Internaz ionale are still in top spot. Milan
won and lost. Fiorentina and Roma kept
up with the leaders and Juventus slipped up.
Siena climbed out of trouble whilst Palermo stuttered
(again). Lazio may have kick started
their season whereas Napoli dropped points on
the leaders. Reggina did their
relegation dogfight chances no harm whereas Cagliari is looking at Serie B. Atalanta won and lost. Genoa
climbed whilst Empoli lost ground. Parma slipped up as did
Udinese. Livorno
climbed whilst Empoli fell.
FIXTURES
Livorno V Juventus
A home draw in Turin
meant an end to the Bianconeri Scuddetto hopes.
Whilst a win for Livorno took them out
of the relegation dogfight a tad.
Juventus aren’t as good on the road as they are in Turin
but should have enough to beat a midtable Livorno.
Both sides will be at less than full strength but look out
for Trezeguet, Iaqunita or Tavano to score.
Much will depend on who scores first.
Draw.
Roma V Palermo
Roma continue to look good for second place with another win
whilst Palermo dropped points at Siena. Winless in three the Rosaneri are stumbling
and will need to be at their best to beat Roma in Rome.
Look to see who copes best between the sticks with both Doni
and Fontana
equally capable of stunning saves or comedy errors. Roma are almost at full strength whilst Palermo will tweak things
a little to try to turn things around.
Home Win.
Sampdoria V Siena
A good draw for the Blucherati and a good win for the
Robur. A good middle of the table clash
with both clubs looking at the teams around them. The home game will benefit Sampdoria more as their
form in Tuscany is good, Siena don’t travel as well but will be buoyed by last
weeks away win.
Both sides miss key players but have ample threat up front,
Forestieri for the visitors and Bellucci for Sampdoria.
Draw.
Atalanta V Reggina
Both teams coming off wins will be looking to consolidate
with another three points. Atalanta are
handy at home whilst Reggina remain winless on the road.
Both sides will be full of confidence but the quick
succession of games could hinder the home side with the Calabrian side
fresher.
Brienza; Reggina’s new additions scored on his debut and
Doni back and playing well for the home side.
Home Win.
Cagliari V Napoli
Neither side got a helpful result last week and a turnaround
will be expected from the fans. The
Azzurri started brightly but have tailed off as the season wears on, the
Rossoblu are just bad this season, Serie B looms large.
Manager and one very naughty player are suspended for the
trip to the Stadio Sant’Elia, the Rossoblu are awash with injury problems.
Jeda and Matri must find the net for Cagliari and expect some South American
inspired flair in front of goal from the Azzurri.
Away Win
Empoli V Fiorentina
Empoli are embroiled in the relegation battle already and a
win is needed with the struggling Lazio in their sights. Fiorentina could match Juventus for points
with a win. One corner of Tuscany haven’t won in
four although are unbeaten at home in five, another corner is on a run of three
wins.
The Gigliati are at full strength, whilst the home side may
struggle to field a full set of strikers.
Mutu is in fine form and Vieri is weighing in with his share. It’ll be a tough afternoon for Balli.
Away win.
Milan V Genoa
Milan come off a tough win
and a tough defeat whilst Genoa
are climbing the table with two consecutive Serie A wins. Genoa have
trouble scoring away from home whilst Milan
are terrible at the San Siro this season.
Milan will be looking for the same UEFA
Cup spot that Genoa
is after.
SuperPippo is the only injury for the Rossoneri so selection
will be key for Ancellotti. Injury,
suspensions and unfit players hamper the Rossoblu who are still confident.
Which of the Brazilians will partner Kaka and will Seedorf
play further forward? Can Milan owned Borriello
score against his owners?
Draw.
Torino V Lazio
Both sides hover just above the relegation zone in a
precarious manner; two grand old clubs in trouble. Torino’s
recent form is worse than Lazio’s, although only just. Rolando Bianchi has just moved to Rome from Manchester,
although a move to Turin
was thought more likely. This will add
####e if the Italian U21 hitman gets a start or is on the bench for the
Biancocelesti.
Neither side is at full strength whilst not being as
depleted as some teams.
