Serie A Week 25: Wins For Milan, Napoli, And Lazio Push Inter Milan Down To Fourth

Alessandro Matri’s headed goal in the 30th minute was all Juventus needed to secure a crucial Derby d’Italia victory-though a late flurry of chances from Inter made things interesting right at the death.

The first half belonged to Juventus and Inter were quite lucky to be down only a goal as the teams headed into the break. The second half was a much more even affair, with Juventus content to play deeper look to capitalize on the counter as opposed to the more attacking style they employed in the first half. The result was a near endless loop of Inter attacks being thwarted by a largely impenetrable Juventus back line and Juventus managing to counter dangerously just often enough to keep things interesting.

After a fairly even opening 15 minutes it’s been all Juventus in this one the rest of the way and they take the 1-0 lead provided by Alessandro Matri’s header into the half. The pressure from Juventus has been immense; the vast majority of their possession has been spent in Inter’s final third. While the high defensive line being employed by Juventus looks a bit risky, it’s worked; Inter have seldom been able to get behind anyone and in the majority of those cases they’ve been caught offside.

Inter’s best chance came when Samuel Eto’o gathered a long pass on the edge of the box and flicked it into space between two defenders, a gorgeous first touch to be sure, but in the end he could do nothing with it and the ball was headed back to Buffon by Bonucci. In all Inter managed zero shots in the first half, and outside of a few isolated bits of individual skill they’ve looked nothing close to dangerous. Wesley Sneijder has been almost entirely absent. Serious changes are necessary if Inter hope to take anything from this one.

Things started at a frantic pace with opportunities for both sides in the early going, but for the past fifteen minutes it’s been Juventus that have been in control and Alessandro Matri has put them ahead 1-0 half an hour in. The buildup to the goal was consistent with what Juventus have shown so far this half, as the home side have utilized a high defensive line and and lots of pressure on the ball to keep things confined to Inter’s end.

The final ball in was a lovely first-touch cross from Frederick Sorensen that Matri headed easily past Julio César. Milos Krasic picked Sorensen out at the edge of the box after a run to the end line and his having drawn his defender with him allowed Matri to stay onside and give Juventus the lead. Inter have been unable to create any pressure in the attack to this point and without some adjustment, they look to be little threat to equalize.

Inter Milan hope to keep pace with AC Milan, Napoli and Lazio after all three clubs won their games this weekend while Juventus desperately try to scuffle their way back into the mix for the Champions League places. Coming into the weekend it there was the chance that Serie A could be thrown into chaos, but with the teams higher in the table taking care of business the opportunity for Inter to put themselves back into the thick of the race for the scudetto has at the very least put on hold. Juventus meanwhile have an opportunity to leapfrog AS Roma and Palermo with a win.

Lineups:

Lazio’s visit to Brescia was likely not the most boring match ever played in Serie A, but Fox Soccer’s decision to show it to subscribers in the United States probably did little to earn any converts to the Italian football cause. Catania and Lecce had a 3-2, back and forth thriller. Cagliari scored four against Chievo Verona. Stations should be allowed to change the match to another if things are truly dull, but alas they aren’t and we were stuck with Lazio’s 2-0 win.

The most compelling element of the game was the goal-scoring routine of Álvaro González, who sent a header into the back of the net in the 17th minute. After scoring his first goal for Lazio, he pulled off his boot and used it as a phone, typing in numbers and holding it to his ear. No card, though, proving you can’t expose your abs without seeing yellow, but dirty socks go unpunished. There is no justice.

Brescia looked like they just might get back in the match and scrape a point against Lazio, but with just over thirty minutes to go, the home side are now down 2-0. Brescia defender Francesco Bega made the mistake of conceding a corner, which was taken by Cristian Ledesma. The second mistake came when Jonathan Zebina failed to make any sort of challenge on Libor Kozák, instead allowing the forward to beat him to the header. Kozák sent the ball straight into the back of the net to earn his fifth goal of the season.

Shortly after, Zebina tried to make amends at the other end, but headed the ball just wide of the Lazio goal. The visitors look to be in complete control now, intent on keeping all three points. The win would bring them back into third place, albeit temporarily. Juventus and Inter Milan wrap up the Serie A weekend, and with Inter even more determined to climb up the table, Lazio may need to be content with staying fourth.

Lazio might not have been at their best for the first fifteen minutes against Brescia, but they didn’t need a lot to get the better of the home side. 17 minutes in and Álvaro González has scored his first goal for Lazio, heading a Stephan Lichtsteiner cross into the bottom left corner. The goal was solid, but the real talking point here was the goal celebration. While many footballers do some variation of the boot-polishing routine, shining the shoe of the player who really made the goal possible, González whipped off his boot, typed in some numbers, and held it to his ear as if he were talking on the phone.

