This weekend was a good one for this year’s Serie A title hopefuls, but not so good for the two sides who pushed each other all the way last season.
Leaders AC Milan strolled to a 4-0 home win over Parma yesterday, their goals coming from Cassano, Seedorf and Robinho who scored twice. This will serve as a welcome confidence boost for the Rossoneri ahead of their Champions League tie against Tottenham on Tuesday.
Roma effectively limped out of this season’s title race and lost their unbeaten home record thanks to a toothless performance against second-placed Napoli. Serie A top scorer Edinson Cavani added two more goals to his tally as his side kept the pressure on Milan with a 2-0 win.
Lazio returned to third place by returning to winning ways at Brescia. Álvaro González opened the scoring with his first goal for the Biancoceleste, and Libor Kozák ended the game as a contest by netting the second. This was a clash between two coaches who could also earn a living as celebrity lookalikes, and it was Mickey Goldmill of “Rocky” fame (Edy Reja) who outsmarted Elmer Fudd (Giuseppe Iachini) on the day.
Juventus’ new signing Alessandro Matri was the difference between the sides in the derby d’Italia in Turin. His 30th minute header ensured a 1-0 win for the Old Lady, and dealt a damaging blow to Inter’s hopes of retaining their league title.
Udinese’s European ambitions continued to look credible this week as they visited Cesena and left with all three points. Double-act Di Natale and Sanchez both found the net once again, while Inler also scored during this 3-0 win for the Bianconeri.
Sampdoria ended a poor run of form and eased the pressure on their coach Domenico Di Carlo by beating Bologna 3-1. At the Stadio Renzo Barbera, Palermo led twice at but eventually lost 4-2 in what was Fiorentina’s first away win of the season.
Bari ended a six-game losing run in their first game under new coach Bortolo Mutti, but they failed to score in a stalemate against Genoa. Cagliari put four past Chievo in Sardinia before Thereau netted a consolation goal for the Mussi Volanti. Finally, Catania recorded their first win of 2011 by beating Lecce 3-2 at the Stadio Sant’Elia.
We return on Tuesday when we will preview two of the fixtures in the first knockout phase of this season’s Champions League.
Til then…
Serie A: week 25 results
Palermo 2-4 Fiorentina
Bari 0-0 Genoa
Brescia 0-2 Lazio
Cagliari 4-1 Chievo
Catania 3-2 Lecce
Cesena 0-3 Udinese
Sampdoria 3-1 Bologna
Juventus 1-0 Inter
AC Milan 4-0 Parma
Roma 0-2 Napoli
