Juventus top Serie A at halfway stage

JUVENTUS rounded off a memorable week by being crowned Italy's winter champions and then celebrated with a 2-0 victory over Lazio last night.

Juventus were already assured of the unofficial winter title, for whoever leads the Serie A after 17 of the 34 matches, before they even walked out at the Olympic stadium.

Both their nearest rivals had suffered setbacks earlier in the day, with Sampdoria scraping a 1-1 draw with Fiorentina and InterMilan going down 2-0 to Bologna.

But four days after Marcello Lippi's men crushed Paris St Germain 6-1 in the European Super Cup first leg in Paris, they swept to a victory in Rome which left them four points clear at the top.

Michele Padovano, who has never established his place in Juventus' first team, scored a goal in each half as he deputised for injured Croatian striker Alen Boksic. He broke the deadlock after half an hour with a superb, curling shot across the area and then snapped up a rebound after Attilio Lombardo's shot was blocked.

Meanwhile, it took a last-minute goal from Marco Franceschetti, following Roberto Mancini's cheeky backheel, to keep Sampdoria within a point of Juventus.

The goal, given despite claims for off-side from Florentine players, cancelled out Gabriele Batistuta's 31st minute penalty.

The Argentine, back from international duty, scored his eighth goal of the season after picking himself up from a foul in the area. It was his first success from the spot after three consecutive misses this season.

At the San Siro stadium, the ghosts of inter's recent, inglorious past came back to haunt Roy Hodgson's side. Three of the players dumped by the club following last season's poor performances - Davide Fontolan, Andrea Seno and Russia's Igor Shalimov - played key roles in Bologna's win.

First, Fontolan laid on the cross from which Giancarlo Marocchi fired the visitors in front in the 38th minute. Then, second-half substitute Shalimov rounded two. players and goalkeeper Gianluca Pagliuca for the last-minute goal that gave Bologna their first victory since November 1996.

"Our championship ambitions remain intact," a resilient Hodgson told reporters after the match.

Inter stay third in the table, one point behind Sampdoria and one ahead of Vicenza.

Vicenza, top of the table last month, squandered a 2-0 lead as they drew 2-2 with troublesome Napoli, whose fans started fights, threw missiles and left a steward with a head injury in brawls before the match.

Meanwhile, Roberto Baggio, reportedly at odds with Milan coach Arrigo Sacchi off the field, came to his manager's aid yesterday.

When Baggio was brought on as a second-half substitute, Milan were heading for their first defeat at Cagliari in 25 years, thanks to Sandro Tovalieri's 44th-minute goal.

But in the 65th minute, Baggio showed a glimpse of his old magic, dribbling to the by-line before setting-up Frenchman Christophe Dugarry for his second goal in successive matches.