Serie A Round 35 Results: Roma rescue late point against Napoli, Palermo and Catania share spoils in Derby di Sicilia

Apr 29, 2012 5:30:00 PM

Elsewhere on the peninsula, Genoa remain above the relegation places despite another defeat as Lecce were Sebastian Giovinco's latest victim at the Via del Mare

Roma 2-2 Napoli

Roma salvaged a late point against Napoli in a 2-2 draw at the Olimpico on Saturday to help stave the pressure off coach Luis Enrique and keep their flagging Champions League hopes alive.

They broke the deadlock with four minutes until half-time, as Aleandro Rosi's right-wing cross was met by the left foot of midfielder Marquinho, who continues to stake his claim for a permanent move from Fluminense.

However, Napoli hit back straight after the interval thanks to a piledriver from Juan Zuniga. The Colombian surged towards the Roma box and smashed a powerful strike past Bogdan Lobont into the bottom right corner.

Another screamer was on the horizon and it seemed the Partenopei's redemption was complete on 67 minutes. Edinson Cavani approached the edge of the Roma box, and curled an emphatic attempt home with Bogdan well beaten.

But the Giallorossi rescued a late point as substitute Fabio Simplicio headed in Tallo Gadji's cross from the left hand side to keep Roma in with a fighting chance of a top-three place, four points behind in seventh place. Napoli, meanwhile, now move to third on 55 points.

Cagliari 0-0 Chievo

Cagliari and Chievo played out a stalemate on Saturday as a 0-0 draw was witnessed at the Nereo Rocco, which will boost both sides' survival bids as the end of the season fast approaches.

The match was played in Trieste rather than in Sardinia as the Sant'Elia is currently undergoing renovations, but it didn't seem to change the hosts' fortunes, for better or for worse, as Chievo are now without a goal in four matches.

Despite Alberto Paloschi creating the game's first chance with a shot saved by Michel Agazzi from close range, they were second-best for much of the encounter, none of Cagliari's attackers could beat Stefano Sorrentino, despite Thiago Ribeiro, Mauricio Pinilla or Victor Ibarbo's best efforts.

The draw means the Sardinians stay 14th on 42 points while Chievo leapfrog Siena into 12th, with 44 points to their name.

Palermo 1-1 Catania

Palermo have now one only once in their last 10 matches after registering a 1-1 draw with bitter rivals Catania in the Derby di Sicilia at the Renzo Barbera on Saturday.

There were whispers that it could have been Bortolo Mutti's last game in charge of the Rosanero if they succumbed to a loss in the Sicilian derby, with former Lazio and Bologna boss Giuseppe Papadopulo reportedly waiting in the wings to take over.

But fortunately for Mutti, it wasn't to be the case. Still, he suffered a scare just 25 minutes in as an Alejandro Gomez cross caused all sorts of problems at the back for Palermo. Defender Nicola Legrottaglie was the man who eventually got the decisive touch with his head.

But for not the first time this season, Fabrizio Miccoli rescued his beloved Palermo after breaking clear of the Catania backline, before applying a crisp finish past Juan Pablo Carrizo for his 13th goal of the season to ensure the spoils were shared.

Palermo climb up a place to 15th in Serie A, while Catania drop to ninth in the table.

Bologna 3-2 Genoa

A pulsating contest was on show at the Dell'Ara in Sunday's early kick-off, as Bologna came up trumps in a 3-2 victory against Genoa, who continue to risk their Serie A status.

The deadlock was broken by the hosts on 24 minutes through Daniele Portanova. Alessandro Diamanti's free kick was helped on by the former Siena defender, who headed past Sebastien Frey.

It was 2-0 13 minutes later as again Diamanti found himself in the thick of things, this time drawing a foul from Emiliano Moretti, before Gyorgy Garics and Marco Di Vaio combined to tee up Gaston Ramirez in the box.

However, Genoa came out fighting in the second half, and scored a deserved goal after the break. Marco Rossi's flick-on found Rodrigo Palacio who nodded the ball home to pull one back for his ailing side on the hour mark.

But seven minutes later, Garics turned from provider into goalscorer, striking the ball into the corner of the net to seal all three points for Bologna with 25 minutes remaining, despite Cristobal Jorquera's best efforts on 77 minutes.

The hosts move up to 11th, while Lecce's defeat means Genoa stay afloat for the time being.

Inter 2-1 Cesena

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Atalanta 2-0 Fiorentina

German Denis ended a two-month long goal drought on Sunday as he helped inspire Atalanta to a comfortable 2-0 victory over Fiorentina at the Azzurri d'Italia to heap more misery on Delio Rossi.

The Argentine had not scored since his hat-trick against Roma on February 26, but after just 11 minutes, he headed his team in front, as a long afternoon looked set to be on the horizon for the Viola.

Atalanta doubled their lead just after the break through Giacomo Bonaventura. Denis' original strike was well-blocked by Neto in the Fiorentina goal, but the winger was on hand to bury the rebound and move the Orobici into the top-half of the table.

They are now on 46 points, and if not for their six-point deduction at the start of the season, would be just two points shy of a Champions League place. For Fiorentina, they remain six points afloat in 16th place.

Novara 0-4 Juventus

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Siena 0-2 AC Mi

Siena 1-4 AC Milan

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Lecce 1-2 Parma

Lecce missed the chance to jump out of the relegation places on Sunday after they fell down 2-0 to Parma at the Via del Mare, as Roberto Donadoni's men make it four wins on the bounce.

Sebastian Giovinco again was as decisive as ever for Parma, scoring a delightful opener on the hour mark of the contest, before defender Gabriel Paletta doubled the Gialloblu's lead with 15 minutes left on the clock.

It seemed Lecce were on a sinking ship, but Nenad Tomovic scored late on from a corner for the hosts to make for an exciting end to the match, but Andrea Esposito did his side no favours with a second yellow card and a subsequent red during injury time.

Parma have now won five of their last six and move to eighth in the Serie A table, on course for Europa League qualification, while Lecce sit 18th, one point adrift of safety.

Udinese - Lazio

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