The midweek action in the Italian SerieA saw loads of goals and most of them came in Turin and Milan as Juventus put in a stellar performance against Sampdoria in a 5-1 victory and Inter disposed off Palermo in a highly entertaining 5-3 win. AC Milan conceded two late late goals and let a two goal lead slip in Naples as Napoli earned a thoroughy deserved 2-2 draw. Meanwhile Fiorentina lost their second successive game in the league against Genoa and Roma continued their losing streak at Udinese.
Juventus coach Ciro Ferrara knew that his team needed to win the game against second-placed Sampdoria to keep in touch with the league leaders Inter. He deployed a 4-2-3-1 formation which had never been used before with Giovince, Diego and Camoranesi playing behind Amauril. Cannavaro and Sissoko returned to the lineup from their injury lay-offs. After a tentative start to the game by both sides Juve opened the scoring in the 26th minute as Amauri scored from 6 yards out following a corner which the Samp players failed to handle . Three minutes before half-time Juve went two up after some great play by Chiellini. The defender won the ball on the half way line and then ran at the defence and freed Amauri who made his way into the box and squared the ball to Chiellini who duly obliged with a tap-in. Juventus almost went further ahead immediately after the restart but were denied by Castellazzi. The Old Lady did score their third on 50 minutes when Giovinco pulled the ball back for Camoranesi who scored his first of the campaign. Grosso and Giovinco, who showed his true calibre and talent, then shot wide but there was more to come though as in 62nd minute Amauri headed in a Camoranesi cross for his fourth goal in three games. Pazzini did score a consolation for Sampdoria with a close range header two minutes later but it was never going to change the complexion of the game. In fact Juventus went on to score their fifth of the night as Trezeguet headed in a Grosso cross to complete a dominating win for the Bianconeri. Ferrara will be immensely pleased by the success of the 4-2-3-1 and Giovinco proved once again that he deserves to be in the starting line-up.
In Naples, Milan went two goals ahead within the first six minutes as first Inzaghi and then Pato sprung the Partenopei offside trap. Inzaghi volleyed home from inside the box on two minutes and Pato latched on to a Inzaghi flick on near the semi-circle to finish past De Sanctis on six minutes. However after that it was all Napoli as the Azzurri piled pressure on the Milan defence through out the game. They were denied by Dida on numerous occassions and one move in particular saw the Brazilian make three saves. Inzaghi then wasted a great opportunity to kill the game as after rounding Castellazi he failed to hit the open goal. Milan's problems were further compounded when Ignazio Abate was sent-off with four minutes left for his second bookable offence. Napoli then pulled one back in spectacular fashion as substitute Cigarni volleyed home a cleared corner from the edge of the box in the first minute of injury time. This reinvigorated the whole squad who now went looking hungrily for a dramatic equaliser. In the third minute of injury time, the goal did arrive as another substitute Denis headed home to save Napoli from the jaws of defeat. Leonardo will once again have to answer to his critics as he made some questionable decisions in the game. Milan had lost Nesta early on through a muscular problem and despite them being two goals ahead he brought on Borriello for Inzaghi when normally he would have been expected to bring some defensive cover.
Roma suffered their third successive defeat at Udinese. Antonio Floro Flores opened the scoring for the home team with a headed goal on 21 minutes. Roma were on the back foot for much of the half but hit back through De Rossi on 42 minutes. A Juan header was blocked by Handanovic but De Rossi was present to score from the loose ball. The second half kicked off in the worst possible manner for the Romans as Rodrigo Taddei was sent off for hurling insults at the referee. With their numerical superiority Udinese exerted further pressure on the Giallorossi but they held on. Soon both teams were down to ten men as Basta was sent off for his second caution of the evening. And then six minutes from the end Flores scored from another header to give the home side the lead. Roma had a chance to equalize later but Vucinic squandered a glorious opportunity as he failed to connect properly with a Cicinho ball across the face of goal. The defeat meant that Ranieri's men lost their third match in a row and have only collected five points from their previous six games. Protests were taken out agains the club asking Rosella Sensi, the president, to step down. If things do not change fast Roma may be looking at a second coaching change with just ten games gone.
