the play as the game proceeded.
Al-Nasr almost equalized on more than one occasion but the Hilal’s goalkeeper Hasan Al-Otaibi made fine saves each time. Sami scored his second goal in the 67th minute after receiving a well-directed pass from a teammate.
In Dammam, hosts Al-Qadisiya sank Al-Ahli of Jeddah 2-1. Qadisiya are eight on the table with eight points while Ahli are in 6th position with nine points.
Yaser Al-Qahtani scored for Qadisiya in the 7th and 65th minute. Ahli scored their lone goal in the 50th minute through Sahib Al-Abdullah.
