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Milan derby finishes with a goalless draw
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2004-10-25 14:06

Inter held champions AC Milan to a 0- 0 draw in the Milan derby on Sunday, widening their gap with first division leaders Juventus.

The result was the first time the derby, in a league fixture, had ended goalless since 1989 and it ended Milan's run of four straight wins in the clash.

Juventus have a five-point advantage over Milan and early season surprise packages Lecce, while Inter, unbeaten but with five draws from seven games, are eight points behind the leaders.

Both sides created opportunities and the game produced great entertainment. In the end, though, the two prolific strikers on show, Inter's powerful Brazilian Adriano and Milan's Ukrainian Andriy Shevchenko, were mastered by their markers and suffered from a lack of incisive service.

Inter's best chances fell early in the match, with Christian Vieri shooting straight at Dida in the third minute and firing wide from a good position. Vieri had scored in his previous two games, including Wednesday's 5-1 Champions League win at Valencia, but coach Roberto Mancini said that despite the missed chances the striker was getting back to form.

Despite the absence through injury of Milan's Dutch defender Jaap Stam, Adriano was largely kept quiet by Alessandro Nesta, although on the stroke of half-time he produced a brilliant piece of skill to make space for a shot but fired wide from a tight angle.

Milan won the midfield battle but created fewer clear-cut chances, the best falling to Hernan Crespo after a break down the left by Kaka but the Argentine hesitated, allowing Inter keeper Alberto Fontana to block his attempted shot. Inter's best effort after the break came from an Adriano header which Dida parried and Nesta did well to clear ahead of the waiting Inter striker.



 
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