Italy round-up: Vieri settles Milan derby

Christian Vieri grabbed the only goal as Internazionale FC beat Milan AC in the Milan derby on Sunday to hold on to their lead at the top of Serie A.

Vieri the hero
Vieri pounced when Milan goalkeeper Christian Abbiati pushed out a Nicola Ventola shot and the Italian international striker knocked the ball over the line with his knee. Inter dominated after the break and Vieri had earlier missed a good chance, blasting over the bar after finding himself in space on the left of the penalty area.

Zanetti goes close
Cristiano Zanetti almost made it 2-0 in the latter stages with a left-foot shot that Abbiati pushed onto the post. The result leaves Inter top on 52 points, one ahead of second-placed Juventus FC, while AS Roma are third on 50 points.

Own goal
Bologna FC defender Massimo Tarantino's own goal two minutes from time gave Juventus a 2-1 win on Sunday, while title-chasing rivals Roma were held to a 1-1 draw at lowly US Lecce.

Trezeguet on target
Juventus had fallen behind to a Lamberto Zauli goal in the 36th minute but drew level almost immediately when French striker David Trezeguet headed his seventh Serie A goal since Christmas past Gianluca Pagliuca from Pavel Nedved's cross. After Zauli and Juventus' Cristian Zenoni had been dismissed following an off-the-ball clash, Tarantino headed a cross from Gianluca Pessotto into his own net to hand the home side a vital win.

Roma held
In Lecce, French wing-back Vincent Candela put Roma ahead in the 36th minute with a fine free-kick, but a second-half header from Croatian international Davor Vugrinec earned their relegation-threatened hosts a vital point. Lecce finished the match with ten men, when Alberto Savino was dismissed for a second bookable offence.

Crespo hits three
Hernán Crespo scored a hat-trick for S.S. Lazio in their 4-2 win over bottom club AC Venezia. The lightning-fast Argentinian striker headed home the opener, added a second from the penalty spot and then jinked through the Venezia defence for a stunning third to kill off the opposition.

Adriano winner
Goals from Domenic Morfeo and Adriano allowed AC Fiorentina to keep their fading dream of Serie A survival alive with a 2-1 win at Hellas-Verona FC. The duo hit the net in either half to ensure Adrian Mutu's late goal did not alter the destination of the points, while Marco Zanchi's sending-off spoiled Verona's chances of a grandstand finish.

Perugia on the up
AC Perugia climbed from eleventh to eighth in the table after a 2-0 home victory over Torino Calcio. A free-kick from Fabian O'Neill and Zisis Vryzas's first goal in seven games finished off a Torino side who started the day three places ahead of their hosts but ended it looking up at them.

Pinardi the hero
A last-minute winner from Alex Pinardi completed a rousing Atalanta BC comeback at the Friuli stadium as Udinese Calcio's woeful home form continued. With just two wins on home soil all season, Udinese appeared ready to put that record behind them when Thomas Manfredini's cool finish put them ahead at the break. But Cristiano Doni restored parity shortly after the restart and Pinardi struck at the death to secure a 2-1 victory that catapults Atalanta above their fellow strugglers.

Spoils shared
Brescia Calcio and Piacenza FC had to battle every inch of the way for a 2-2 draw at the Mario Rigamonti stadium. After a tepid opening period, all the goals came in a ten-minute spell before the game boiled over in the closing stages with Brescia's Alessandro Calori and Vincenzo Sommese of Piacenza sent off. Andrea Caracciolo put the home side ahead, and he later grabbed the equaliser after Sommese and Dario Hubner had replied for the visitors.