Serie A Sunday: Lecce Move Into Safety With Surprise Win Over Udinese After A 4-3 Thriller Between Napoli And Lazio

Sometimes going for it isn’t enough and while nobody would criticize Roma’s aggressiveness, Juventus were the more organized and composed side. The result of that was a 2-0 win for The Old Lady as they went to Roma’s Stadio Olimpico and came away three points richer. Juventus are now a mere two points behind Roma for sixth in Serie A, putting Roma’s Europa League place in peril with seven matches left in the season.

The first half was actually decidedly in Roma’s favor with the home side pressuring for most of the opening 45 minutes. The problem for Roma is that they had to do more than pressure and challenge the Juventus goal. They had to beat Marco Storari and he was just too good. Storari was only on the field because a high fever ruled Gianluigi Buffon out so Juventus had to go to their back up, but Buffon couldn’t have been any better than Storari was on Sunday. Three times in the first half Roma had what looked like sure goals, but Storari was there to pull a rabbit out of his hat and keep the match scoreless.

All match long Roma has been the more aggressive side and controlled most of the play, but they have been vulnerable to the counter-attack the entire time. That isn’t anything new for Roma. They’re vulnerable to the counter-attack in pretty much every match and they’re down in sixth place for it. Well, they won’t move any higher because Alessandro Matri took advantage of Roma on the counter to put Juventus up 2-0 at the Stadio Olimpico.

An unbalanced Roma back line ruined any semblance of an offside trap and Matri took advantage. Quick transition play by Juventus saw them take possession of the ball and Matri went on a run straight away. With the Roma back four at four different depths and nobody marking Matri, all it took was a simple ball to Juventus striker and he was alone in on goal. Matri took the ball, batted his eyelashes a few times and calmly slid the ball through Doni’s legs for the goal.

Roma spent most of the match on the front foot, pressuring Juventus at each opportunity and forcing Marco Storari into several tremendous saves. After 60 minutes of proving capable of absorbing pressure, Juventus finally applied some of their own and made their opportunity count with a Milos Krasic goal that put the visitors ahead.

Fabio Grosso began the move with a good bit of work down the left. The italian picked himself some space and ran towards the left endline where he was closed down, but Grosso used a touch to pull the ball back and chip to the far post. The chip landed right on the foot of Krasic, who took the ball first touch on a half volley and rocketed the ball into the next for the first goal of the match.

You can criticize Roma and Juventus for failing to score in the first half, but you can’t blame them for not opening up play and creating chances. Both sides found space and chances only to be denied by a good tackle, misfortune or in Roma’s case, spectacular goalkeeping by Marco Storari. The Juveventus goalkeeper, forced onto the field because Gianluigi Buffon is out with a high fever, made three incredible saves to keep Roma from tallying. If anyone was to win a Man of the Half award, it would go to the so-far sterling Juvetus keeper, who has been nothing short of brilliant.

The question now is whether Roma will be able to beat Storari in the second half. They had their opportunities, but Storari has been too good. Maybe they just need to buy Matri and have him bat his eyelashes at Storari in the second half to distract him from the task at hand? For all the brilliance of Storari though, Juventus have had a few chances of their own and Roma, as always, have looked vulnerable to the counter-attack so the visitors are in a position to sneak a goal and three points out of this one.

The line ups for the highly anticipated Roma vs. Juventus match are in and there is one noticeable absence. Gianluigi Buffon is not be between the sticks for Juventus as he battles a high fever that keeps him out of the match. That could prove to be incredibly important in this match between two glamour clubs in Serie A that are not as high on the table as they usually are. Roma are down to sixth in the league, six points from the all-important fourth place spot. Meanwhile, Juventus are in seventh are five points behind Roma

With Totti and Perrotta in the attack and the scintillating Vucinic behind them, it’s easy to see Roma pressuring Juventus for much of this match. Juventus have hardly been sturdy at the back and they’re facing a dangerous attack, but Roma hasn’t been very good at the back either, meaning this one could see several goals.

