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Miccoli brace sends Juventus clear
MILAN, Italy -- Two goals from Fabrizio Miccoli helped champions Juventus to a 3-2 win at Ancona on Saturday sending them three points clear of AC Milan. But Inter Milan needed an 87th-minute penalty from Christian Vieri to come back for a 2-2 draw at Brescia in the night's other clash. Italy marksman Miccoli, given the nod ahead of David Trezeguet, put Juve on their way in the 29th minute with a shot that Vincenzo Sommese tried in vain to stop with his hand on the line. Gianluca Zambrotta made it 2-0 a minute before the break with a fine shot from the edge of the area after a smartly-worked corner. And the game looked over five minutes into the second half when Miccoli stooped to head home a Zambrotta cross for Juve's third -- but then Marcello Lippi's side took their foot off the gas and let Serie A's bottom club back into the game. Substitute Maurizio Ganz's corner was headed home by William Viali in the 57th minute and then former Milan and Inter forward Ganz struck the post. Ancona's veteran forward Dario Hubner had a goal disallowed for offside and Ganz felt he should have had a penalty as the home side enjoyed plenty of pressure. It was injury time when Ganz pulled another back with a cool finish and that left little time to really scare Juventus who now have five wins from the opening six matches of the season. Inter's draw handed under-fire coach Hector Cuper some much-needed breathing space by fighting back from a two-goal deficit. The visitors were heading for their second successive defeat after goals from Roberto Baggio (21) and Andrea Caracciolo, on 49, had given Brescia a commanding lead. But Julio Cruz's stooping header on 62 put some life into Inter who went on to snatch a point thanks to Vieri's penalty three minutes from time. Despite scraping a draw, Inter have taken only three points out of the last 12 available, in the process losing valuable ground on their title rivals in Serie A. Cuper, whose job security is the source of constant speculation, has failed to win a trophy since arriving from Valencia two years ago and is often criticised for his defensive tactics. Uruguayan midfielder Alvaro Recoba, who set up Inter's first goal in his first start of the season, said his side might have even pinched all three points in the closing stages. "We could have won in the last 10 minutes," he said. "At the start I would have considered a draw as a negative result because we always go out looking for a win. The spot kick was awarded when Cruz was sent tumbling in the box by Dario Dainelli's clumsy challenge and Vieri confidently slammed home the kick.
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