Debutant's penalty save fails to stop Roma, Juve held
By Emanuele Giulianelli MILAN (Reuters) - - Genoa's second-choice goalkeeper Eugenio Lamanna saved a penalty with his very first touch of the ball in Serie A on Sunday, although it was not enough to stop his side losing 1-0 at home to second-placed AS Roma. Roma's win moved them one point behind leaders Juventus, whose run of 25 successive Serie A home wins ended with a 1-1 draw against Sinisa Mihajlovic's Sampdoria. Lamanna replaced Mattia Perin, who was sent off for sliding into Radja Nainggolan as the Roma midfielder rushed towards goal, and made a dream start by saving Adem Ljajic's penalty. But the 25-year-old, who has spent most of his career in Serie B and the third tier Lega Pro, was powerless to stop Nainggolan from giving Roma the lead by volleying Maicon's cross into the net five minutes before halftime. Genoa, who began the weekend in third place and are enjoying an excellent campaign, had the ball in the net in stoppage time but it was disallowed for offside. Juventus dominated the first half against Samp and went ahead when Patrice Evra was left unmarked at a corner to head his first Serie A goal since his move from Manchester United in the close season. The Frenchman's goal was debatable, however, as television replays showed that Claudio Marchisio had placed the ball outside the quadrant when he took the corner. Sampdoria goalkeeper Sergio Romero kept the visitors in the game, and they stunned the home crowd by equalising with their first real chance early in the second half. Gabbiandini scored with a delightful goal, curling a left-foot shot past Gianluigi Buffon from the edge of the penalty area. Sampdoria, who were the last Serie A side to win away to Juventus in January 2013, nearly snatched a winner when another Gabbiadini effort was brilliantly saved by Buffon. Juventus, who have 36 points from 15 games, won all 19 home games in Serie A last season and had also won their first six matches in the current campaign. In the late game, AC Milan showed more signs of revival under Filippo Inzaghi with a 2-0 win over Napoli at the San Siro with goals from Jeremy Menez and Giacomo Bonaventura. Milan joined the Naples side on 24 points in sixth as Napoli missed the chance to overtake Lazio, Samp and Genoa. Thirty-seven-year-olds Antonio Di Natale, for the hosts, and Luca Toni, for the visitors, were both on target as Verona came from behind to win 2-1 at Udinese while the relegation battle between Cagliari and Parma, with new owners, ended in a goalless stalemate. Domenico Di Carlo's first match in charge of lowly Cesena ended in a 4-1 home defeat by Fiorentina.
