The Winners

Udinese have won again, which is hardly surprising from the team that has taken sixteen points out of the last eighteen. Fifteenth-placed Catania fell away to Francesco Guidolin’s side, who temporarily moved to third before Napoli won the late game in Serie A. Gokhan Inler netted early in the side before captain Antonio Di Natale added yet another goal to his tally off a rigore, bringing his season total to a whopping twenty five strikes in thirty games. Lazio’s narrow victory over Cesena however means that the bianconeri have only a two point cushion on fourth place. Nevertheless, should the team continue to score at blistering rates, it seems that little will prevent them from being in the Champions’ League next year.

Chievo notched an away victory over Serie A’s dead horse Bari, the team that everyone loves to beat. The Flying Donkeys were made to struggle however, as the home side equalized through an Abdelkader Ghezzal penalty kick mere minutes after Sergio Pellissier gave the away side the lead. The latter’s goal came from some horrendous defending, perhaps no surprise considering it was Bari who were doing it. Davide Moscardelli snatched the winning goal, again after capitalizing on horrendous defending in the box from Bari. Chievo’s victory leaves them comfortably in thirteenth, high enough for now to appease relegation worries.

Parma’s victory over Sampdoria put enormous pressure on the losing side, who now face a true relegation threat. The lone goal in the game between the two underperformers came from a great header from Cristain Zaccardo, powering the ball out of Gianluca Curci’s reach. In fourteenth, Pasquale Marino’s side are still only a mere four points above the drop zone. Luckily, next gameday they face Bari, in a game where maximum points are surely expected.

The Losers

Cesena lost very narrowly to Champions’ League chasing Lazio. Mauro Zarate netted in the second minute with an outstretched leg to notch the only goal of the game. This Northern Light is now in serious relegation trouble, dangling perilously, one point and one place above the drop. Even more worrying are the next few matchdays for the Cavallucci Marini, who must face Fiorentina at home and Palermo away. Solace can be taken in Marco Parolo’s and Davide Santon’s Italy call-ups however.

Brescia made a very close contest out of their away battle with Juventus but ended up on the losing side. In the end it was a piece of magic from Alessandro Del Piero that settled the side, after both Milos Krasic and Eder opened the scoring for each team. The latter’s goal, coming from a direct run through the center of the bianconeri defense, revealed just how fragile Gigi Delneri’s side is this season, and had Victor Mareco not been sent off with twenty minutes to go, a point may have been salvaged.

The Mediocre (Aka they drew)

Bologna and Genoa shared a goal and a point each. Marco Di Vaio notched the first goal after some slick dribbling skills, which left the port side arguing that there was a handball. Replays suggest that they may have had a case as the ball does appear to bounce off his hand in the buildup. Dario Danielli notched before halftime, prodding the ball into the net after Emiliano Viviano parried away a Genoa free kick. The game thus ended, with neither side really making much ground in Serie A. In tenth, Bologna are twelve points above relegation and ten off of Europe. However, not having to worry about the former is a privilege that most of these Northern Lights wish they had.