Pacesetters Juventus, Milan held to draws
Simon Evans, Reuters, Milan
Early Serie A pacesetters AC Milan and Juventus were both held to draws on Saturday as Lazio and Parma showed they remain sides to be reckoned with despite the sale of key players.
Juventus had trailed Parma by two goals until the 87th minute but an Igor Tudor header and then a controversial goal from Alessandro Del Piero in the fifth minute of injury time earned them a point.
In Rome, Milan took an early lead through a Paolo Maldini header, his second in successive weeks, but had to settle for a share of the points after Claudio Lopez equalized six minutes into the second half.
Juventus, featuring former Parma players Gianluigi Buffon, Lilian Thuram and Marco Di Vaio, were second best for much of the game against a Parma side inspired by Romanian Adrian Mutu.
But through a combination of poor finishing and fine goalkeeping by Buffon the match remained goalless for over an hour.
Parma finally took the lead in the 66th minute when Japan's Hidetoshi Nakata, who has troubled Juventus in the past, converted with a close-range finish.
Brazilian striker Adriano doubled Parma's lead in the 81st minute with a simple tap-in after a fine run and cross from Mutu.
But then Juventus began their comeback as Tudor rose to head home a Del Piero corner, with Parma keeper Sebastien Frey left flapping at the cross.
Parma's French midfielder Sabri Lamouchi was sent off after a fracas in the penalty area as Juventus sought to retrieve the ball and quickly restart.
But the incident which infuriated Parma even more came with Del Piero's equalizer.
The Italy striker turned Parma defender Matteo Ferrari as he brought down a high ball and then rounded Frey and slotted into the unguarded goal.
Parma players claimed Del Piero had handled the ball as he beat Ferrari.
Lazio fans were given a painful reminder of their club's losses in the transfer market as their former captain Alessandro Nesta took the field against them for the first time wearing an AC Milan shirt.
Nesta, who ended an 18-year association with the Rome club when he moved to Milan in August, was greeted with a mixture of timid applause and loud booing.
But Lazio soon had other matters to worry about as Maldini rose superbly to head a Rivaldo free-kick past Angelo Peruzzi to put the visitors ahead in the seventh minute.
Roberto Mancini's side must have wondered what would be in store for them after Milan's stunning 4-0 win at Deportivo Coruna in midweek but they showed great spirit to take control of the game.
Jaap Stam was desperately unlucky with a superbly struck free- kick which flew out off the post and Simone Inzaghi, lining up against his brother Filippo, wasted a good chance from close range.
Six minutes after the restart Lazio's efforts were rewarded when Lopez fired home after some neat work from Dejan Stankovic.
Milan continued to threaten and Massimo Ambrosini forced a superb save out of Peruzzi with a powerful header.
In Amsterdam, Feyenoord slumped to a surprise 4-2 defeat at RBC Roosendaal as PSV Eindhoven stretched their lead at the top of the Dutch first division with an emphatic 4-0 home win over Graafschap Doetchinem on Saturday.
PSV top the table with a maximum 18 points, three points clear of Ajax Amsterdam, who host NAC Breda on Sunday.
In Madrid, a last gasp strike from substitute Joan Capdevila allowed Deportivo Coruna to come from a goal behind to grab a 2-1 win at Alaves in the Spanish division on Saturday.
In London, Michael Owen ended his goal drought in dramatic fashion on Saturday as the England striker fired a hat-trick in Liverpool's 3-0 win at Manchester City after Arsenal had crushed Leeds United 4-1.
Middlesbrough, on 14 points, lie a surprise third on goal difference after a 3-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane.
Manchester United moved up to fourth after rallying from a goal down to beat Charlton Athletic 3-1 for their first away league win of the season.
Struggling Sunderland gained a much-needed 1-0 home win over Aston Villa, while Everton beat Fulham 2-0 and Southampton drew 1-1 at Bolton Wanderers.
Newcastle United ran out 2-0 winner away to Birmingham City in the late kick-off game after goals from Nolberto Solano and substitute Shola Ameobi.