Experienced forwards Filippo Inzaghi and Marco Di Vaio rolled back the years on Sunday with hat-tricks in 3-0 Serie A home wins for AC Milan and Bologna against Atalanta and Sampdoria respectively.
Milan’s victory over Atalanta, combined with Fiorentina’s 2-0 home defeat by Palermo, strengthened their grip on third place on the day it was confirmed that David Beckham would remain at the club until the summer. Inzaghi opened the scoring after just seven minutes, half-volleying home from Marek Jankulovski’s centre. With Beckham revelling in a more advanced role in the absence of Kaká, Ronaldinho and Clarence Seedorf, 35-year-old Inzaghi doubled his tally on 71 minutes after being put clear by Pato and sealed his hat-trick three minutes later following another Jankulovski assist.
Di Vaio, meanwhile, took his Serie A tally for the season to 19 goals in a vital win for relegation-threatened Bologna. The 32-year-old Di Vaio’s treble against Sampdoria, which included two strikes in the final three minutes of the match, moves his side two points clear of AC Chievo Verona, who remain in the third and final relegation berth despite a 1-1 home draw against Cagliari Calcio.
That result enabled S.S. Lazio, 2-0 winners at SSC Napoli thanks to a second-half double from Tommaso Rocchi, to move into seventh spot ahead of Cagliari and within four points of Genoa CFC, beaten 2-0 by leaders FC Internazionale Milano on Saturday. AC Siena did their hopes of avoiding relegation no harm at all with an emphatic 3-0 win at Calcio Catania, a thumping strike from former Middlesbrough FC forward Massimo Maccarone sending them on their way after just nine minutes. Abdelkader Ghezzal and Lukáš Jarolím rounded off the scoring in the second period to put Siena seven points clear of the drop zone. Serie A’s bottom two sides US Lecce and Reggina Calcio drew 0-0.
