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| Sunday, November 17, 2002 18:47 EST |
Juve pounds Torino to grab first
[Reuters]
MILAN -- Italian champion Juventus took over at the top of Serie A on Sunday after a 4-0 derby win over Torino.
Marcello Lippi's side produced an outstanding display of power play as first-half goals from Alessandro Del Piero and Marco Di Vaio were followed up by strikes from Pavel Nedved and Edgar Davids.
Juventus has 24 points, one more than second-place Inter Milan which was held to a 2-2 draw at AS Roma on Saturday.
AC Milan is third on 22 points after two goals from the penalty spot by Andrea Pirlo gave it a 2-1 home win over Parma.
Fourth-place Lazio maintained its 100 percent away record with a 3-1 win at Como -- Argentine striker Claudio Lopez scoring twice.
Udinese ended Chievo's four-match winning streak with a 2-1 win over the visiting Verona side.
After last week's win over AC Milan, Juventus showed again that it is the form team of the moment in Serie A.
Last season's Turin derbies produced two draws but this time the outcome was never in doubt, largely thanks to an oustanding individual performance from Czech midfielder Nedved.
Juve went ahead in the sixth minute when Del Piero leapt to produce a delightful touch with his heel to turn a Nedved free kick past Torino goalkeeper Luca Bucci.
Nedved then broke from the halfway line and slipped a perfect pass into the path of Di Vaio who fired home with envious ease after 32 minutes.
Six minutes after the restart Nedved found the target himself as Di Vaio slipped the ball inside and the former Lazio midfielder burst into the box and blasted past Bucci to make it 3-0.
Torino, which recovered a three-goal deficit last season, was given an opening back into the match in the 74th minute when it was awarded a penalty but Juve goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon parried out Marco Ferrante's spot kick.
With two minutes remaining, Edgar Davids completed the rout as he charged through the Torino defense and finished with ease.
Having lost four of its last six games in Serie A and Europe, Milan will be glad for the victory but it was a far from convincing display from Carlo Ancelotti's side.
Pirlo put Milan ahead three minutes into the second half after Danile Bonera had handled in the area.
Emanuele Filippini equalized for Parma in the 64th minute with a low drive and the visitors almost went ahead when Adrian Mutu struck a free kick against the upright.
But Milan won a second penalty in the 70th minute, strongly protested by Parma.
Rivaldo whipped in a free kick from the right and Milan midfielder Massimo Ambrosini went down in a crowded penalty area.
Pirlo cooly converted again but Parma only had itself to blame for not drawing level as they missed a series of chances in the final 15 minutes.
Lazio's financial situation may be a worry for its fans but on the field Roberto Mancini's side are looking increasingly like genuine title contenders.
Argentine midfielder Diego Simeone headed them in front from a corner in the 18th minute before Nicola Corrent brought Como level with a low, long-range strike.
But after the break two goals from former Valencia forward Lopez secured the win for Lazio, who were put up for sale during the week.
The first came after a swift counterattack with Lopez producing a classy finish to beat Como goalkeeper Fabrizio Ferron and then the Argentine made easy work of a cross from Brazilian Cesar.
Udinese, which beat Inter last week, continued its revival with a spirited win over Chievo.
Dane Martin Jorgensen put it ahead on 12 minutes before German Carsten Jancker doubled its lead with his first goal in Serie A following his close season move from Bayern Munich.
Another German, Chievo's Oliver Bierhoff, pulled a goal back two minutes after the break, but his close-range strike against his old club was not enough.
Struggling Atalanta was given a boost by a 2-0 derby win over Brescia thanks to second-half goals from Ousmane Dabo and Gianni Comandini.
Antonio Di Natale scored a hat trick for Empoli in its 4-2 home win over Reggina and was rewarded with a call-up to Giovanni Trapattoni's Italy squad for Wednesday's friendly against Turkey.
Germany: Two late goals from Brazilian striker Ailton helped Werder Bremen to a 5-3 victory over crisis-hit Kaiserslautern on Sunday that lifted it up to third in the German first division.
Four-times champion Kaiserslautern, now bottom of the table with just one win from 13 games, fought bravely, even after Swiss defender Ciriaco Sforza was dismissed for a second booking in the 37th minute.
The southwesteners were leading 3-1 and had victory in sight when an own goal from Germany striker Miroslav Klose on 61 minutes put home side Werder back in contention.
Ailton then struck twice before substitute Ivan Klasnic wrapped it up for Werder, who are now six points behind leaders Bayern Munich but just one below second-place champion Borussia Dortmund.
Schalke 04 climbed to fourth with a 2-0 Ruhr Valley derby win at VfL Bochum in the other game played Sunday.
Midfielder Andreas Moeller opened the scoring for the Gelsenkirchen side three minutes into the second half and Germany striker Gerald Asamoah doubled the advantage with four minutes left.
Bochum, back in the top flight this season after one of its frequent spells in the second
division, topped the standings early on but is now seventh, nine points off the pace.
