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| Crespo strikes as Lazio lose ground |
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Lazio lost ground on Serie A leaders AC Milan after being held to a 1-1 draw at Parma.
Former Lazio striker Hernan Crespo scored midway through the first half but an own goal from Luca Antonelli before the break brought the Roman club back on level terms.
Both teams had several chances to grab a second goal in the second half but failed to do so.
The outcome has left Lazio in second place and three points behind Milan, who beat Fiorentina on Saturday.
Parma collected their seventh point in the last three games and climbed to 14th in the standings.
Lazio striker Mauro Zarate had the first chance in the 13th minute when he hit a right-footed shot from the heart of the area but missed the target.
A lively Crespo put the home side in front in the 23rd minute.
Mariano Angelo, who came on as a substitute for injured Stefano Morrone three minutes earlier, crossed into the area.
Despite being closely marked by defender Giuseppe Biava, Crespo got his head on the ball and beat goalkeeper Fernando Muslera.
The home side could have doubled their lead after the half hour mark.
Valeri Bojinov struck wide from 10 yards and then Crespo struck the ball with his right foot from 12 yards but the attempt went over the bar.
The missed opportunities cost Parma dearly as Lazio equalised on the stroke of half-time.
Zarate's cross found Sergio Floccari inside the area and his powerful header from the six-yard box glanced off Antonelli and went past Parma goalkeeper Antonio Mirante.
Shortly after the restart, Crespo headed Bojinov's cross wide while at the other end, Zarate's 20-yard effort was saved by Mirante.
Parma almost went ahead in the 70th minute.
Substitute Fernando Marques passed to Antonio Candreva inside the area and his shot towards the bottom right corner was met by a fine save from Muslera.
With seconds remaining, Francesco Matuzalem's bullet strike from 25 yards forced Mirante to dive to his right to clear.
After that both teams had to settle for a share of the spoils at the Ennio Tardini stadium.
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