The Romanisti however can take slight comfort in the fact that the capital's other side Lazio are having an equally miserable run. Wednesday night saw the team lose at the Olimpico to Cagliari because of a Muslera howler. The goalkeeper failed to clean collect a freekick and let the ball slip out of his grasp; Matri made no mistake in front of goal to punish this error. The loss meant that Lazio haven't won in the league since Matchday 2. The team have scored only 7 times in their opening 10 games and coach Ballardini looks helpless. The Ultras made their voice heard in the blue section of Rome too as protestors marched to the training ground and reportedly hurled smoke bombs. Like their counterparts Lazio too have to find a solution to their struggles quickly if they are to avoid a long hard season ahead.
Genoa were looking to halt their slide down the table as they welcomed Fiorentina after losing to Inter and Cagliari in the previous rounds. The game was full of chances and like the weekend the Viola had their keeper Frey to thank as he made a number of saves to keep the game level. Palladino opened the scoring in the 43rd minute with a cool finish in front of goal. Fiorentina tried desperately to find an equalizer and were denied twice by the woodwork but it proved to be third time lucky as Marchioini found the net in the 64th minute. But the Genovese side scored the winner through Mesto who half-volleyed diagonally from close range after receiving the ball from Palacio. The win saw them climb up above their opponents into sixth place.
Livorno continued their revival under new coach Serse Cosmi as they won their second game in a row against visiting Atalanta. The Amaranto won thanks to a Miglionico header from a corner. The win sees Livorno move to 18th in the table level on points with Atalanta and Bologna. Bologna recorded their first win in five games as they defeated Siena 2-1 at home. Goals from Adailton and Osvaldo won the game for them, Calaio scored late on for the visitors. Parma too returned to winning ways as two stunning strikes from Bojinov and Paloschi earned them a 2-0 victory against Bari. The result sees the Ducali sitting in an incredible fourth place on their return to the top tier.
Thursday night's game between Inter and Palermo saw Walter Zenga, the Palermo coach, return to the side where he kept goal for 12 years. But Zenga's side were down in the 5th minute as Balotelli was quite foolishly brought down in the area and Eto'o duly converted the resulting penalty. Cavani had an effort sail well wide before a Simplicio drive was palmed away by Julio Cesar. Balotelli got on the score sheet himself after heading in a Maicon corner in the 34th minute. Inter scored two more before the break as first Balotelli got a final touch on a Cambiasso header in the 42nd minute and just a minute later Super Mario turned provider for Eto'o who scored his second of the night. At 4-0 one would have forgiven if they thought the game was over but Zenga's men had other plans. Inter introduced Santon for Chivu at the beginning of the half and then also threw on Milito as Balotelli was suffering an allergic reaction. Miccoli shrugged Cordoba off the ball and looped the ball over Cesar to make it 4-1 within three minutes of the restart. The Sicilians pulled another one back as Cavani squared the ball to Abel Hernandez on the 61st minute and suddenly it looked as if the game may still be alive. Milito then squandered an opportunity to add further distance as his tame shot in front of goal was deflected away. But at the other end unbelievably Palermo made it 4-3 as Miccoli scored his second of the night after collecting a long pass. The Nerazzuri couldn't quite comprehend what was going on. Palermo still had another 27 minutes to complete the mother of all comebacks. However, those hopes were dented when Maicon single-handedly setup Inter's fifth which was scored by Milito on 83 minutes. Milito could have added a sixth in injury time but he failed to control Muntari's ball whilst all alone in front of goal. The 5-3 win was no doubt the highlight of the midweek fixtures and helped Inter extend their lead at the top to four points. Inter have 25 to Juve's 21, Sampdoria are are on 20 and Parma on 17, Milan lie in fifth with 16 points.
In other midweek action from around the globe the biggest talking point was in Spain as third division side Alcoron humiliated Los Galacticos 4-0 in the first leg of their Copa Del Rey tie. The Segunda B side showed little fear of Madrid and this defeat has really put the pressure on coach Manuel Pellegrini. Reports suggest that Roberto Mancini, the former Inter coach, may replace Pellegrini if he is sacked.
Highlights
Juventus 5-1 Sampdoria
Napoli 2-2 AC Milan
Genoa 2-1 Fiorentina
Udinese 2-1 Roma
Inter 5-3 Palermo
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