Bufon's howler costs Juve win

 　　ROME, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Juventus goalkeeper Gigi Buffon made an easy mistake to gift 10-man Lecce a 1-1 draw on Wednesday as the Turin side saw their Serie A lead over AC Milan cut to a single point with two games to go.

　　Claudio Marchisio's early header looked to have set Antonio Conte's men on their way to retaining their three-point advantage and the points looked secure when Juan Cuadrado was sent off in the 54th minute.

　　But the relegation¹-threatened visitors drew level when Bertolacci robbed goalkeeper Buffon to fire home five minutes from time and maintain his side's slim hope of avoiding relegation.

　　Juventus head coach Antonio Conte admitted that his side "wasted a bonus" in the draw.

　　"We wasted a bonus and now are forced to win the next two matches," he said.

　　"We had several chances to double our lead, but were not precise. Drawing a game like this was totally unexpected. Probably the importance of the match took away some of our sharpness and put extra pressure on our shoulders," he said.

　　AC Milan took full advantage by beating Atalanta 2-0 as Sulley Muntari put them ahead after just nine minutes and Robinho made sure of the points with an injury-time diving header, following up after Andrea Consigli denied Zlatan Ibrahimovich.

　　AC Milan head coach Massimiliano Allegri said Lecce delayed the Scudetto delivery with the 1-1 draw at Juventus and gave his side chance.

　　"With five minutes to go, the Scudetto was practically signed, sealed and delivered," said Allegri.

　　"The last 15 minutes we felt like we were at the theatre waiting for the finale of an opera, because we knew only a Lecce result in Turin could help. It was difficult to predict, but that's football!" he said.

　　Fiorentina moved a step closer to survival after fighting back from 2-0 down to earn a 2-2 draw as Novara were relegated² in a game overshadowed by a confrontation³ between Viola coach Delio Rossi and forward Adem Ljajic at Stadio Artemio Franchi.

　　Jeda and Marco Rigoni put Nvara ahead, but there was then controversy⁴ as Rossi and Ljajic clashed after the Serbian was hauled off after just 32 minutes. The player appeared to sarcastically⁵ handclap his coach, who responded by apparently⁶ throwing punches as others on the bench attempted to restrain him.

　　Fiorentina then recovered from that incident as Riccardo Montolivo's double earned them a draw, and Genoa's win over Cagliari would have been enough to send Novara down even if they had held on to win.

　　Parma dealt Inter⁷ Milan's hopes of qualifying for Europe next season a blow with a 3-1 win at the Stadio Tardini which lifts them up to eighth.

　　Wesley Sneijder gave Inter the lead in the 13th minute, but Parma responded well in the second half with Sebastian Giovinco first setting up Fernando Marques for the equaliser before scoring the second two minutes later.

　　He then set up Jonathan Biabiany for Parma's third goal in the 83rd minute to take Roberto Donadoni's men to within five points of their opponents with two games of the season remaining, leaving them also a glimmer⁸ of hope of sneaking⁹ into the Europa League.

　　Lazio's hopes of finishing third are hanging by a thread after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Siena.

　　Mattia Destro gave the visitors a surprising 26th-minute lead before Cristian Ledesma converted a penalty shortly after the hour mark to equalise. The Biancoceleste desperately¹⁰ sought a winner but could not find a way past Siena goalkeeper Gianluca Pegolo.

　　Diego Fabbrini's early strike lifted Udinese to a crucial 1-0 victory over Cesena in their fight to secure Champions League football next season.

　　Fabbrini's fourth-minute goal ultimately proved sufficient to keep them on level terms with third0-placed Napoli, but Udinese rode their luck with the hosts only denied a 20th-minute equaliser when Adrian Mutu clattered¹¹ a penalty against the crossbar.

　　Bologna edged out Catania 1-0 to leapfrog their opponents in the standings. Gaston Ramirez scored the only goal of the game 11 minutes from time to silence the fans at the Angelo Massimino stadium.

　　Genoa picked up an important win in their battle against relegation by beating Cagliari 2-1 at Brescia's Stadio Rigamonti.

　　Rodrigo Palacio put Genoa in front in the 11th minute, but Lorenzo Ariaudo replied within two minutes. Bosko Jankovic then scored the winner to give Genoa a three-point cushion over the relegation zone with two games of the season remaining.

1 relegation   

n.驱逐，贬黜；降级

参考例句：

• Liaoning team lost this game, is still deeply avoid relegation zone. 辽宁队本场失利后，仍然深陷保级区。 来自互联网
• In society, relegation is based on your income. 社会上的规类是以你的收入为基准。 来自互联网

2 relegated   

v.使降级( relegate的过去式和过去分词 )；使降职；转移；把…归类

参考例句：

• She was then relegated to the role of assistant. 随后她被降级做助手了。
• I think that should be relegated to the garbage can of history. 我认为应该把它扔进历史的垃圾箱。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。

4 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

5 sarcastically   

adv.挖苦地，讽刺地

参考例句：

• 'What a surprise!' Caroline murmured sarcastically.“太神奇了!”卡罗琳轻声挖苦道。
• Pierce mocked her and bowed sarcastically. 皮尔斯嘲笑她，讽刺地鞠了一躬。

6 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

7 inter   

v.埋葬

参考例句：

• They interred their dear comrade in the arms.他们埋葬了他们亲爱的战友。
• The man who died in that accident has been interred.在那次事故中死的那个人已经被埋葬了。

8 glimmer   

v.发出闪烁的微光；n.微光，微弱的闪光

参考例句：

• I looked at her and felt a glimmer of hope.我注视她，感到了一线希望。
• A glimmer of amusement showed in her eyes.她的眼中露出一丝笑意。

9 sneaking   

a.秘密的，不公开的

参考例句：

• She had always had a sneaking affection for him. 以前她一直暗暗倾心于他。
• She ducked the interviewers by sneaking out the back door. 她从后门偷偷溜走，躲开采访者。

10 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

11 clattered   

发出咔哒声（clatter的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He dropped the knife and it clattered on the stone floor. 他一失手，刀子当啷一声掉到石头地面上。
• His hand went limp and the knife clattered to the ground. 他的手一软，刀子当啷一声掉到地上。