It’s been three weeks of consistently talking about the third place in Serie A and now only one fixture remains. Before this weekend, it looked certain that Napoli would end up in the Champions League but after a horrendous loss at Bologna it is once again Udinese who are in the driver’s seat. Although Udinese sit in front, the other three teams are still nipping at their heels and one slip up could cause a complete reshuffling of the standings. [...]
Douglas Maicon scored a sensational goal to secure a 4-2 victory for Internazionale over AC Milan in a thrilling Derby della Madonnina; in a game which also halted Milan’s attempt to retain their league crown. The Nerazzurri were forced to come from behind, after former player, Zlatan Ibrahimovic converted a penalty and scored a splendid second to grant AC Milan a 2-1 lead. A feisty affair occurred between the Milanese rivals tonight. Scudetto chasing AC Milan knew they had to [...]
Only three games remain and the race for third only continues to get tighter. Last weekends result saw Napoli draw Roma, Udinese take 3 points from Lazio and Inter climb back with another win. Currently Napoli, Udinese, Lazio and Inter are all level with 55 points. As I said last week, this race has been completely unpredictable but with only three games, I believe this race is Napoli’s to lose. Napoli are currently sitting in third. They have a goal [...]
As the Serie A once more draws to a close, many clubs are nearing the finish line in their respective races. Whether it’s Juventus or AC Milan striving for the Scudetto. Or Novara, Lecce, Genoa and Fiorentina battling to avoided dreaded relegation to Serie B. The most exciting race is that for third place; which will grant Champion’s League football to its respective winner. There are five sides competing in the race for Europe; each with their strengths and weaknesses. [...]
Saturday 28th April Roma v Napoli The game of the weekend is between two teams of contrasting fortunes. Roma have lost their last two games, a heavy 4-0 loss to Juventus in Turin and a 2-1 home reverse to Fiorentina. Napoli on the other hand, have beaten strugglers Lecce and Novara to move up to fourth. A huge game in the battle for third place, a Napoli win would leave Luis Enrique’s side with only Europa League football to play [...]
There was some idiotic scenes in the Genoa, as the home side -losing to Siena at the time -were demanded to take of their jerseys by their own ultras. The reasoning; according to this small minority of fans the players were not fit enough to wear the club’s colours. Marco Rossi, Genoa’s captain, ceded to their demands and went about collecting jerseys from his team-mates. This left Genoa Giandomenico Mesto in tears on the pitch. To their credit, at least [...]
Saturday 21st April Udinese v Chievo Since their departure from the Europa League in early March, Francesco Guidolin’s side have experienced a dip in form that has seen them lose their grip on the last Champions League spot. Only three points will do this weekend in Verona, but they will have to work hard for it. Chievo have rose steadily up the table in recent weeks, and before their 1-0 home loss against AC Milan, the Mussi Volanti had taken [...]
Hope may be lost for Roma. Another poor result this past weekend and Champions League football now appears to be an impossible dream. Luis Enrique’s men are currently 7 points back of city rivals Lazio for that third Champions League spot, and they have yet gone on a lengthy run of success, which does not bode well for the remaining 7 games. As Roma’s inconsistent season comes to the end, it seems the window for the third spot is now [...]
Three matches and three rivals vanquished (even if Adriano Galliani does not completely agree) – Juventus enjoyed a successful week which rejuvenated their Scudetto bid and saw them reach the Coppa Italia final. The week-capping victory over Inter made Juve forget the provincial struggles which has threatened to ensure a potentially unbeaten season likened more to Perugia 1978/79 than Milan 1991/92. It had appeared the January yips which were prevalent in recent campaigns made the shift to February following a [...]
What another whirlwind 24 hours in the land of Pazza Inter. In a move that shocked some but was expected by many, Claudio Ranieri was relieved of his managerial duties late Monday evening. It was a decision that had been a long time coming and could be argued that the ax should have been dropped sooner. While Ranieri was able to pull the Nerazzurri out of the relegation places in the first half of the season, the same blistering form [...]
Then there was one. After the first set of games in the round of 16 it looked like Italy would have at least two, if not three teams in the quarterfinals. After Inter’s dismal showing against Marseille, and Chelsea’s comeback against Napoli, Milan remain the only Italian team in all of Europe. It didn’t get any easier for the peninsula as Milan were handed a big task. To make it to the semi-finals they first have to face Barcelona for [...]
Tuesday night’s Coppa Italia match between Milan and Juventus was a fantastic advert for the Italian game. This season’s two best teams by some distance, eights point to be exact, played out an entertaining draw at Juventus’s new and impressive stadium. There were goals, two splendid ones at that, and the two strongest sets of players in the Serie A on display. Off the field guiding their troops forward were two coaches who represent the best of a new generation [...]