Goals are the problems so no matter whom starts expect the
experience of record breaking Ballotta and Sereni to be vital to the
outcome.
Last season Lazio mounted a 4-0 smash and grab in Turin.
Draw.
Udinese V Inter
Internaz ionale should be reeling with some dubious
performances in 2008, they are still unbeaten though. Susceptible but resilient; in no small part
thanks to the goals of Ibrahimovic and Cruz the Nerazzurri still top Serie
A. Last week saw Udinese lose late on to
Milan and drop
a place behind Fiorentina and back into the UEFA Cup places.
Udine
is a tough place to visit with only two losses this season. Inter are escapologists supreme; particularly
after the last two weeks.
Neither side is at full strength; Mancini has more problems
than Marino but does have some stars returning.
This game will be all about goals and in Cruz, Ibrahimovic
and Quagliarella; one of the better Italian marksmen from open play; will all
want to get some action.
Inter’s amazing streak of not losing will be severely tested
by the Zebretta and to be lucky four times on the bounce would be unfeasibly
spawny.
Nerrazzuri play hard, physical football with some wonderful touches of
skill and touch to come from behind in the Derby della Madonnina. AC Milan has passages of lovely attacking
play but a refereeing lapse and some awful play from the defenders and ‘keeper
hand Cambiaso the winner.
Sunday at the San Siro, the
magnificent stadium is this week the home of Inter#### onale with AC Milan as
the away team. The Christmas break looms
and a win is more vital for Ancellotti’s side; who are faltering in Serie A. Mancini’s team wants the win to increase
their Serie A lead. The contest is a
historic and hard fought affair.
Mancini manages to pick a world
class side despite his injuries. None of
the starting eleven are Italian. Cesar keeps
goal with a South American back four of Maicon, Samuel, Cordoba and Maxwell, the midfield is mostly
South American with a touch of Romanian class, Zanetti, Chivu, Cambiaso and
Jiminez form a rotating midfield diamond.
Up front Ibrahimovic and Cruz form a potent strike threat; nine goals apiece
in Serie A; the 4 4 2 is more attacking for the home game.
Ancelotti; tired from a long but
fruitful World Club Championship victory in Japan; plays his first Serie A game
since early December. His team has
starts with Italians but has a definite international flair. Dida keeps goal with a back four of Oddo,
Nesta, Kaladze and Maldini. The
Christmas Tree formation sees Gattuso, Pirlo and Ambrosini as the deeper
midfielders, Kaka and Seedorf adding width and Inzaghi providing the goal
threat.
The first Milan thrust forward is a long ball up to
Inzaghi, meat and drink for Samuel.
Seedorf attacks down the left but his cross is sliced awry, then Oddo’s
cross is safely claimed by Cesar.
The game is played at pace, Inter
attacks the flanks switching play almost effortlessly. Maldini shows that experience will often beat
skill, strength and pace as he marshalls
Ibrahimovic and dispossesses him.
The initial tackles are fierce
with Gattuso educating Jiminez as to the intensity of a Milan Derby. Jiminez accepts the lesson then attacks,
initiating a move which see an unmarked Ibrahimovic at the back post show great
technique and poor aim as his powerful volley sails high.
Jiminez is working hard and shows
some nice touches with Ibrahimovic and Maxwell on the left then he combines
with Chivu on the same side.
Milan is being forced on the back foot but
keep trying to play their own possession football in the middle of the
park. This almost works when a good
Seedorf ball over the top almost finds Inzaghi who had beaten Cordoba.
Samuel defends the run of Kaka
well but the Brazilian has yet to get into the game.
Milan is starting to win the midfield battle despite
the tightness and tough harrying football Inter are employing. Another neat through ball bisects Inter,
forcing Samuel to haul down Inzaghi on the edge of the area. From twenty yards out Pirlo is very good and
with Ambrosini bossing the wall finds the top corner with Cesar rooted to the
spot.
PIRLO - DOING WHAT HE DOES BEST!
Ibrahimovic intercepts a poor
Kaladze forward pass and plays in Cruz on the left, the cross dips in to the
box and Dida gets a hand to it to take it away from Chivu, Jiminez is free at
the back post and his fierce shot comes off the face of the crossbar. The Chilean slips when under pressure from
Pirlo in the Milan
area, Morganti isn’t interested.
