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| Sunday, October 20, 2002 17:19 EST |
AC Milan jumps past Inter
[Reuters]
Primera Liga | Bundesliga | Scotland | Dutch | France
ROME -- AC Milan knocked city rivals Inter off the top of the Italian league standings as
Brazilian forward Rivaldo scored his first Serie A goal in a crushing 4-1 win at struggling Atalanta.
Danish striker Jon Dahl Tomasson also claimed his first league goal for Milan, which moved above Inter on
goal difference following its neighbors' stormy 1-1 draw with Juventus on Saturday.
Bologna continued its good start to the season with a 3-0 win over Brescia to climb to third place, with
Lazio in fourth after their 3-0 victory over Perugia, and Juventus fifth.
With Milan's in-form striker Filippo Inzaghi starting on the bench because of injury, Rivaldo
chose the perfect moment to strike 15 minutes into the game, his 20-meter free kick proving too good for
Atalanta keeper Massimo Taibi.
Luigi Sala's equalizer offered temporary respite for Atalanta, but Milan's fluid passing movements
frequently tore through the home side's defense. Tomasson found the net just before halftime before Italy
midfielder Andrea Pirlo's second-half double, the first from the penalty spot, completed the rout.
Bologna's comfortable win over Brescia was secured by a goal from Tomas Locatelli and two from Julio
Cruz, while Lazio's recent signing Enrico Chiesa came off the substitutes' bench to claim the two late goals
that sealed an easy victory over Perugia.
Chiesa's goals were his first in the league for over a year, when, as a Fiorentina player, his season was
ended by a cruciate ligament injury.
"I'm ecstatic," he told reporters after his Lazio league debut. "Only my family knows how much I've suffered
and how hard I've worked to get back to this point. "I hope to continue and to help contribute to Lazio's good start to the season. I'm looking forward to the derby (next Sunday), which we will be playing with morale at its highest."
After AS Roma's 3-1 win at Empoli on Saturday, next weekend's Rome derby promises to be a far closer
contest than the 5-1 drubbing suffered by Lazio last season.
It was also a good day for Torino, which beat Chievo Verona 1-0 to move off the bottom of the standings
thanks to a 17th-minute goal by Federico Magallanes.
The win lifted Torino to 16th place, one point ahead of Reggina, who are still without a win this season after
their 1-0 defeat by Udinese, and two ahead of Atalanta. Piacenza's hopes of moving level with Roma and Juventus on nine points were dashed after they were held
to a 1-1 draw by Como.
Germany: VfL Bochum makes jump in standings
BERLIN -- VfL Bochum returned to winning
ways with a 4-2 victory at home to VfL Wolfsburg on Sunday,
recapturing the form that had lifted it to the top of the
German first division earlier in the season.
The triumph lifted them to sixth, eight points behind
leaders Bayern Munich, who moved five points clear of
second-place Borussia Dortmund with a 1-0 win at Hansa Rostock
on Saturday.
Bochum made a great start on their return to the top
flight with victories in its first three games, but failed
to win in their next five outings.
On Sunday, striker Thomas Christiansen put Bochum ahead on
five minutes but Wolfsburg, who drop down to 10th in the
18-strong table, fought back with goals from striker Diego
Klimowicz and midfielder Robson Ponte.
The visitors led 2-1 at the interval.
But Bochum stepped up after the break and sealed the
win with goals from defender Frank Fahrenhorst, midfielder Paul
Freier and substitute striker Vahid Hashemian.
Striker Kevin Kuranyi and substitute Ioannis Amanatidis
scored in the last 10 minutes to give VfB Stuttgart a 2-1 win at
Nuremberg in Sunday's other match.
Stuttgart's first away win of the season lifted them up to
eighth.
Nuremberg, who had opened the scoring through midfielder
David Jarolim just before halftime, dropped to fourth from bottom.
Spain: Real Sociedad's draw enough for lead
MADRID -- Real Sociedad has gone a point clear at the top of the Spanish first division after an entertaining 2-2 draw against Basque rival Alaves at the Mendizorroza stadium.
In a weekend of upsets, previous leader Celta Vigo slipped to a 1-0 defeat at home to Rayo Vallecano and Real Betis went down 1-0 to Real Mallorca.
Barcelona then joined the list of the weekend's big-name casualties when it slumped to a 2-1 defeat away to Valladolid in Sunday's late match.
Former Real Madrid player David Aganzo opened the scoring when he snapped home on the turn after the Barca defense had failed to clear an Alberto Marcos free kick early in the second half.
