By Giulio Ricciardi
Italian Serie A Round-Up: Juventus beats Roma in a controversial game with three penalties, Fiorentina get huge home win against Inter Milan
Juventus 3-2 Roma
In a clash of two title contenders, reigning champions Juventus managed to defeat Roma in a controversial match marred by some questionable referee decisions. Referee Gianluca Rocchi clearly wasn’t able to deal with the pressure of this crucial match. In the first half, a free kick from Andrea Pirlo hit defender Douglas Maicon, prompting a call from the ref to the penalty spot. Replay shows that the ball hit his hand, but it was a clear that it hit his hand on the line, making the decision not completely certain. Nevertheless, Carlos Tevez converted from the penalty spot to put Juventus up 1-0.
Roma managed to respond right away from a beautiful goal by new signing Juan Iturbe, making it his first goal in Serie A. More controversy ensued during a Roma free-kick in which Juventus defender Stephan Lichtsteiner got tangled up with Roma captain Francesco Totti, resulting in a questionable penalty call. Totti was calm and collected, finishing the penalty and putting Roma up. Right before the end of the first half, Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba was fouled right on the line for the penalty box, leading to another questionable penalty call. Tevez converted again from the spot, leaving the game at 2-2 at half.
In the second half, the game took a change of pace and became a free-flowing affair with both sides going back and forth. Juventus defender Leonardo Bonucci scored the game-winner with a beautiful volley kick right outside of the penalty box, leaving the Roma keeper with no chance. This controversial win leaves Juventus at the top of the table with 18 points while Roma drop to second with 15 points.
Fiorentina 3-0 Inter Milan
Fiorentina secured an easy path to victory in a 3-0 win over Inter. Despite struggling recently due to various player injuries, Fiorentina rallied at home to defeat the Serie A giants. Young strikers Khouma Babacar and Juan Cuadrado managed to score two quick goals in the first-half to all but secure the win. Inter clearly showed defensive woes as new signnig from Manchester United, Nemanja Vidic, struggled to adjust to life at Inter. Inter keeper Samir Handanovic could do nothing to stop the stunners. Fiorentina defender Nenad Tomovic sealed the deal by scoring a header in the second half, effectively ending any chance of a comeback from Inter. This result is now the second straight loss for Inter who seem to have lost all momentum from a previous run of form and are now 10th in the table. Fiorentina rises up to 9th place in the table, finally coming up from the bottom half of the table. Both teams will be fighting for Europa League spots this season.