Scotland: Bulgarian midfielder Stilian Petrov scored twice as Celtic thrashed Partick Thistle 4-0 on Sunday to overtake Glasgow rivals Rangers at the top of the
Scottish Premier League.
Chris Sutton and Henrik Larsson also scored to help the Scottish champions move one point clear of Rangers. Celtic have 40 points from 15 games with second-placed Rangers on 39 after they were held to a 2-2 draw at Aberdeen on Saturday.
Dunfermline Athletic is third on 26 points after it came from behind to beat fourth-place Hearts 3-1 at East End Park in Sunday's other match.
Celtic manager Martin O'Neill was content with his side's professionalism after Thursday's 2-0 win at Blackburn Rovers in the UEFA Cup.
O'Neill also praised Petrov, who recently rejected the opportunity to extend his contract with Celtic beyond 2005.
Celtic edged Partick out of the Scottish League Cup after a penalty shootout earlier this month but outclassed it this time.
The visitors were under pressure from the outset and slipped behind on 10 minutes when defender Derek Whyte deflected Chris Sutton's cross into his own net.
Petrov accepted Neil Lennon's pass to slip home a stylish second goal on 33 minutes before he chipped Partick goalkeeper Kenny Arthur midway through the second period.
Larsson then tucked away his 22nd goal of the season from close range to complete the rout in the closing minutes.
Scott Severin fired Hearts ahead early in the second period at Dunfermline, but goals from Barry Nicholson, Lee Bullen and Steve Crawford earned the home side victory.
Holland: Champion Ajax regained top spot in the Dutch first division Sunday as it thrashed NEC Nijmegen 6-0 after PSV Eindhoven lost 2-1 at home to Feyenoord.
Ajax leads the table with 30 points from 12 matches, three points clear of PSV with Feyenoord in third with 26 points.
Both PSV and Feyenoord were looking to bounce back after being eliminated from European competition when they finished last in their Champions League groups to miss a UEFA Cup place.
Sunday's match was delayed by 15 minutes after the Feyenoord team bus was stuck in traffic, but when it finally started PSV took the game to its opponents at a furious pace.
It came close to the opening goal on three minutes when Mateja Kezman's effort was disallowed because Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink had impeded goalkeeper Patrick Lodewijks.
However, it was Feyenoord which took the lead on 29 minutes as midfielder Shinji Ono finished off a move involving himself, Mariano Bombarda and Thomas Buffel with a well placed shot.
Two minutes before halftime Buffel doubled its advantage after he was sent deep by Bombarda and lifted the ball over goalkeeper Ronald Waterreus.
Dennis Rommedahl gave PSV some hope when he scored from close range on the hour mark, but although the home side kept the pressure on it could not find an equalizer.
Ajax, the only Dutch team to reach the second stage of the Champions League where it faces Arsenal, Roma and Valencia, scored after 15 minutes when Mido met a Hatem Trabelsi cross.
But they had to wait until two minutes into the second half to double their lead when Mido struck again after being set up by Steven Pienaar.
Andy van der Meyde (53rd minute), Rafael van der Vaart (73), Andre Bergdolmo from the penalty spot (77) and Nordin Boukhari in the dying seconds completed their half a dozen goals.
NEC ended the match with 10 men as some of its players began to show its frustration and former Ajax player Youssouf Hersi was sent off just after the fourth goal.
Roda JC Kerkrade dropped precious points in their bid for a UEFA Cup place next season when it lost 4-0 at RBC Roosendaal and had defender Roel Brouwers sent off six minutes from time.
Roda stayed in fourth place with 20 points, but saw Utrecht and NAC Breda close the gap.
Utrecht snatched a 2-2 draw with striker Dirk Kuijt netting the equalizer in the final minute with a superb bicycle kick.
NAC had no trouble at Excelsior Rotterdam where they picked up an easy 3-0 victory.
On Saturday, the bottom two clubs met at Groningen with the home side securing its first victory of the season with a 3-1 win over local rivals Graafschap Doetinchem.
The match was delayed because of a power failure and the floodlights failed again for some time early in the second half.
Groningen moved above Graafschap which is now bottom.
France: Olympique Lyon salvaged some pride from a difficult week with a win to keep up its league title challenge at the weekend.
But the Lyon players went through some soul searching before emerging victorious against Girondins Bordeaux.
Lyon, eliminated from the Champions League in midweek, came from behind to win 4-2 in the French first division on Saturday and stays second in the table as the players picked themselves up at halftime after struggling in the first period.
Lyon threw away two points in a 2-2 draw at home to Nice after a 90th-minute goal by Jacques Abardonado two weeks ago, but the win against Bordeaux on Saturday keeps it one point behind leaders Nice, who snatched a 2-0 victory at AJ Auxerre.
To make the situation trickier for the champions Saturday, striker Sidney Govou went off just before the break with a thigh injury and is doubtful for France's international friendly against Yugoslavia in Paris on Wednesday.
Just after the break, Lyon scored three times in six minutes with a Peguy Luyindula double and a goal by substitute Tony Vairelles.
After suffering three defeats in a row in September, Lyon confirmed it could still react.
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