ROME, 29 November 2004 — Hernan Crespo scored his fourth goal in eight days as AC Milan cut Juventus’ lead at the top of Serie A to three points with a 1-0 victory at Chievo yesterday.
Juventus however can restore their six point cushion if they beat Inter Milan in late match at the San Siro. Crespo, who opened his Milan account with a goal in the Italian Cup last Saturday before netting twice in their Champions League victory against Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday, continued his rich vein of form with the only goal in Verona five minutes into the second half.
Kaka dribbled his way toward the Chievo goal only to see his path blocked by two defenders, but the ball ricocheted off the Brazilian’s shin and fell kindly at Crespo’s feet.The Argentine striker, deputizing for the injured Andrei Shevchenko, took his time and slotted the ball left-footed past Luca Marchegiani for his first league goal of the season.
Milan had to survive several scares after breaking the deadlock with their Brazilian keeper Dida making two superb saves from Roberto Baronio to ensure three precious points.
Juventus have 31 points from their 12 matches played, while defending champions Milan have 28 points but have played a game more than their title rivals.
Cagliari climbed to fourth behind Udinese with a 3-2 win at Lazio. Goran Pandev gave Lazio an early lead, but Antonio Langella equalized for the Sardinians before half-time. Palermo rose to fifth after winning 2-0 at Brescia where Lamberto Zauli and Franco Brienza were on target for the Sicilians. Messina fell two places to sixth after drawing 1-1 at home to Fiorentina, while a goalless draw at Bologna saw Lecce drop one place to seventh.
Francesco Flachi’s last-gasp penalty gave Sampdoria a 1-0 win against Parma which moved the Genoa club up to eighth.
Reggina boosted their chances of surviving the drop at the expense of Atalanta with a 1-0 win against the bottom club in Bergamo where Carlos Paredes grabbed the winner.
Liverpool’s Mellor Floors Arsenal
In London, a superb stoppage time winner by striker Neil Mellor gave Liverpool a dramatic 2-1 victory over struggling Premier League champions Arsenal at Anfield yesterday.
Liverpool took a deserved first-half lead with a cracking shot from the edge of the area by Spanish playmaker Xabi Alonso, while Arsenal looked to have earned a draw after skipper Patrick Vieira knocked in a 57th minute equalizer. Third-placed Everton ground out a 1-1 draw at Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur ended a run of six league defeats with a morale-boosting 2-0 victory over 10-man Middlesbrough.
Depor Draw 2-2 With Sociedad
In Madrid, Deportivo Coruna appeared to be suffering from the effects of their midweek elimination from Europe when they surrendered a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 with Real Sociedad in the Primera Liga yesterday.
The Galicians, who are destined to finish bottom of their Champions League group after a 1-0 defeat at Olympiakos on Wednesday, got off to a great start when forward duo Albert Luque and Pedro Munitis put them 2-0 up by the 28th minute.
Novo Sends Rangers Top as Celtic Are Held
Spanish striker Nacho Novo steered Rangers to the top of the Scottish Premier League yesterday after scoring twice in a 3-2 comeback win over Hearts.
Rangers took full advantage of a surprise 2-2 draw for champions Celtic at lowly Dundee in the day’s early kickoff to go top with 39 points, one ahead of their Glasgow archrivals.
Trailing to a Paul Hartley penalty after 16 minutes, Rangers leveled through a Jamie McAllister own goal just before halftime and were ahead after 56 minutes with Novo’s first.
