Lazio join scudetto chase

AFP, MILAN: England goalkeeper Joe Hart upset the upcoming birthday celebrations of Francesco Totti in a 3-1 win for Torino over Roma as rivals Lazio brazenly joined the scudetto race Sunday.
Roma were looking to reply to Juve’s cagey 1-0 win at Palermo on Saturday.
But Andrea Belotti headed an eighth-minute opener past Wojciech Szczesny, and at the other end Hart expertly thwarted Edin Dzeko three times in succession.
The Giallorossi heads dropped further when Iago Falque beat Szczesny from the spot on 53 minutes.
Although Totti came off the bench to send Hart the wrong way from the penalty spot two minutes later, hopes of a late fightback were quashed when Falque’s deflected shot flew over Szczesny halfway through the second period.
Inter Milan also capitalised on Roma’s slip despite being held 1-1 at the San Siro by Bologna.
Inter’s bid for a fourth consecutive win was hit when Mattia Destro broke the deadlock on 14 minutes.
Ivan Perisic fired a superb volley from Antonio Candreva’s delivery to level before the interval.
But despite the late introduction of former Santos forward Gabriel Barbosa, Frank De Boer’s men spurned the chance for a win that would have closed the gap on Juve to two points when Andrea Ranocchia sent a late, free header wide.
Inter, nevertheless, moved up to third at four points off the lead, three behind Napoli and one ahead of Roma, Lazio and surprise packages Chievo and Bologna.
In Sunday’s late game Carlos Bacca missed a late chance and AC Milan saw last-gasp penalty claims waved away on their way to a scoreless stalemate at Fiorentina.
Milan remain unbeaten in three games and moved up to sixth at five points behind Juve.

Lazio join scudetto chase

AFP, MILAN: England goalkeeper Joe Hart upset the upcoming birthday celebrations of Francesco Totti in a 3-1 win for Torino over Roma as rivals Lazio brazenly joined the scudetto race Sunday. Roma were looking to reply to Juves cagey 1-0 win at Palermo on Saturday. But Andrea Belotti headed an eighth-minute opener past Wojciech Szczesny, and at the other end Hart expertly thwarted Edin Dzeko three times in succession. The Giallorossi heads dropped further when Iago Falque beat Szczesny from the spot on 53 minutes. Although Totti came off the bench to send Hart the wrong way from the penalty spot two minutes later, hopes of a late fightback were quashed when Falques deflected shot flew over Szczesny halfway through the second period. Inter Milan also capitalised on Romas slip despite being held 1-1 at the San Siro by Bologna. Inters bid for a fourth consecutive win was hit when Mattia Destro broke the deadlock on 14 minutes. Ivan Perisic fired a superb volley from Antonio Candrevas delivery to level before the interval. But despite the late introduction of former Santos forward Gabriel Barbosa, Frank De Boers men spurned the chance for a win that would have closed the gap on Juve to two points when Andrea Ranocchia sent a late, free header wide. Inter, nevertheless, moved up to third at four points off the lead, three behind Napoli and one ahead of Roma, Lazio and surprise packages Chievo and Bologna. In Sundays late game Carlos Bacca missed a late chance and AC Milan saw last-gasp penalty claims waved away on their way to a scoreless stalemate at Fiorentina. Milan remain unbeaten in three games and moved up to sixth at five points behind Juve.