Say what, now?

Napoli have ended Roma’s season long unbeaten streak at the Stadio Olimpico with a 2-0 win over Roma, both goals coming courtesy of Edinson Cavani. The Uruguayan striker converted a penalty and sent in a Paolo Cannavaro cross to put his league tally at 20, the highest in Serie A. Although AC Milan won 4-0 over Parma earlier on Saturday, the partenopei keep the league leaders in their sight, remaining just three behind in the race for the scudetto.

The penalty conversion brought forth the best in Roma. Jérémy Menez, on for Rodrigo Taddei after the break, looked dangerous, while Mirko Vučinić looked destined to score for the home side. Yet Roma manager Claudio Ranieri apparently hadn’t been paying attention, and decided to put captain Francesco Totti in for Vučinić at the 77th minute.

Edinson Cavani has done it again, scoring his 20th as El Matador puts Napoli up 2-0 over Roma. Ezequiel Lavezzi nicked a header on to Paolo Cannavaro, who was charging up the right side to help Napoli in offense. The center back put in one of the best crosses seen in recent memory, and with Cavani charging forward the goal was nearly inevitable. Cavani barged through the Roma defense to put the ball into the back of the net, and, Napoli fans hope, the game out of reach for the home side.

Should Napoli hold on to the lead for the next few minutes, they’ll once again move within three of AC Milan, but even more significantly, they’ll end Roma’s unbeaten streak at home, with the Giallorossi having kept the Stadio Olimpico as a fortress this season. The loss will also leave Roma even further adrift of the Champions League positions, sitting three back from crosstown rivals Lazio.

It might be 0-0 at the break, but Roma - Napoli has been a cracker for those not desperately biting their nails and watching the Serie A table. Roma looked to have the game in hand for the first fifteen minutes, but Napoli came back and dominated for the last thirty of the first half.

Another issue of contention is the card picked up by Andrea Dossena in injury time. Dossena had been booked earlier, but the referee must have forgotten amidst all the other fouls, and showed just another yellow to the Napoli player. It remains to be seen if Dossena will return after the break.

Despite the fact that Parma had two great chances just minutes before, it’s AC Milan that have the goal yet again, with Robinho making the score 3-0 in the 60th minute. Antonio Cassano, who scored the second goal for the home side, slid a perfect ball through the Parma defense. Zlatan Ibrahimović laid off the ball and let it pass on to Robinho, who had no trouble slotting it home.

Then, just five minutes later, Robinho bagged a brace, having been on the pitch less than ten minutes after replacing Clarence Seedorf. Again it was the work of Cassano that made Milan’s fourth goal possible, with the forward sending the perfect through ball in to Robinho, who only needed to capitalize on the finish.

Looks like AC Milan are really up for this match against 15th place Parma. Antonio Cassano has just made it 2-0 in the 18th minute with a sumptuous finish past poor Antonio Mirante after being fed with a very cute dinked pass courtesy of Gennaro Gattuso. The striker didn’t even bother to control the ball, instead sliding it in at the far post on the volley. Mirante had no chance whatsoever. What’s perhaps most astonishing about the goal is that Zlatan Ibrahimovic wasn’t involved, as the Swede maestro has been the architect of most of Milan’s most promising moves so far in the match - Parma are now paying so much attention to him that they’re neglecting the other jewels in the Rossoneri’s glittering attack.

The 2-0 lead, I should mention, comes with Brazilian internationals Robinho and Alexandre Pato on the bench. Despite their absence, this match looks like it the perfect recipe for a trouncing, perhaps made worse by Parma’s willingness to attack their far more illustrious hopes. It hasn’t gone particularly well for them.

This week in Italy could really turn the Serie A table on its head. AC Milan, once thought to have a lock on the scudetto, have been slipping as of late. Although they haven’t lost a match in their last seven league games, the Rossoneri have dropped eight points in their last six outings, almost all against teams they were expected to easily beat. With Champions League play resuming this week, Milan may be of two minds, but if they drop points, Napoli and Inter Milan are waiting just behind. Lazio, with two draws since their win over Fiorentina, are also falling down the table, with Palermo and Udinese desperate to take that fourth slot, and Roma and Juventus eager to climb back into European contention. Meanwhile, five clubs battle to avoid relegation, whereas Bari have likely come to terms with the bottom of the table.

That’s the seriousness out of the way. Here comes the snark.