Serie A 2011, Week 13: Juventus Stay Top, Milan And Udinese Both Two Points Behind

Take a look at the Juventus lineup and the first thing you’ll notice is that Andrea Pirlo has been left out, presumably due to injury. Although the master midfielder has played a pivotal role in taking the Old Lady top of the table this season, he looked out-of-sorts against Napoli midweek and likely has earned a rest.

As for Cesena, after their 2-0 victory over Genoa last week, all eyes are on Adrian Mutu. Well, they usually are anyway.

The home side claimed three goals at the San Paolo before the halftime whistle even blew. Lavezzi started things off with a beautiful little goal, dribbling right around two giallorossi shirts, nutmegging a third just for a bit of added flair, and aiming his shot just inside the near post. Massimiliano Benassi could do absolutely nothing to stop the ball from settling into the back of the net.

Having seen what passed for defense in the giallorossi side, Dzemaili thought he’d seize this opportunity to get his goal for the season. In the 42nd minute, the Swiss midfielder, lingering just outside the area, pounced on a poorly cleared ball and shot it through into goal. Napoli were up 3-0 at halftime, and Walter Mazzarri had no idea what to say in the dressing room, being so accustomed to giving the hairdryer treatment during every match.

At that point, the match seemed over. According to the match announcers, the fans at the San Siro began to exit the stadium when Zanetti was sent off. Stepping to the spot was Di Natale, arguably the most lethal finisher in the world. Inconceivably, he took a poor penalty that was easily saved by Julio Cesar, keeping the result in doubt for the Zebrette.

Even though Pazzini missed and Udinese were up a goal, Ferronetti couldn’t stop himself from arguing with the referee about the call after the miss. The official didn’t react well to whatever Ferronetti said and he was shown a second yellow card, taking Udinese down to ten men for the remainder of the match.

Lavezzi, tired of imprecise balls that he couldn’t quite chase down, decided to create his own chance, taking on two defenders, dribbling through, even adding a nutmeg before sending his shot to the near post. Massimiliano Benassi could do nothing to stop it, and Napoli were off.

3-0, and Lecce have 45 minutes to pull the same trick Milan played on them back in October.

It all went to pieces shortly after play resumed, however. Kakha Kaladze clattered into Zlatan Ibrahimovic inside the area. With Kaladze already on a yellow, the German was sent off, and Ibra himself stepped up to take the penalty. After an agonizing wait, the air pierced with whistles from the Genoa fans, the Milan forward put his shot straight down the middle. It bounced off the bottom of the crossbar and into the back of the net.

Alas, it appears that staying uninjured and scoring against Chievo Verona was simply too much for Alexandre Pato. He now misses the match against Genoa with flu, so Robinho will step into the Milan starting lineup in his place. Max Allegri continues to field his preferred 4-3-1-2 position, with Kevin-Prince Boateng playing just behind the strikers. Also of note: Allegri really seems to favor those with “A”s in their names. Sorry, Carlos Tevez, guess you just won’t be welcomed at Milan.

Genoa are without top-scorer Rodrigo Palacio, and will set up in a 4-4-2 in an attempt to counter the forward threat from the visiting rossoneri.

Attention, Serie A fans: the weekend starts on Friday with Genoa - Milan, and the fun doesn’t stop until Monday, when Lazio and Novara battle it out. In between, we’ve got Champions League clubs taking over Serie A Saturday, while on Sunday, a group of seahorses attempt to de-throne the Old Lady.

This is a weekend to root for the underdogs, with Novara, Cesena, and Lecce, currently occupying the relegation zone slots, taking on teams from the top six. There’s also the possibility to see some different faces moving toward the top, as Genoa, Catania, and Parma all host this weekend, and it’s not out of the realm of possibility that they could pick up points.