The game is tight and combative
with Inter exploding into action when they break forward. Milan’s
game is less frenetic and more subtle.
Gattuso gets an almost inevitable
yellow. The free kick is deep on the
Inter right and is well delivered forcing Seedorf to concede the corner,
Maldini clears another good Inter delivery then the next ball is well met by
Milan, the Rossonerri break but Zanetti has the pace and skill to track back and
deny Kaka with a good, well timed challenge.
The tough tackling and harrying
continues from both sides as the play spends more time in the congested
midfield. Inter get a good chance with a
central free kick which Chivu manages to get over the wall, Dida is well placed
for an easy catch.
Jiminez is denied a killer
through ball to Cruz by a great Ambrosini block, Milan comes away with the ball
and Kaka has time and space to run at Samuel, the defender is turned inside out
so much by the pace and trickery of the Brazilian that he gets injured, a last
ditch interception by Cambiaso sees Kaka flop over in the box, Morganti
probably gets the decision right as he waves play on.
Inter reshuffle a little while
Samuel gets treatment. They are a team
driven and well organized and Ibrahimovic evades the attention of three Milan
defenders to poke the ball to Cambiaso on the right the Argentinean cuts the
ball across for his countryman Cruz who brushes aside the Milan challenges to
fire in a near post shot, Dida gets a hand to it but can’t stop the shot,
pretty poor to be beaten that easily at the near post.
The equalizer comes whilst Inter
were down to ten men, Materazzi comes on as a substitute to make eleven.
Jiminez continues to cause
trouble and Kaladze gets away with a handball to end a Chilean inspired
attack. The Nerrazzurri are turning up
the pace of the game once more.
YOUNG CHILEAN TALENT!
The ex Blue, Materazzi hasn’t
found the pace of the game and of his first three tackles on Kaka two are
fouls, one earning the big defender a card.
The Inter pressure is patient and
they spread the play from left to right before coming inside and finding Zanetti,
the veteran’s shot is wide. Jiminez is
caught by Ambrosini whilst pulling the trigger and Ibrahimovic’s daisy cutter
free kick doesn’t beat Dida.
Ancelotti freshens things up at
the half with the introduction of the receding Emerson and his last fit
striker, Gilardino. Gattuso and Inzaghi
retire tired and hurt.
Inter start as they left off,
fast and furiously. Milan keeps playing their way and gets the
first of the second half chances.
Maldini is at the end of a flowing passage of play with a great near
post cross, Gilardino’s stooping header finds the ball but it flies wide.
Milan create a good opportunity
again, Kaka’s play starting the move, the Brazilian cuts a perfectly weighted
ball inside and Pirlo decides to do a fancy stepover instead of a netbusting
shot, with no one behind him; Emerson having pulled to the back post the chance
goes begging and Inter clear.
Kaka is seeing more ball in the
game and that is helping Milan
threaten their cross city rivals.
The pressure is relived with some
effort, skill and good Inter possession which ends with poor Chivu shot to
allow Milan to
come out again.
Serginho comes on for a disappointed
Seedorf and his impact is instant, he takes advantage of the tiredness of
Maicon on the Inter right, twice he gets forward on the flanks and delivers
good, telling crosses.
Milan possession is broken up with a Cambiaso
tug on Pirlo’s shorts, the Argentinean pushes forward and finds Cruz on the
left, his countryman cuts the ball back across the area and Maldini is in
position to make an easy clearance. The
veteran’s header is weak and poor and Cambiaso takes advantage with a shot,
Dida is flummoxed and let’s the shot through his legs.
HOW TO CELBRATE A WINNING GOAL!
SO GOOD TODAY HIS HAIR FELL OUT!
From then on in Inter
dominate. The game gets stretched at
times but never had the cut and thrust of the early exchanges with scrappiness
creeping in from both sides.
Gilardino and Ambrosini can’t
combine to beat Cesar in the six yard box.
Nesta shows his skill with a
wonderful marshalling of Ibrahimovic.
Ibrahimovic moves well for a big
man with a delightful cut back but his shot goes wide.
