Bari are staring down the barrel of the Serie A rifle after becoming the latest victims of the Ezequiel Lavezzi and Edinson Cavani show. A goal in each half from Napoli’s version of Batman and Robin was enough to ensure that Walter Mazzarri’s men left Puglia with all three points to leave Bari cut adrift at the foot of the table.  In a game that will not live long in the memory, the difference between the two teams was clear, Napoli converted two of their three shots on target whereas Bari failed to muster three shots on goal in the whole match. Add to this the fact that the home side had to play the final quarter of the contest with only ten men after defender Alessandro Parisi’s reckless challenge on Christian Maggio, all added up to a miserable afternoon for Gianpiero Ventura’s men. Just 24 hours after the game , both teams were involved in transfer dealings with Napoli reported to have finally sealed an agreement to bring Spanish defender Victor Ruiz to Campania from Espanyol, whilst the Puglians were involved in a player swap deal with Chievo as midfielder Nico Pulzetti headed north to Verona, with Simone Bentavoglio heading in the opposite direction to the Stadio San Nicola.

Lecce are out of the relegation zone after a spirited display in Florence saw the Salentini grab a share of the points in a 1-1 draw. The first-half was dominated by the visitors and one man in particular, David Di Michele, who had an incredible opening 45 minutes. On the half-hour mark, he put his side in front, latching on to a great cross from Rubén Olivera and then 11 minutes later, wasted the chance to double his team’s advantage as he smashed a spot-kick against the upright. The Puglians were left to wonder what might have been when just 12 minutes after the re-start, Alberto Gilardino levelled things up for the home side. Luigi De Canio is set to strengthen his back-line with the imminent arrival of defender Fabiano Santacroce from Napoli.

New Catania coach Diego Simeone left Parma on Saturday evening with the true realisation of the size of the task he faces in Sicily after another away day horror show. Gli Elefanti were undone in six second-half minutes at the Stadio Ennio Tardini as goals from former Juventus stars Antonio Candreva and Sebastian Giovinco, left the islanders still searching for their first victory on the road this season. Without a single shot on target in the entire 90 minutes, the Sicilians must start to pick up away points soon as they sit perilously close to the relegation zone. Simeone was defiant after the match claiming that “I have seen some great things in the first-half” unfortunately for him and the rest of the team, the game lasts for 90 minutes. Next up for the former Argentinean international, a home game on Saturday evening against league leaders Milan.

Palermo left it late, very late against Brescia on Saturday evening at the Stadio Renzo Barbera but finally managed to claim all three points thanks to a goal three minutes from time from a most unlikely source. With the game seemingly heading towards stalemate after 87 minutes of total domination from the home side, full-back Cesare Bovo smashed home a free-kick to send the Sicilian capital into total pandemonium and keep their hopes of European football next season very much alive and kicking.  Influenced by the brilliant Argentinean Javier Pastore, the home side peppered the visitors goal but just couldn’t find that elusive breakthrough. After throwing the kitchen sink, the washing machine and even the fridge freezer at the visitors goal, even the most ardent of Palermo supporters must have believed it just wasn’t to be their day, but step forward the 28-year-old defender to fire in his second goal of the season in such dramatic fashion. On Monday, the Sicilians said arrivederci to Massimo Maccarone, who has joined Sampdoria on a two and a half year dealwith the transfer fee thought to be in the region of around three million euros. Just 24 hours later, they edged past Parma after a penalty shoot-out to reach the last four of the Coppa Italia.  After a goalless 120 minutes of play, it was left to Paraguayan youngster Daniel Martinez to score the winning penalty and set up a semi-final date with either Sampdoria or Milan.

Cagliari left the capital empty handed on Saturday night after being beaten 3-0 by Roma. Coach Roberto Donadoni has had a positive effect on the side since taking over from Pierpaolo Bisoli but after last weekend’s match, he faced serious questions from the Italian media as to why he had left golden boy Alessandro Matri on the bench until 23 minutes from the end of the game. “I have a strong squad and I just preferred to play with (Robert) Aquafresca and Nenê today” was the Don’s reply - many observers believed it to be because the 26-year-old has had his head turned over speculation about an imminent transfer to Milan or even Inter. The sad thing for the Sardinians was that they didn’t play that badly over the course of 90 minutes, but were undone by a controversial penalty decision awarded to the home side after 22 minutes, which was followed by a goalkeeping howler from Michael Agazzi 14 minutes from time that doubled the hosts advantage. By the time Jeremy Menez produced a brilliant piece of skill to grab a third with the last kick of the match, Donadoni’s men just wanted to get out of the stadium and look ahead to next Sunday’s home game against Bari – a match that surely, will see them get their season back on track.

Steve Mitchell

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