In football, as in sport, the margins between victory and defeat are minimal. And for Inter Milan and Rafa Benitez, a single moment can often be the difference between a good weekend and a bad one...
Inter’s weekend certainly got off to a good start on Friday night, with a precious away win at perennial underachievers Genoa.
In a tight game, it took a speculative effort in first half stoppage time from Ghanaian midfielder Sulley Muntari to settle matters. The shot, from 25 yards, seemed destined for the gloves of goalkeeper Eduardo, until a bobble saw the Portuguese shot stopper undone.
The win saw Inter temporarily go a point behind leaders Lazio, as Genoa were left to rue missed chances, the pitch and their goal keeper’s lapsed concentration.
Saturday saw AC Milan face Juventus, knowing that a win would see them also close the gap on Lazio, whilst having the bonus of going above their neighbours. But Luigi Del Neri’s rejuvenated side grabbed a famous victory at the San Siro, to put the Old Lady herself back in with a shout in the race for the Scudetto.
On a glorious night for Juve it was a case of the old and the new combining to great effect. Fabio Quagliarella got things moving with a header on 24 minutes. The second half then saw Alessandro Del Piero etch his name further into Juventus history, with his 179th strike for the club, making him their all time top scorer in Serie A.
And although Ibrahimovic pulled a goal back on 82 minutes for the home side, Juve held on to go to within two points of AC Milan.
Roma also continued their recovery with a 2-0 victory over visitors Lecce. Despite dominating throughout, it wasn’t until just after the hour mark that the home side scored, with Nicholas Burdisso heading in from John Arne Riise’s cross.
The flashpoint of the game then came on 76 minutes, as man of the match Mirko Vucinic cut in from the left to add a second. The ensuing celebrations saw Francesco Totti clash with Lecce’s Ruben Olivera with both men sent off and the Roma captain having to be restrained from pursuing the Uruguayan for further retaliation.
Sunday saw another side continue their rehabilitation with Udinese securing a 2-0 away with at Bari. Alexis Sanchez was the star of the show, opening the scoring on 15 minutes, and putting Mauricio Isla through on goal for the second on the hour mark.
Incredibly, the win saw Udinese rise to 13th, whilst Bari fell to bottom in the table with Paulo Barreto left to rue a missed penalty which would have seen the home side draw level before half time.
Parma escaped the relegation zone, following a battling draw at home to Chievo . The home side spent much of the second half with ten men, following the dismissal of Blerim Dzemaili after receiving a second yellow card.
But the Flying Donkey’s failed to capitalize on the numerical advantage and in the 83rd minute Gelson Fernandes suffered a similar fate, after receiving a second yellow card, to even up the teams and send the game into a stalemate.
The bottom three is currently rounded off by Cesena and Bologna who both endured defeats on Sunday. The latter fell to a 2-0 defeat at relegation rivals Cagliari in what was billed as a crucial game for both sides.
The Sardinian’s dominated for long spells and took the lead on 51 minutes through Brazilian Nene. Marco Di Vaio then missed a golden opportunity to level the scores with a point blank header before Radja Nainggolan put the game beyond doubt with a precise strike on 79 minutes.
Elsewhere, Cesena were dealt a cruel blow at the hands of Sampdoria. The home side were looking for their first win since early season home victories over AC Milan and then Lecce, which had seen the newly promoted team occupying the upper echelons of Serie A after the first three fixtures.
Since then, Cesena have endured a nightmare and have now picked up just 1 point from a possible 18. In truth, Sunday’s game against Sampdoria could have gone either way. But as the home side pushed for a winner, they were cruelly punished on the break, with Samp’s Giampaolo Pazzini scoring his first goal of the season, deep in stoppage time.
The win left the away side in 6th, just four points of Inter in second and only a point behind Napoli, who enjoyed another good day on the road, winning 1-0 at Brescia. The sky blues’ coach, gambled on resting key players in preparation for Thursdays’ Europa League tie with Liverpool and the move proved a success, though only just.
The game was decided in the 77th minute with Ezequiel Lavezzi scoring from close range following good work from Marek Hamsik. The defeat was the home side’s fifth in a row, which left Brescia on the edge of the relegation zone and with pressure mounting on the little Swallows boss Giuseppe Iachini.
With AC Milan losing this week and Inter held last weekend, Lazio had the chance to pull four points clear at the top of Serie A. However, in order to do so they would have to overcome a Palermo side who were in good form and held home advantage.
The Romans however showed just why they are the front runners in Italy with a win that marked their fifth in a row and their seventh of the nine games played thus far. Andre Dias scored with Lazio’s first real chance of the game on 27 minutes and whilst Palermo dominated for much of the match, they were unable to make their chances count, even when Giuseppe Biava saw red for the away side with 13 minutes to go.
Next weekend sees Lazio face a Totti-less Roma in the annual Rome derby. For the first time in nearly a decade, there could be more than just pride at stake for Lazio. Whisper it carefully around Italy, but there could even be a Scudetto to think about.