Cordoba beats Gilardino to a good Oddo cross
from deep.
Emerson dallies, is robbed by
Pele but the attempted lob is overcooked.
Cesar parries one wide from a
fierce Kaka shot; Maicon’s clearance to his countryman was tired.
Serginho delivers a succulent
ball into the six yard box and with the Inter defence beaten Ambrosini scuffs
it woefully wide.
Mancini’s team are deceptively
good, they showed strength to come back from behind but looked ragged at
times. They have an ability to dominate
sides and showed this today. A restful
Christmas will; perhaps; sort out a few knocks and leave the team fresh and
looking for more wins.
Ancelotti’s problems mount with a
performance littered with some shoddy play and only fitfully excellent. With the lead Milan should be at their best but they were
unmanned by the pace, power and application of Inter. A bitter derby defeat which leaves the
Rossoneri pretty much out of the Scudetto race.
Not picked as the Italian
refereeing representative for Euro 08 the experienced man in the middle showed
his credentials in a hotly contested game.
He officiated tough early on and
set the tone with a ‘play on’ type mentality.
He brooked no dissent or shirt pulling and was maybe unsighted for the
blatant tug that led to the second Inter goal.
Stern yet fair but maybe his legs gave the Euro spot to Rossetti, twice
Morganti needed treatment.
Nerrazzuri dominate first half, Napoli fight back in second half but
lack the quality to trouble Champions; 2-1 at the San Siro.
Saturday at the San Siro, away
fans have been banned but some have mad the trip and sit in the home section. The Stadio Guiseppe Meazza hosted a Napoli for the first time since the 01/02 season. Napoli was
resting in midweek as Internaz ionale thumped PSV so tired legs may be a factor
for Mancini’s side.
Mancini really hasn’t had his
full squad to pick from, no Maicon, Dacourt, Viera or Materazzi; the eleven he
fields is still packed with quality; Cesar in goal with a back four of Samuel
and Cordoba in the middle, Zanetti on the right and Chivu on the left; Cambiaso
anchors the midfield with Stankovic alongside him, Cesar and Figo provide
width, up front Ibrahimovic and Cruz form a potent strike threat, the 4 4 2 is
more attacking for the home game.
Reja goes with Iezzo in goal,
coming back after missing three games; a back three of Cannavaro; no his
younger brother!; Contini and Domizzi; a middle five has Grava and Bogliacino
on the flanks with Gargano sitting in, Savini supporting the attack and Hamsik
playing box to box; veteran and youngster provide no mean strike threat as
Zalyeta and Lavezzi already have four goals between them this season.
Inter are strong from the start;
poor Napoli defending barely manages to protect Iezzo when Figo and Ibrahimovic
push forward; Cambiaso and Chivu also cause trouble from the left; Napoli’s first attack ends up with Samuel blocking
Hamsik’s shot.
The break is on for Napoli, hard work from Lavezzi allows him to drop a great
ball into the danger area, Samuel flails but the ball won’t sit for Zalyeta,
Samuel recovers in time to clear the ball; Zanetti and Figo create problems at
the other end.
Samuels picks up a yellow.
Cruz is offside on a Figo through
ball; then the Argentinean gets onto a loose ball in the middle and plays in
Ibrahimovic, the Swede draws in four defenders and still manages to stab the
ball into the path of the onrushing Cruz for Inter’s first goal.
Napoli don’t collapse; they have
to work hard to defend the Champions but always look to attack on the break;
Inter want the second goal and dominate midfield with good passing and great
tackling.
Hamsik fires in from the edge of
the area but Cesar easily covers; Cesar delivers a great back post cross to
Ibrahimovic but Domizzi heads clear; Figo find Ibrahimovic but the shot goes
wide; Stankovic plays a through ball from the middle, Ibrahimovic flicks it on
but Iezzo is equal to Cruz; Samuel hacks down a flying Lavezzi, astonishingly
he doesn’t see a second yellow; Hamsik delivers a good free kick which no one
can get a touch on; Gargano tries to find Lavezzi with a deep ball but it skids
to far on the slick surface; Zalyeta crosses to the back post but the ball is a
touch too long; Stankovic plays a simple ball over the top, Cruz beats the
offside and with great skills chests it down and smashes it past Iezzo with his
left foot.
