ROME, 21 February 2005 — A hat trick by striker Francesco Flachi gave Sampdoria a 3-2 win over Reggina as the battle for Serie A’s Champions League berths hotted up yesterday.
The result gave Sampdoria 41 points from 25 matches, equal on points but with an inferior goal difference to Udinese, who currently occupy the fourth and final Champions League berth after a 1-1 draw with Inter Milan on Saturday.
The competition for a place in Europe’s top club competition promises to be more than a two-horse race, however, as Palermo consolidated sixth place on 39 points by beating Lecce 3-2.
AS Roma lie one point behind the Sicilians after a 3-0 victory over Livorno.
Sampdoria’s third win in their past four matches — a sequence that includes a 1-0 victory over Juventus — boosted their challenge for their first top-four finish since 1994.
Flachi gave them the lead after just eight minutes with a shot that deflected over diving keeper Salvatore Soviero before sweeping a second from Max Tonetto’s cutback just before halftime.Reggina striker Giuseppe Colucci pulled one back for the visitors four minutes after the restart, but with 20 minutes remaining defender Gaetano De Rosa handled the ball to give Sampdoria a penalty, which Flachi fired in to complete his hat trick.
Elsewhere, Serie A’s leading scorer, Vincenzo Montella, bagged his 19th goal of the season as Roma cruised past Livorno, the other goals coming from Simone Perrotta and Francesco Totti.Parma won their relegation dogfight with Brescia 2-1, while Fiorentina’s poor form continued as they slumped to a 1-0 defeat against Siena, despite enjoying a one-man advantage for most of the match.
Newcastle Stun Chelsea, Replay for Spurs
In London, Newcastle United pulled off a 1-0 win over Chelsea to reach the FA Cup quarterfinals yesterday after the Premier League leaders finished a pulsating tie with only nine men.
A tactical blunder by Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho turned the game, his decision to make all three substitutions at halftime backfiring in spectacular fashion when wingback Wayne Bridge was carried off on a stretcher just minutes after the re-start.
That left Chelsea with 10 men and struggling to cancel out a superb header by Newcastle’s Dutch striker Patrick Kluivert after only four minutes at St. James’ Park.
Nottingham Forest came back to draw 1-1 at Tottenham Hotspur and Burnley drew 0-0 with Blackburn Rovers in a moral victory for second division clubs over Premier League sides in yesterday’s other fifth round FA Cup ties.
Ailton Hat Trick Keeps Schalke Up With Bayern
In Frankfurt, Schalke 04 beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 3-1 with a hat trick from Brazilian striker Ailton yesterday to move back level on points with Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich.
Moenchengladbach went ahead with a Joerg Boehme penalty before Ailton took over, equalizing a minute before halftime and scoring with a powerful shot into the roof of the net and a fortunate strike off his shin to clinch the win.
Victory gave Schalke 44 points from 22 games and left them trailing Bayern, who won 5-0 at home to Borussia Dortmund on Saturday, only on goal difference.
Werder Bremen are third on 40 points after last season’s double winners won 4-1 away to Hanover 96 on Saturday, with Bayer Leverkusen fourth on 38 following their 4-2 victory away to FC Nuremberg.
VfB Stuttgart climbed back up to fifth, also on 38 points, when they held on to win 1-0 at home to Hertha Berlin yesterday.
Betis Move Into Third After 2-0 Win Against Deportivo
In Madrid, Real Betis midfielder Marcos Assuncao struck either side of halftime to earn his team a 2-0 win at home to Deportivo Coruna and third place in the Primera Liga yesterday.
The Brazilian fired in at the near post after a neat back-heel assist from Joaquin late in the first half and grabbed his second 13 minutes after the break, curling a free kick past the despairing Depor keeper Gustavo Munua.
Espanyol lost ground in the hunt for the Champions League places when they went down 3-2 to an improving Malaga who have lost just one game in their last six outings under new coach Antonio Tapia.
Basement side Numancia earned their first win in 10 games, and their first away victory of the season, when they came from a goal down to beat 10-man Albacete 2-1.
