[ITA]Ontknoping in het buitenland: Scudetto weer naar Milaan?

[Plato]

AC Milan
AC Milan - Bari
Palermo - AC Milan
AC Milan - Internazionale
Fiorentina - AC Milan
AC Milan - Sampdoria
Brescia - AC Milan
AC Milan - Bologna
AS Roma - AC Milan
AC Milan - Cagliari
Udinese - AC Milan

Internazionale
Brescia - Internazionale
Internazionale - Lecce
AC Milan - Internazionale
Internazionale - Chievo
Parma - Internazionale
Internazionale - Lazio
Cesena - Internazionale
Internazionale - Fiorentina
Napoli - Internazionale
Internazionale - Catania

Napoli
Parma - Napoli
Napoli - Cagliari
Napoli - Lazio
Bologna - Napoli
Napoli - Udinese
Palermo - Napoli
Napoli - Genoa
Lecce - Napoli
Napoli - Internazionale
Juventus - Napoli

Serie A round-up: A two-horse race
The Scudetto looks to be heading for San Siro, as Milan and Inter break away. Susy Campanale outlines a round full of drama

We are going into the key weeks of the campaign and it looks increasingly as if the title will be a Derby della Madonnina. This round was meant to give Inter and Napoli the chance to close the gap once more, but they did not count on a determined Milan and a Juventus side in freefall.

The Rossoneri met with precious little resistance in Turin, even though it took a Gennaro Gattuso scuffed shot to get the points. Perhaps if a natural goalscorer had been on the end of that ball or if Rino had made better contact, it wouldn’t have beaten Gigi Buffon, who was expecting a more predictable trajectory. The fact remains Milan churned out the result they needed and Juve risk missing out on Europe completely after failing to score in three consecutive defeats.

Max Allegri’s men had the toughest test on paper this weekend, but it was Napoli who dropped points. It’s hardly the first time they have struggled at the San Paolo against one of the minnows, although Giuseppe Mascara’s penalty appeals gave Walter Mazzarri another opportunity to rage at referees. The Partenopei are now eight points off the leaders and three behind Inter, so are starting to look over their shoulders at the rampaging Lazio and Udinese.

Antonio Di Natale is threatening to become the first player since Beppe Signori to get two consecutive Capocannoniere titles, squeezing past bottom of the table Bari with his penalty. The Biancocelesti remain in fourth after Giuseppe Sculli broke his duck with a brace to ruin Serse Cosmi’s Palermo debut. The Sicilians may have sacked Delio Rossi and switched to a three-man defence, but they continued to look fragile.

It all leaves Inter as the only realistic competition for the Scudetto. They too seemed to get off to a surprisingly shaky start before Leonardo’s half-time talk sparked a total transformation to sweep Genoa aside. The Nerazzurri had been uninspired over the last few weeks and broke through that wall by thumping in five after the break. Even Yuto Nagatomo got in on the act with his debut Serie A strike.

What has become abundantly clear is that the smaller sides can realistically aim for very ambitious targets this season. Lazio are going head-to-head for the fourth Champions League slot with a revived Udinese, recognising that Roma, Juventus and Palermo are struggling to get back into the race. New management has boosted the Giallorossi, who amassed seven points in their three rounds under Vincenzo Montella. Above all, the win at Lecce was evidence of a turning point, as Roma did not crumble after conceding their now traditional late equaliser. In fairness, they needed help from a completely foolish Gianni Munari handling offence to give David Pizarro that stoppage-time penalty, but every little helps at this stage.

The Europa League places are wide open too, as the likes of Cagliari, Fiorentina and even Bologna aren’t entirely out of the running. The two Rossoblu sides held each other up on Sunday afternoon with a dramatic 2-2 draw at the Dall’Ara, that Gaston Ramirez volley sparking one of Alberto Malesani’s legendary touchline celebrations. It’s amazing to think that if Bologna weren’t docked three points due to financial irregularities, they’d be only two behind big spenders Juve. Adrian Mutu finally made headlines for the right reasons with a brace to sink Diego Simeone’s Catania, so Europe is not out of the question for the Viola.

It’s so easy to forget Sampdoria finished fourth last season, as they slide towards potential relegation. Coach Mimmo Di Carlo may well be doomed after this home defeat to Cesena, especially as the 3-2 result is rather flattering. When 3-0 down, the Marassi crowd unfurled a banner: ‘Di Carlo, time to go.’ Having crashed out of the Champions League, Europa League and Coppa Italia at practically the first hurdle, it’s hardly surprising the fans are frustrated, although their tactician can’t shoulder the blame for losing Antonio Cassano and Giampaolo Pazzini.

The fact remains, it’s a huge scrap now to avoid relegation. Aside from Bari, who are so far gone they can’t even pretend to have hope, there are seven teams still at risk. Brescia are a little further behind, but from there Lecce, Cesena, Catania, Parma, Samp and Chievo are crammed within a four-point radius. It suggests results like Chievo failing to get past 10-man Parma today could end up being decisive.

[Plato]

Nog tien wedstrijden te gaan in de Serie A, de titelstrijd lijkt vrijwel zeker te gaan tussen de beide Milanese clubs. Op 3 april staat de derby op het programma, die zal nu nog meer beladen zijn dan anders.

[Aanvoerder]

Inter komt steeds beter op stoom. Ik ben bang dat ze Milan nog gaan passeren ook. Napoli haakt steeds meer af en Lazio mag zich concentreren op plek 4 en wellicht plek 3.

[pfaf]

Napoli heb ik na vorige week afgeschreven dus het zal tussen de Milanese clubs gaan. De derby over een paar weken zal belangrijk worden. (cliché)

[DIGGER]

Ik heb Napoli nooit als serieuze kanshebbers gezien eigenlijk, ze zijn daar zeer blij met een plek bij de 1e 4.
Maar Udinese is wel duidelijk het team in vorm, een gevaarlijke ploeg.

Napoli kan het overigens nog wel lastig maken vor Inter, met de match in San Paulo op de voorlaatste speelronde.

[Plato]

Udinese gaat zeker serieus meedoen voor plek 3 en 4 en ik heb nog steeds de hoop dat Roma zich op tijd herpakt en ook nog mee kan gaan doen. Winst in de derby is daar absoluut noodzakelijk voor.