The second Bertolacci goal was less impressive -- more a case of him being in the right place at the right time. Jeda took the ball up the right side of the field, keeping Maurizio Domizzi at bay until he was able to fire a pass into the center of the box. Bertolacci was there waiting, with little to do except tap in.

It may be an impressive win for Lecce, but fortunately for Udinese, it does little to dent their hopes of a Champions League position, although of course they would have enjoyed a bigger lead over the rest of their rivals. Roma and Juventus have the late match, with a Roma win lifting them to within three points of that coveted fourth place position.

Is it really possible that Udinese will lose this match? The zebrette have yet to lose in 2011, and it’s difficult to believe they’ll let go of that impressive stat without a fight. In fact, Udinese have just replaced Almen Abdi with Germán Denis in the hopes that another attacking player will rescue a point.

In other words, this game should have a bit of life. Udinese want a Champions League position. Lecce need to survive. The visitors have the tiniest wonder duo in existence on their side in Alexis Sanchez and Antonio di Natale. So where’s the magic? The most we’ve seen so far was a Lecce shot hit straight to Samir Handanovič. On the other end, it was a distance shot from Sanchez that curved around the outside of the post.

Here’s hoping for goals, or at least one, in the second half.

Set pieces proved to be Lazio’s undoing as just two minutes later, Christian Maggio nodded on yet another Lavezzi free kick. Cavani was waiting just in front of goal and easily headed it past Muslera. 2-2, and the Stadio San Paolo exploded.

Lazio were absolutely furious at that point, but it was about to get even worse for them. Christian Brocchi put in a shot that looked as though it had crossed the line, but no official spotted it, and play continued. Just a minute later, in what was likely a moment of justice, Napoli defender Salvatore Aronica put the ball in the back of the net ... the back of the Napoli net. Whoopsies. 3-2 Lazio and Walter Mazzarri looked as though he needed a double whisky and twelve cigarettes.

And so a 4-3 lead to Napoli, with just minutes left to play. Ten-man Lazio are ruing their defensive discipline yet again.

With Napoli back on level terms, it’s almost certain that Lazio will hunker down in an attempt to keep a point.

Can Napoli come back again?

So much for Napoli’s scudetto challenge, here. Andre Dias has scored his second goal of the season to put Lazio up 2-0 at the San Paolo. A free kick from Javier Garrido floated into the box and Dias was able to get away from his marker, who looked to be Marek Hamsik, to head the ball into the back of the net. Morgan De Sanctis executed a fantastic back bend in an attempt to keep the ball out of the back of the net, but the Napoli keeper couldn’t even get a hand on it. Down by two, it certainly appears the partenopei title challenge is over.

In an attempt to score just a goal -- just one -- Walter Mazzarri has taken off midfielder Michele Pazienza and replaced him with Giuseppe Mascara, giving Napoli four forwards. Given that Pazienza doesn’t actually do much in the way of defending (or much of anything, really), Napoli won’t miss much in terms of keeping Lazio from scoring.

Just minutes later, Mauri very nearly got a second, again getting past the Napoli defense and facing De Sanctis alone. Fortunately for the home side, the forward skewed the ball wide.

The match starts in approximately two minutes. Here are your lineups, and please forgive any spelling mistakes as it is not even 3:30 AM PT.

That was much easier for AC Milan than it seemed as though it might be in the buildup to the Milan Derby, but once Alexandre Pato scored inside the first minute, there was no coming back for Inter Milan. Sure enough, Inter went down to ten men, Cristian Chivu being sent off with a straight red, and Milan scored twice more, with Pato grabbing another and substitute Antonio Cassano converting a last-minute penalty.

Just 45 seconds had passed when the Duck scored his first goal against Inter. Pato and Robinho combined brilliantly, with Robinho putting in the first shot. Júlio César rushed out to meet, but only knocked the ball as far as Pato, who cooly put it in the back of the net. 1-0 Milan and there was no looking back.

