Serie A, Round 11: Lazio stumble, Inter soar...and Roma finally drop points

Unsurprisingly, it was Roma who made the most of the early exchanges in the match, pushing Torino right back into their own half even with the home side’s seemingly attacking setup; however, despite long periods of patient buildup, clear chances were hard to come by.

Despite all their dominance, it took until the 25th minute for Roma to have a real chance, Alessandro Florenzi unleashing a quite stunning volley from 20 yards directly from Miralem Pjanić‘s corner which whistled just over Daniele Padelli’s crossbar.

Inter took control of the game, keeping Udinese from coming close while also creating more chances of their own. The third goal finally came in injury time, when Alvarez capped one of the many quick breaks. Palacio served his fellow Argentine a perfect ball to put Alvarez one on one with Brkic, enabling him to score an easy goal.

Goals: Rodrigo Palacio 24’, Andrea Ranocchia 29’, Ricardo Alvarez 90’

The visitors started the second half much like they finished the first. Gilardino chested down Biondini’s pass to get a clear run on goal, forcing Marchetti to run out and smother.

Gilardino had missed a spot kick against Parma in midweek, but he made up for it here by sending Marchetti the wrong way.

Livorno: Bardi; Coda, Rinaudo, Ceccherini; Gemiti, (Piccini 61) Luci, Emerson, Greco, (Duncan 78) Mbaye; Paulinho, Siligardi (Emeghara 70)

Atalanta: Consigli; Scaloni, Migliaccio, Canini, Del Grosso; (De Luca 62) Raimondi, Cigarini, Carmona, Moralez; (Marilungo 85) Livaja, (Baselli 39) Denis

The match in Udine brings together two sides that favor similar styles. Both Walter Mazzarri and Francesco Guidolin love a nice 3-5-1-1 formation, the use of quality wingbacks, and using fast breaks to surprise the other team and take advantage. However, both Inter and Udinese will miss players key to their tactics and techniques.

Udinese injuries and suspensions

Torino injuries and suspensions

Roma injuries and suspensions

Norbert Gyomber blocked Higuain’s shot on the turn four minutes before the break, after the Argentine collected Insigne’s pass in the area.

Napoli laid siege to the Catania goal after the restart, but were thwarted by the brilliant Andujar. The goalkeeper kept Higuain’s first time shot from going into the near corner after the forward was threaded through by Callejon. An unmarked Federico Fernandez wasted a free header, before Andujar tipped over a vicious Hamsik drive. The Slovakian midfielder blasted the ball straight at him.

It’s worth remembering that Milan got off to a horrible start to the season last year as well, and wound up squeezing into the third Champions League position. It also might be relevant to note that the rossoneri fell to Fiorentina last November as well, and Adriano Galliani kept the faith in Massimiliano Allegri. But the Milan coach has been trying the patience of both club and fans for far too long now -- will this be the final straw?

The first half saw Milan have the vast majority of the shots, but it was the visitors that took the lead. Just one shot was all Fiorentina needed to get past a rossoneri defense that’s been lacking all season long.

The game began to open out heading into the final 20 minutes, and Juventus almost went ahead when Simone Padoin’s low cross found Tévez peeling off his marker in the area. He flashed a low shot goalwards, though Mirante made an excellent stop to keep the game goalless. The bianconeri began to swarm ever higher up the pitch, penning Parma in.

Eventually, the pressure told. With just under 15 minutes left substitute Fabio Quagliarella curled the ball spectacularly against the crossbar from distance, with his teammate Paul Pogba following in and dispatching the rebound beyond Mirante. Parma rallied in search of an equaliser, though the Juventus defending was stubborn, and the gialloblu’s efforts in vain.

Parma injuries and suspensions

Out: Daniele Galloppa, Gabriel Paletta, Stefano Okaka, Nicola Pavarini (injured). In doubt: None.

Matí Fernández, Gómez, Hegazy, Iličić (injured); Ambrosini (in doubt); Cuadrado (suspended)

Saturday, November 2 at 8:45 p.m. local, 3:45 p.m. ET