The Malaysian Insider :: Sports
The Malaysian Insider :: Sports |
| Fiorentina stun Juventus to boost Roma’s lead in Serie A Posted: 20 Oct 2013 08:48 AM PDT Roma's 2-0 defeat of Napoli on Friday opened up a five-point cushion over both Rafael Benitez's side and Juventus ahead of the latter's visit to Florence. And despite Juventus holding a 2-0 lead at the half-time interval following a Carlos Tevez penalty and a strike from Paul Pogba, the champions crumbled during 14 second-half minutes in which 'La Viola' staged a remarkable comeback. Roma now have a maximum 24 points from eight wins with Napoli back up to second at five points adrift with Juventus, suffering their first defeat of the season, slipping one place to third. Fiorentina's win was not the only shock of the day, however, with Atalanta securing a precious 2-1 win at home to Lazio thanks to German Denis's 84th minute winner. Early season surprise packages Verona kept their place in the top five thanks to a 3-2 win over Parma which came courtesy of two penalties from Jorginho in the 61st and 88th minutes. Verona, one of three promoted teams from Serie B, now sit fourth, eight points behind Roma and one ahead of Fiorentina although both sides could be overtaken by Inter if Walter Mazzarri's men beat Torino in Sunday's late match. Sampdoria, meanwhile, had Nicola Pozzi's penalty strike in the sixth minute of added-on time to thank for a 2-1 away win at new boys Livorno. It was the struggling Genoa club's first win of the campaign and moved them two places above the relegation zone. It leaves Bologna as the only team in Serie A without a win. After a 2-1 defeat away to promoted Sassuolo, Stefano Pioli's men prop up the table with three points from a possible 24. Rossi's triple strike means the former Manchester United striker is now Serie A's top scorer with eight goals from eight games. He helped spark the fightback when he beat Gianluigi Buffon from the penalty spot in the 66th minute after Ghanaian Kwadwo Asamoah was adjudged to have fouled Matias Fernandez. Rossi levelled for the hosts when he held off the threat of Pogba on the edge of the area and sent a superbly-struck angled shot across Buffon and into the net. Just as Arturo Vidal, who started on the bench after missing training due to a late return from Chile, was preparing to replace Claudio Marchisio for the final quarter hour Fiorentina took the lead. Juve's defence was in disarray when Borja Valero saw Joaquin unmarked to the right of the area and the Spaniard made no mistake, beating Buffon with a precise right-foot shot at his near post to claim his first goal in Serie A. Two minutes later Rossi grabbed his third when Fiorentina caught Juve sleeping on the counter-attack. - AFP, October 20, 2013. |
| Lorenzo wins Australia MotoGP,  opening up championship race as Marquez disqualified Posted: 20 Oct 2013 02:06 AM PDT With tyre problems forcing riders to change bikes mid-race in a MotoGP first, the battle between the two-time world champion Lorenzo and Honda's 20-year-old wunderkind fizzled out in the 14th lap when Marquez was shown the dreaded black flag for failing to pit during the mandated window. Riders were ordered to pit by the end of the 10th lap at the latest out of safety fears, but an oblivious Marquez sped past the Honda garage after the team somehow botched a lap count on their pitboard. "Everybody understood correctly instead of us," an embarrassed team principal Livio Suppo told reporters at Phillip Island circuit. "Of course we are sorry (to Marc). It's the first time I've seen him in a very disappointed situation and he reacted as expected." Having had the chance to wrap up the title in his debut season on Sunday and become motorcycling's youngest premier class champion, a crushed Marquez slumped in a chair in his team's garage with his head in his hands as Lorenzo toasted victory ahead of Honda's Dani Pedrosa and third-placed team mate Valentino Rossi. Pole-sitter Lorenzo was a deserving winner, however, having endured enormous pressure from the two Honda riders amid chaotic race conditions at the bucolic seaside track. The win breathed new life into his title defence, trimming fellow Spaniard Marquez's lead to a more precarious 18 points with two races left in Montegi and Valencia. "Today has been a crazy race," the affable 26-year-old said after celebrating his first win Down Under. "With this changeover of bikes in the middle, we practised a lot before the race. So that was one of the keys. "Now, (the title defence) is still very, very tough... Let's see what happens in Motegi." Irked Lorenzo enjoyed an excellent start off the grid but was under heat within seconds, losing the lead briefly to Marquez in the first lap before snatching it back. While placing riders and their teams under additional strain, the overhauled race added an intriguing tactical element as Pedrosa changed his bike first followed by Lorenzo a lap later. Marquez wobbled dangerously as he wore his tyres to breaking point before the changeover and narrowly averted catastrophe as he emerged from pit-lane to brush Lorenzo, charging up the inside on his Yamaha and desperate to snatch back the lead. Lorenzo snuck past, leaving a wobbling Marquez in his wake, and powered away to win by nearly seven seconds after twice being denied at Phillip Island by Australian Casey Stoner. Still enjoying a strong lead, the championship may be Marquez's to lose but the rookie is likely to come under fierce scrutiny from the resurgent Lorenzo and Pedrosa, who lies third in the championship and retains a mathematical chance of winning the title. Winner at Sepang last week, Pedrosa has been irked by his team mate's aggressive riding and there appeared little friendly about their rivalry during a fierce skirmish on the opening lap. With the race reduced by a lap to 26 yesterday and riders ordered to change bikes, officials announced only hours before that it had been cut again to 19 due to safety fears over the tyres' degradation on the circuit's newly-laid asphalt. Lorenzo had earlier complained the overhaul was in itself a safety risk and appeared to be right as riders nearly came to grief when re-joining the fray from pit-lane. The Moto2 category, won by Spaniard Pol Espargaro, was also reduced to a nub of a race due to the tyre concerns, the original 25 laps cut to 13. Spaniard Alex Rins won the Moto3 category. - Reuters, October 20, 2013. |
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