ROME, 24 January 2005 — Juventus extended their lead at the top of Serie A to five points yesterday after they defeated Brescia 2-0 and closest rivals AC Milan lost at Livorno.
David Trezeguet’s close range finish and Maurizio Domizzi’s own goal ensured three valuable points for Juve whose victory celebrations were tempered by what appeared to be a serious injury to dynamic Czech midfielder Pavel Nedved.
Former AC Milan midfielder Roberto Donadoni masterminded Livorno’s shock home win over the defending champions. Donadoni took over as coach of the Tuscany club earlier this month and found himself up against his old club for the first time.
Corrado Colombo scored the only goal in the 28th minute for a gallant Livorno side who held AC Milan to a draw at the San Siro when the teams met earlier in the season. AC Milan’s misery was compounded by the late sending-off of defender Alessandro Nesta.
Juventus have 47 points from their 20 matches played, while AC Milan have 42, eight more than third-placed Udinese who crashed to a 2-0 home defeat to Calabrian side Reggina.
Sampdoria leapfrogged Palermo into fifth place after claiming a 2-1 win at Lazio where the visitors were two goals up after just four minutes. Paolo Di Canio missed a first half penalty for Lazio, who fell to 15th.
Palermo were held to a goalless draw at snowy Siena, while Valeri Bojinov’s 13th league goal of the season gave Lecce a 1-0 home win against bottom club Atalanta.
Arturo Di Napoli’s header 10 minutes from time sealed a 1-0 home win for Messina against relegation-threatened Parma, while Fiorentina entertain Roma in Sunday’s late match.
Juventus took the lead in the 12th minute at the Delle Alpi stadium. Zlatan Ibrahimovic drilled a low cross from wide on the right and France international Trezeguet popped up at the back post to stab the ball in off the post.
Brescia found themselves further behind two minutes before half time. Swedish striker Ibrahimovic cut in from the left and his clever cutback intended for Trezeguet was turned into his own net by Domizzi.
Kaka struck the post for AC Milan before Livorno gained the upper hand at a rain-swept Armando Picchi stadium.
On Saturday Obafemi Martins scored a late equalizer as Inter Milan salvaged a 1-1 draw at home to struggling Chievo. Inter’s 14th draw in 20 matches maintained their unbeaten league record but left them a massive 15 points behind Juventus.
In Saturday’s early match Bologna boosted their chances of retaining their Serie A status with a precious 1-0 win at home to Cagliari.
Rangers Win to Keep Pressure on Celtic
In Glasgow, Rangers cut Celtic’s lead to three points on Sunday with a gritty 2-1 victory at Aberdeen in the Scottish Premier League.
Dado Prso gave Rangers the lead in the ninth minute with an angled shot after charging into the box and they grabbed soon afterwards when Fernando Ricksen’s inswinging corner ended up in the back of the net off goalkeeper Ryan Esson.
Fourth-placed Aberdeen replied quickly with Darren Mackie’s close-range effort, but Rangers held out and even missed a glaring chance near the end as Hamed Namouchi raced clear only to shoot wide.
Celtic, who beat Motherwell 2-0 on Saturday, still top the table on 59 points with Rangers on 56 followed by Hibernian on 43.
Barcelona Pad Lead With 3-0 Win
In Madrid, Barcelona extended their lead over second-placed Real Madrid to 10 points in the Primera Liga with a 3-0 home win over Racing Santander on Saturday.
Barca took the lead after just eight minutes when Cameroon striker Samuel Eto’o raced onto a pass from midfielder Xavi and coolly slotted the ball through the legs of goalkeeper Dudu.
Despite dominating the early possession Barcelona failed to press home their advantage against a defensively-minded Racing side languishing near the bottom of the table.
Mexican midfielder Rafael Marquez and 2004 world player of the year Ronaldinho both squandered clear opportunities.
However, the Brazilian, playing his 50th game for the club, soon produced a bit of magic to notch their second in the 75th minute when he created the space to drill a long-range strike into the bottom right corner beyond the outstretched Dudu. The third goal came courtesy of another shot from distance, this time by Portugal midfielder Deco whose effort looped over the stranded Dudu after taking a deflection off a defender.
Their comfortable victory at the Nou Camp stretched Barcelona’s unbeaten run at home to a year.
In Saturday’s late game, Athletic Bilbao came from 3-0 down to secure a dramatic 4-3 home victory over mid-table rivals Osasuna, who are also chasing a UEFA Cup spot. Osasuna took the lead thanks to a curling shot by Uruguayan midfielder Pablo Garcia in the 15th minute and looked to have the game won after the break with a header from Pierre Achille Webo and a thundering 30-meter free kick by Francisco Punal.