Substitute Sergio Pachon extended the lead when he outjumped Frank de Boer to head home with his first touch four minutes from time and although Javier Saviola pulled one back for Barca Pepe More's side ran out deserved winners.
Barca's archrival Real Madrid lost its unbeaten record when it slumped to a surprise 2-0 defeat at Racing Santander on Saturday.
Sociedad and Malaga, which salvaged a late 1-1 draw at Athletic Bilbao, are now the only two unbeaten sides left in the division.
Raynald Denoueix's side leads the table on 14 points, one ahead of Celta and two ahead of Malaga. Valencia, which drew 1-1 at Atletico Madrid on Saturday, is in fourth on 11 points, the same number as fifth-place Real Madrid.
Barcelona trails six points behind the leaders in 11th place in the table.
Scotland: Celtic routs Hearts
EDINBURGH, Scotland -- Henrik Larsson scored twice as
Celtic crushed Hearts 4-1 at Tynecastle on Sunday to move one
point behind Scottish premier league-leading Rangers.
English striker Chris Sutton and Stilian Petrov were also on
target for the champions with all the Celtic goals coming before
halftime.
Hearts scored a late consolation when Gary Wales headed home
on 88 minutes.
Celtic manager Martin O'Neill was delighted with the result
especially since Glasgow rivals Rangers had maintained its unbeaten start to the season with a 3-0 win against Motherwell
on Saturday.
"We got off to a great start and it was important that we
started well in the game because Tynecastle is a difficult
place," O'Neill told reporters.
Celtic is second in the league with 28 points while Hearts
stay fourth on 17. Celtic made the perfect start when Sutton struck the opening
goal after just three minutes.
The forward collected Neil Lennon's free-kick before turning
defender Kevin McKenna to crack the ball home.
Hearts were unable to stop Celtic's charge and conceded a
second goal six minutes later when Petrov found the net.
Sutton flicked the ball across and after Steve Guppy's
effort hit the post, the Bulgarian midfielder followed up to
drive the ball home from outside the box.
Swede Larsson was a constant threat and put Celtic 3-0 ahead
in the 37th minute and the striker added his second five minutes
later when he beat the home side's offside trap to race on to
Bobo Balde's pass and flick the ball over keeper Roddy McKenzie.
Dutch: Breda still perfect after road victory
AMSTERDAM -- NAC Breda remained unbeaten in the Dutch first division after a 3-0 victory at
Zwolle.
But with just three victories and five draws from eight games, NAC is in fifth, eight points behind Ajax, which took the league lead Saturday, thrashing AZ Alkmaar 6-2 when nearest rivals PSV and Feyenoord could
only draw.
PSV was held to a scoreless draw at home by Roda JC Kerkrade, while Feyenoord drew 1-1 at Vitesse Arnhem.
PSV are second overall with 20 points and Feyenoord have dropped to fourth spot, eight points behind
Ajax. Willem II Tilburg is third with 15 following their 3-1 win over RBC Roosendaal.
Ajax was stunned after three minutes Saturday when Kenneth Perez surprised a shaky defense.
Previous leaders PSV squandered several good chances against Roda and defender Wilfred Bouma
came closest when his free kick hit the bar.
After two defeats, UEFA Cup winners Feyenoord picked up a point in Arnhem despite missing defender
Patrick Paauwe and top-scorer Pierre van Hooijdonk, who will be out for four weeks with a leg injury.
Matthew Amoah drew first blood for the home side in the 31st minute but Thomas Buffel equalized in the
56th minute.
In Sunday's action, Orlando Engelaar, Csaba Feher and Rob Penders gave NAC their easy win at Zwolle,
but Groningen slumped to their seventh defeat in eight matches, losing 3-2 at home to RKC Waalwijk.
France: Fernandao leads Olympique to victory
MARSEILLE, France -- A freak goal scored by Brazil's Fernandao has given Olympique Marseille a 1-0 victory over Racing Strasbourg in their French first division match.
The Brazilian's shot in the 23rd minute hit the foot of Strasbourg goalkeeper Nicolas Bonis and the ball, previously destined to go over the crossbar, suddenly changed direction to end up in the back of the net.
Despite its freak nature, the goal was fully deserved as Marseille dominated throughout.
The former European champion is now fourth in the first division standings, level on 20 points with Paris St. Germain a week before the usually tense clash between the two sides at the Parc des Princes.
PSG and Marseille trail leaders Nice and AJ Auxerre by one point.
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