Serie A Week 21: AC Milan Win, 2-0 Over Cesena, To Stay Top

Injuries, petulance, poor officiating, and misplaced passes were the stories of the game on this Sunday afternoon as Juventus and Sampdoria played to a poor 0-0 draw in which neither team looked like they ever got started. The two most exciting players on the pitch, Milos Krasic and Giampaolo Pazzini, were substituted off with around a half hour to go, effectively ending any chance the match had of being entertaining. Krasic was inexplicably taken off as a tactical substitution, while Pazzini appeared to sustain a serious ankle injury.

The first half was riddled with injuries, as both Armand Traore and Stefano Lucchini were forced out of the match in the opening 10 minutes. The latter injury was caused by Amauri, who swiftly elbowed Lucchini in the face. Despite the fact that Lucchini was carted off and Amauri very well might have broken his cheek bone, he was not booked.

For the first twenty or so minutes of the second half, the match between Roma and Cagliari has been fairly tame, with not much happening at either end. With the introduction of Jérémy Menez and Mirko Vučinić in the 68th minute, many Roma fans fully expected things to heat up. Which they did, but not due to either of the substitutes.

Daniele De Rossi sent in a long range shot which Cagliari goalkeeper Michael Agazzi pushed over the bar for a corner. Francesco Totti took the corner with Juan coming in to head the ball down. Agazzi fumbled the ball, dropping it at Perrotta’s feet. The midfielder seized his chance and stabbed the ball into the back of the net.

Italy has a packed slate this weekend, including a surprising three matches on Saturday. Palermo vs. Brescia and Parma vs. Catania get the week started before we bring you live coverage of Roma v.s Cagliari. On Sunday, we’ll ask questions of Inter Milan, Juventus, Napoli and A.C. Milan in hopes that we might be able to predict which clubs will take the top spots in Serie A. Because really, it’s so boring to just wait until the end of the season to see how things shake out.

With none of the “big” clubs playing one another this weekend, if all teams that are meant to be the better side win, the table won’t change. AC Milan stays top, Bari stays bottom, and maybe the middle shifts around a bit. But should upsets rule the day ... well, even if they beat Napoli, Bari stay bottom. Cagliari could move to 9th with a win over Roma, unless Sampdoria win against Juventus, in which case, not much happens. Cesena only pad their points in hopes of staying away from relegation if they beat AC Milan. And with a win over Inter, Udinese could take 7th. Or they could remain right where they are.