Gilardino's brace carries Fiorentina past Napoli

Soccer Betting Lines

03/13/2010 - Naples, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of second-half goals from Alberto Gilardino handed Fiorentina a 3-1 win over Napoli at the Stadio San Paolo on Saturday.

Ezequiel Lavezzi broke a scoreless deadlock early in the second half to put Napoli in front, but Gilardino scored the first of his two goals on the hour mark before adding another three minutes from time.

Stevan Jovetic then scored deep into stoppage time with Napoli goalkeeper Morgan De Sanctis out of his net after he got forward on a corner kick.

Despite the win, Fiorentina is still in 10th place but has moved to within touching distance of a spot in Europe, while Napoli is seventh and only three points clear of the Viola.

Each team produced its best chance from a corner kick in the opening half as Gilardino went close with a header in the 17th minute before Fiorentina goalkeeper Sebastien Frey made a diving save on a header from German Denis.

The first goal arrived three minutes after halftime and it came from a right- wing cross by Cristian Maggio, who lobbed the ball towards the front of goal for Lavezzi to nod past Frey.

Napoli almost added another goal one minute later when Juan Camilo Zuniga had his shot turned past the post, but the visitors were level on the hour mark when Gilardino headed home a cross from Jovetic at the near post.

A corner kick three minutes from time put Fiorentina ahead as Jovetic headed the ball towards goal from the middle of the penalty area and Gilardino cut in front of the shot and got enough of his head to the ball to redirect it past the keeper.

Napoli had two chance to equalize in the final minutes as Luca Cigarini's free kick went close before Maggio's header was kept out by a diving stop from Frey.

Jovetic then added another goal right before the final whistle as he rolled the ball into an empty net with De Sanctis caught upfield after a corner kick.

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Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

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