Stankovic gets a yellow as Lavezzi
is fouled again; then the young Argentinean is clearly obstructed by Cambiaso
but play is allowed to continue; Stankovic plays another sweet ball from the
middle, Ibrahimovic finds Cruz and the forward puts his easiest chance wide;
Cannavaro gets a yellow card which the referee comes fifty yards to present;
Cesar puts a ball in for Ibrahimovic, the Swede is thwarted with a great
reaction stop from Iezzo; Napoli’s last two moves end with poor finishes;
Hamsik with a woeful free kick and Savini shooting wildly.
Chivu comes off for Maxwell at
the half for the only change.
Inter, seemingly confident in
their prowess, hold back on the attacking surges in the second half, their
defending remains stout; with numbers up Napoli are limited to a long range Gargano
shot; Hamsik surges forward and wins a corner, from the rebound Lavezzi shoots
poorly; more good build up play and the chance falls to Zalyeta, he chooses to
chip Cesar instead of a pass or ball across the face of goal, Cesar claims
easily; the Brazilian punches well clear at the end of the net, patient attack
from the visitors; Garics, on for Grava, works the ball on the right, the
position is promising and he has support, the ball into the area is a good one
but the play almost immediately falls apart, Napoli finding it tough to find
quality in the area and Napoli working really hard.
The traffic is heavy for Napoli but not all one way, Ibrahimovic gets a in on
goals and fires a shot just wide.
Domizzi gets to take a 35 yard
free kick and misses by only a yard with a well taken screamer; Zanetti gets
forward and crosses for Cruz who is inches away from heading in his hat trick;
Cesar claims the ball from Lavezzi’s cross, Napoli flounder at the back in
uncharacteristic fashion and Cruz almost gets a third; crosses come in from
Napoli but they are either cleared or Cesar’s; Suazo gets a chance at the
expense of a less than happy Cruz; the Argentinean is doubly annoyed as the
Honduran fluffs a chance wide from eight yards after great play and a cross from
Figo on the right. Tails up Internaz
ionale mount some attacking moves; a five man thing of beauty has a good Figo
cross on the end of it but Garics is the re to head behind; substitute Burdiso
head the ball in narrowly wide; buoyant and still working hard the Napoli team
continues to mount attacks on Inter, Lavezzi, tired but giving it up for the
team again is at the heart of good things for Napoli, he works the ball on the
right and gets to the byline, a pulled back cross arrives at the back post to meet
the perfectly timed run and leap of substitute Sosa; the attacker leaps
imperiously above Maxwell and connects, sending the ball back across goal and
in at the far post; Reja immediately brings on another striker, Calaio for
Hamzic to show his attacking intent; but the final few minutes of the game don’t
really allow for any goal chances from either team.
Mancini’s team were awesome in
the first half, defensively strong, hard working all over the pitch and with
enough attacking options and flair to trouble any defenders, and this is largely Internaz ionale’s B
Team. Second half they stopped attacking
and just defended for most of the 45, they still looked solid and worked well
as a team, never really being overly troubled, and when the decided to attack
they almost got a goal. Complete
football, good to watch, tough to beat.
Reja’s, a manager known for his
defensive prowess; team looked all at sea in the first five minutes, a team
made up of Serie B players with a few additions managed to find their feet and
worked hard against the current Serie A Champions; they didn’t just sit back
with men behind the ball but looked to attack whenever they could. Two behind at half time wasn’t an
insurmountable lead; the away side attacked in the second half and had the
bulk of possession, the last ball in was
generally poor and they really didn’t trouble Cesar, they took their chance and
still attacked but Inter were too strong for the Southern side.
The referee gave out a lot of
yellows in a game that wasn’t nasty, but they were; for the most part
warranted, Cannavaro’s yellow was too harsh, the referee was all of fifty yards
away at the time; a very authoritarian style which mostly worked, Samuel’s
second challenge on Lavezzi was worst than his first and should have seen the
Argentinean sent off and Cambiaso clearly stepped in front of his compatriot to
break up a run but went unpunished. You’d
have to say a c+ for the man in the middle.
