There is a gigantic black and blue storm coming. That storm is the Rafael Benitez-less, Leonardo led Inter Milan team that appears to have finally gotten it together. They don’t look that threatening back there in sixth place, but they have two games in hand on the leaders. If Inter wins both of those games, they’re in second place with more points than Napoli.
Italian Serie A, Round 20 Review: Inter Milan, Juventus Quietly Climbing, Zlatan Ibrahimovic Stunner Softens A.C. Milan Blow
Inter's win came in the form of an emphatic beat-down of Bologna. The visitors got a garbage goal at the San Siro after the hosts had already taken a 4-0 lead, but Bologna's play up until that point could accurately be described as embarrassing. Dejan Stankovic opened the scoring for Inter in the 20th minute, and it was basically game over right then and there. Diego Milito scored a goal, hopefully signaling the end of the terribly unlucky portion of his season, and Samuel Eto'o added a brace for good measure. Bologna scored a garbage goal afterward, making the final score 4-1 to the hosts. Inter have now won all three of their league matches since Leonardo took charge.
A.C. Milan came up with a disappointing 1-1 draw against Lecce, but this game won’t be remembered for two dropped points. Instead, it will be remembered for this ridiculous stunner of a goal by Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
I can’t recall ever seeing a goal like that one in my life. He runs onto a long ball, takes a great first touch, and hits a rocket of a volley at least 30 yards, across his body, and to the back post. Absolutely absurd.
However, lost in the magnificence of that goal and the hype around it is the fact that Milan let Lecce score after that, failed to score again, and dropped two points against a team they should have defeated. Lazio, Juventus, Roma, and Inter are all closer to the top than they were yesterday, and Napoli didn’t fall behind, despite a 0-0 draw. Despite their decent sized lead on their historical big rivals, Milan look vulnerable at the top.
Juventus gained ground thanks to an absolute stunner from Alberto Aquilani. It wasn't quite as good as Zlatan's nasty volley, but it might have been the goal of the week for any other week. Juventus outplayed Bari for the majority of their match, but it was tied up at 1-1 until Aquilani's goal. His 79th minute stunner made it 2-1 to give the Old Lady the lead. Check it out.
Boom, headshot.
Elsewhere in Serie A, Napoli drew Fiorentina 0-0 in a fairly dull encounter, Lazio snatched a late 1-0 win over Sampdoria thanks to a headed goal from Libor Kozak, Palermo suffered a surprise 3-1 loss to Cagliari, Roma squeaked out a 1-0 win against Cesena, and Udinese defeated Genoa 4-2 in an absolute thriller. Catania drew Chievo 1-1 and Brescia defeated Parma 2-0 to add some spice to the relegation race.
This Wednesday, Inter Milan play one of their make-up games against Cesena. If they take their fourth win in four in convincing fashion, the race for the Scudetto is probably going to get a lot more interesting.
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