By IANS
Milan : Roma beat Parma 3-0 to move up to the second spot in the Serie A football league, level on 14 points with Juventus who could only manage a 1-1 draw at Fiorentina, it was reported by Deutsche Press Agentur (DPA).
At the Artemo Franchi, Fiorentina created few chances in the first half and fell behind to a counterattack on 23 minutes when Vincenzo Iaquinta beat Sebastien Frey with a low drive.
Fiorentina’s best chance of the half came on 30 minutes as Riccardo Montolivo’s drive was blocked by Juve goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon. Juve nearly netted a second goal shortly after taking the lead, but Pavel Nedved’s shot was well saved by Frey.
Juve paid the price for not scoring a second when centre-back Nicola Legrottaglie was adjudged to have handled in the area with two minutes remaining, and Adrian Mutu converted the resulting spot kick to make it 1-1.
“We should have scored a couple of goals with our counterattacks, to be satisfied,” said Juve coach Claudio Ranieri. “It is a pity because we had the win in our sights. Buffon did not have to make many saves, but we are pleased anyway with the draw.”
It was much easier for Roma at Parma, with captain Francesco Totti opening the scoring after two minutes and closing with a late goal after feeding an assist for the second goal from Brazilian Mancini.
Parma stood little chance after striker Bernardo Corradi was sent off after picking up a second yellow card on 27 minutes.
European champions AC Milan also improved their standing with a 5-1 drubbing of host Lazio later in the day.
Brazilian star Kaka and Alberto Gilardino notched a brace each after Lazio’s Stefano Mauri equalised Massimo Ambrosini’s opener.
Siena crushed 10-man Empoli 3-0 in a Tuscany derby, Catania edged Livorno 1-0, and Torino won 1-0 at home against 10-man Sampdoria.