SERIA A Week 12

ACF Fiorentina spurned the chance to move to the top of Serie A when they suffered their first defeat of the season against Udinese Calcio, who moved level on points with AS Roma and third-placed Juventus after the Bianconeri drew 2-2 at Parma FC.

End of run
Fiorentina celebrated a 6-1 UEFA Cup success against Elfsborg IF on Thursday but the unbeaten Viola were brought back to earth by Udinese, who took the lead when Fabio Quagliarella rose to head Simone Pepe's cross past Sebastien Frey midway through the first half. Fiorentina hit back within five minutes through Giampaolo Pazzini but the visitors took the points when Italian international striker Antonio Di Natale finished off a sweeping team move in the 62rd minute.

Juve rally
Juventus could have moved into second place with a win but were grateful for just the point after going two goals down at Parma. The hosts took the lead when Andrea Gasbarroni (42) converted a penalty following a foul on Reginaldo. Andrea Pisanu (58) doubled the lead for the Ducali but Juve hit back in a frenetic finale, Nicola Legrottaglie halving the deficit on 71 minutes before substitute Vincenzo Iaquinta struck the equaliser ten minutes from time. In a match high in tension, Parma's Domenico Morfeo and Ferdinand Coly and visiting defender Giorgio Chiellini were all dismissed. Elsewhere, AS Livorno completed their second league victory in three matches with a 3-2 win at AC Siena, bottom club Reggina Calcio won 2-0 against Genoa CFC while Torino FC and Calcio Catania drew 1-1.

Supporter death
The Serie A programme was overshadowed by events in Tuscany where an S.S. Lazio supporter was killed following an incident. Consequently, the match between FC Internazionale Milano and Lazio was postponed, while Atalanta BC v AC Milan was abandoned after eight minutes due to crowd disturbances. Second-placed AS Roma's home match against Cagliari Calcio, scheduled for Sunday evening, was also postponed for security reasons.

Giovanni Tedesco scored twice as US Città di Palermo came from behind to complete a 2-1 win against SSC Napoli following UC Sampdoria’s 3-0 win against Empoli FC.

Tedesco strikes
Napoli were hoping to bring their poor away form to an end in Sicily and when Mariano Bogliacino broke the deadlock ten minutes after the break the promoted Serie A side were on course for only their second away win of the season. However, their lead lasted just two minutes as Tedesco struck his first goal of the season and then doubled his tally midway through the second half to end Palermo's run of seven matches without a win.

Samp success
Sampdoria secured their third victory in five matches as they eased past Empoli. The Blucerchiati took an early lead when Uruguayan international Guillermo Giacomazzi turned the ball into his own goal after six minutes. Vincenzo Montella then scored his third league goal of the season five minutes before half-time and Paolo Sammarco completed his side's second 3-0 win in as many matches in the final minute.