After Christian Chiu picked up a straight red card for his last man challenge on Alexandre Pato, it seemed like it was only a matter of time before Milan netted a second goal to take control of the match. Milan have been the slightly better and more ambitious team throughout, so it should come as no surprise that they’ve added to their lead against a shorthanded team.

This goal came off of a great team move, in which Milan moved the ball superbly without much challenge. The build-up was not something that typically happens against Inter, and it was obviously the product of the fact that they were playing with ten men. After an exchange of what seemed like about 20 passes, the ball was sprayed out to Ignazio Abate on the right hand side of the penalty area. He put in a great cross towards Pato, who lost his marker and hit an uncontested header into the back of the net. At this point, it looks like the Scudetto is no longer up for grabs.

Who had Cristian Chivu in the 54th minute in the Milan Derby red card betting pool? If you did, a small chunk of change is coming your way, as things keep getting worse for Inter Milan. Alexandre Pato broke free along the left side and got behind Chivu, the last man for Inter. The Romanian, who hasn’t exactly proved himself to be the brightest match in the box, put up his knee to catch out Pato. A clear red card offense, the last man committing the foul, and there was no hesitation when the referee showed the red card.

It looks like a hard path for Inter to climb now, down to ten men and AC Milan already ahead. The nerazzurri might be the comeback masters of Serie A, but being down a man and down by two, it would take some sort of miracle for them to find a point, much less all three.

Just five minutes into the first half and AC Milan have been forced to make a change, bringing on Mathieu Flamini and sending out Gennaro Gattuso, who picked up a hamstring injury. It was actually Rino that went in on Wesley Sneijder, challenging with a high kick, but the strain was too much for his hammie and he’s had to leave the match. The Milan shape will not change, however, with Flamini as a like for like sub.

Immediately after, Inter take a corner that once again does not go well for them, heading it straight out of play instead. Little Wesley Sneijder has been used and abused in this match. Just before the Gattuso free kick, Mark van Bommel put in a crunching tackle on his international teammate, sending Sneijder rolling across the field and leaving him with a couple blades of grass attached perfectly to his shiny bald head.

The goal by Alexandre Pato, scored on about 45 seconds, is enough to keep AC Milan ahead at the halftime whistle. Pato and partner Robinho combined well, with Robinho taking the first shot at the Inter Milan net. Júlio César, apparently donning the black mask and taking on the bad - keeper persona, rushed out to try and block, but only managed to divert the ball into the path of Pato. The Duck easily found the back of the net from the center of the box. 1-0 Milan, and that’s how it would remain.

That’s not to say there’s been no fun Derby action! Wesley Sneijder’s had lasers pointed in his face. Samuel Eto’o and Rino Gattuso tussled on the sidelines before looking longingly into each others’ eyes. And of course, it wouldn’t be a Derby della Madonnina without some controversy. In the 26th minute, Robinho was shown a yellow card for diving, further reinforcing stereotypes about Brazil and about Serie A. But the Milan player dug his toe in a defender’s ankle and then tripped on a blade of grass, and was duly punished for it -- much more than you’d see in most leagues.

Robinho certainly isn’t doing anything to dispel the reputation that Brazilians have for diving. Set through with a ball from Alessandro Nesta, the AC Milan forward raced toward the edge of the area. Once there, his toe magically caught somewhere between the grass and kicking his opponents ankle. Robhinho went tumbling over, just inside the line. The referee was having none of it, however, and rather than pointing to the spot, brandished the yellow card. While Serie A might be perceived as having a diving problem, at least the officials are brandishing cards when appropriate.

The last thing AC Milan want is to have one of Robinho, Alexandre Pato, or Kevin-Prince Boateng sent off. The trio are combining well together, constantly threatening the Inter Milan goal. The rossoneri must know that they need another goal. Inter are practically magicians in the second half, and to waste away with just a one goal lead could be dangerous for Milan.

The Milan Derby has been hailed as the match that could decide the scudetto. But with seven more matches to play, it seems a bit premature to say that the winner today will walk away with the Serie A title.