Italian Serie A: Roma, Catania post victories

ROME – AS Roma snapped out of its early season funk with a 3-0 win over Reggina in the Serie A on Saturday. Christian Panucci put Roma ahead from close range in first-half added time, Alberto Aquilani doubled the lead with his second score of the season in the 51st and Simone Perrotta marked his return from injury with a goal in injury time. Roma entered with only one point from its opening two league matches and the Giallorossi were also humbled 2-1 by CFR Cluj in the Champions League on Tuesday. Last month, Roma lost to Inter Milan on penalties in the Italian Super Cup. "The start of the season wasn't positive and this was a group response," Panucci said. "The tension in Rome was high. Yes, we lost two games in the league and one in Europe, but it sounded as if we had thrown away three years of work, which bothered us." Also Saturday, Catania beat Atalanta 1-0 to end the Bergamo club's perfect start. Former Atalanta player Michele Paolucci scored the first goal this season against his old club in the 59th minute, angling in a shot inside the near post on a counterattack. Catania forward Giuseppe Mascara hit the post with a free kick in the 11th, although Atalanta controlled for long stretches. Atalanta won its opening two games and entered the match tied for the league lead with Lazio. Now, it's a three-way tie at the top with Catania, Atalanta and Lazio each with six points. Roma, Torino, Inter, Napoli and Juventus are next with four points each. Reggina has one point. On Sunday, Lazio visits AC Milan, which lost its opening two matches. Also, three-time defending champion Inter is at Torino and Juventus travels to Cagliari. At the Stadio Olimpico, Reggina created the first real threat seven minutes in, when Luca Viggiani missed wide. Otherwise, Roma was in charge. Matteo Brighi shot high for the Giallorossi in the 14th and Aquilani missed a long shot three minutes later. Newly signed Roma defender Simone Loria had his head bandaged after drawing blood from a collision in the 25th, but continued playing. Another new Roma player, French forward Jeremy Menez, missed an empty net from a sharp angle in the 32nd. Panucci's goal followed a rebound of a shot from Mirko Vucinic. The 35-year-old defender also scored Roma's lone goal against Cluj. Aquilani took the ball from near midfield, strode into Reggina's area and found the target with a long, angled shot. Vucinic nearly made it 3-0 while lying on the ground in the 68th, but his attempt sailed high. Perrotta replaced Menez in the 69th and Roma captain Francesco Totti, apparently still not 100 percent, came on for Vucinic for the final 12 minutes. Four miutes into added time, Perrotta scored on a rebound of a free kick from Totti. In Catania, after Mascara's shot off the post there was a lull until Atalanta put a barrage of shots toward Catania's goal in the final 10 minutes of the half. Luca Cigarini started the assault in the 36th, missing high, then put a bouncing shot on goal in the 41st before captain Cristian Doni missed wide with a long header in the 43rd. Sergio Floccari also threatened in the 45th. Catania's only other first-half chance came in added time, when Japan's Takayuki Morimoto slipped through Atalanta's defense and missed wide. Atalanta coach Luigi Del Neri made two changes in the 68th, putting on midfielders Jaime Valdes of Chile and Diego De Ascentis. A minute later, Catania goalkeeper Benjamin Bizzarri had to leap up to deflect over the bar a shot from De Ascentis. Valdes missed high in the 83rd and a header from Floccari also went wide in added time in Atalanta's last attempt at an equalizer. Catania fans only entered the stadium midway through the first half to protest the ban that kept them from traveling to Milan for last weekend's 2-1 loss to Inter. – AP