Sport - Football

Ronaldinho fires AC Milan to victory

— Photo: AP

ON TARGET: Ronaldinho heads AC Milan’s winner past Inter’s Esteban Cambiasso in the ‘Milan Derby’ on Sunday.

ROME: A superb header by Ronaldinho spurred AC Milan to a 1-0 over Inter Milan on Sunday and hand the Serie A champion its first defeat under new coach Jose Mourinho.

The Brazilian soared in the area and powerfully headed home a cross from his compatriot Kaka to settle the derby in the 37th minute.

Inter had defender Nicolas Burdisso sent off for a second yellow in the 77th and Marco Materazzi, who had been substituted, was also given a red card for dissent from the bench during the closing stages.

Inter has 10 points from five games, two behind surprise leader Lazio, which won 3-1 at Torino earlier on Sunday.

Milan has nine after recovering from a slow start with its third consecutive league win.

Ronaldinho, in the starting line-up after being on the bench in Milan’s back-to-back league wins over Lazio and Reggina, had come close in the middle of the first half with a snap shot but Inter keeper Julio Cesar produced a fine reflex save.

Milan also had a penalty appeal for a shove on Kaka in the area turned down.

Milan looked the sharper side after the break and Mourinho tried to shake his men up by bringing on strikers Adriano and Julio Cruz.

Chances opened up at both ends after Burdisso’s expulsion.

Adriano wasted Inter’s best chance to equalise deep into stoppage time, heading wide when unmarked at the far post.

In Turin, Goran Pandev struck on the half hour to set Lazio on their way and Argentine forward Mauro Zarate netted twice in the second-half, including a late penalty, to wrap things up and take his goal tally to six.

Torino, which finished the match with nine men after keeper Matteo Sereni was sent off for fouling Cristian Brocchi to concede the penalty and Francesco Pratali went for a second yellow, pulled one back with a stoppage-time Nicola Amoruso penalty.

Napoli is second with 11 points after it won 1-0 at Bologna with a German Denis header three minutes from time.

Last year’s runner-up AS Roma gave its stuttering campaign a boost with a 2-0 home win over in-form Atalanta thanks to first-half goals by Christian Panucci and Mirko Vucinic.

In Spain, two second-half goals from David Villa and one from Joaquin put Valencia top of the Primera Liga when it came from behind to beat Deportivo Coruna 4-2 on Sunday.

Valencia has 13 points from five games, with Villarreal second on goal difference after it defeated newly promoted Sporting Gijon on Saturday.

Depor took an early lead when Valencia defender Emiliano Moretti failed to clear a centre from Pablo Alvarez and put the ball in his own net.

Juan Mata came close to levelling with a powerful right-footer which keeper Daniel Aranzubia failed to cover, but the ball went just over the bar.

Mata was on target in the 35th minute, however, when he headed home inside the far post after Depor defender Albert Lopo’s awkward goalmouth clearance.

Valencia went ahead just after the break as a neat pass by Mata found Villa, who turned two markers inside the area to beat Aranzubia from close range.

Joaquin made it 3-1 on 69 minutes by running in to receive a goalmouth cross from Mata and beat Renan from close range.

Villa — the league’s top marksman — bagged his second of the match and sixth of the season in the 82nd by slotting home a Mata cross.

Angel Lafita snatched a consolation goal for the visitor with five minutes to go.

Injury-hit Atletico Madrid, which will host Marseille in a Group D Champions League clash on Wednesday, went down 1-0 at home to Sevilla.

Luis Fabiano scored for the visitor in the 20th minute by curving a free-kick around the Atletico wall and inside the near post from 20 metres out.

Earlier, Almeria beat nine-man Recreativo Huelva 1-0 when Alvaro Negredo scored in the fifth minute of stoppage time by converting a deflection off the far post from teammate Albert Crusat.

The results:

Serie A: AC Milan 1 (Ronaldinho 36) bt Inter Milan 0; AS Roma 2 (Panucci 17, Vucinic 31) bt Atalanta 0; Bologna 0 lost to Napoli 1 (Denis 42); Catania 1 (Paolucci 17) bt Chievo 0; Lecce 2 (Giacomazzi 34, Castillo 62) bt Cagliari 0; Palermo 1 (Miccoli 52) bt Reggina 0; Torino 1 (Amoruso 90-pen) lost to Lazio 3 (Pandev 30, Zarate 63, 83-pen); Udinese 2 (Quagliarella 22, Pepe 29) bt Siena 1 (Kharja 38).

La Liga: Malaga 2 (Lolo 32, Lopez 54) bt Valladolid 1 (Leon 65); Almeria 1 (Negredo 90) bt Recreativo Huelva 0; Athletic Bilbao 0 lost to Getafe 1 (Casquero 87); Racing Santander 1 (Marcano 22) lost to Real Mallorca 2 (Varela 45, Webo 86); Numancia 0 drew with Osasuna 0; Valencia 4 (Mata 34, Villa 49, 82, Joaquin 68) bt Deportivo La Coruna 2 (Moretti 11-og, Lafita 83); Atletico Madrid 0 lost to Sevilla 1 (Fabiano 21). — Agencies

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