Things took a decisive turn this weekend at both ends of the table following another round of topsy-turvy games in Serie A this Saturday.
At the summit of the league, AC Milan all but sealed their first Scudetto in six years with a narrow victory over an increasingly doomed Brescia.
The game appeared to be heading towards a stalemate at the Stadio Rigamonti with neither side able to break the deadlock. But with just eight minutes remaining, Robinho struck a decisive goal for the Rossoneri, to leave the hosts five points off safety.
The win also allowed Milan to open up a seemingly unassailable eight point lead at the top, with Napoli’s challenge all but over. The Sky Blues have endured a difficult couple of weeks with last Sunday’s defeat to Udinese compounded further by another loss to Palermo on Saturday.
It started so well too with Edison Cavani giving Walter Mazzarri’s team the early lead from the spot following a handball from Mattia Cassani. But Palermo were in front before half time with goals from Federico Balzaretti and Cesare Bovo (with a penalty of his own) completing the turnaround and breaking Neapolitan hearts in the process.
AC Milan’s nearest rivals in the table are now Inter Milan, who produced a stirring fight back against Champions League hopefuls Lazio.
Mauro Zárate had given the visitors a 25th minute lead from the spot, following the dismissal of keeper Júlio César for the home side. Nevertheless Inter drew level with five minutes remaining in the first period, courtesy of a 25 yard free kick from Wesley Sneijder.
The stage was then set for the Serie A top scorer Samuel Eto’o, who pounced just eight minutes into the second half to give the Nerazzurri all three points and denting Lazio’s European hopes further. The late sending off of Stefano Mauri for the Romans only added to a bad weekend in the blue half of the Capital.
In fact, the loss allowed their cross town rivals, Roma, to cut the gap between themselves and the coveted fourth spot to just four points. Simone Perrotta was the hero at the Stadio Olimpico as the Giallorossi won 1-0 over Chievo. Meanwhile, this loss left the Flying Donkeys four points off relegation and far from safety just yet.
Another matchup between the haves and the have nots of Serie A saw Parma travel to the league’s form team- Udinese. The little Zebras were expected to make short work of their relegation threatened visitors, yet they were behind after just thirteen minutes with Amauri on target for Parma.
The game was then turned on it’s head in the 22nd minute with the dismissal of Gökhan İnler for the home side. The Swiss international will want to forget the incident which saw him first booked for a foul on Sebastian Giovinco and then red carded after man handling the referee.
Despite Parma being a man up and seemingly in control, the visitors had to wait until stoppage time to seal the much needed win through another Amauri strike, all of which leaves them just a point off Chievo.
But whilst Udinese remain a point off Lazio in fourth, Juventus’s hopes of European football are all but over following a crushing draw with lowly Catania.
A first half double from Alessandro Del Piero looked to have put the Old Lady of Turin in control going into half time. But Alejandro Gómez’s 81st minute goal set up a nervy finale which ultimately ended with a leveller for Catania, which came courtesy of a stunning 95th minute free kick from Francesco Lodi!
The draw left Catania two points clear of the relegation places and level on points with Cesena who took three points from a Bologna side with little left to play for this season. A goal early in the second half from Emanuele Giaccherni set them on their way before Dominique Malonga added the decisive second late in the game at the Renato Dall’Ara Stadium.
Two other sides with little to play for in Serie A are Fiorentina and Cagliari who met at Stadio Sant’Elia in Sardinia. In the end the Viola broke the deadlock with Alessio Cerci opening the scoring on 45 minutes. The goals continued to fly at the start of the second period with Andrea Cossu levelling matters on 46 minutes before Cerci got what proved to be the winner four minutes later.
Arguably the story of the weekend saw Genoa helping out their bitter rivals Sampdoria in their on-going fight against relegation. Going into this weekend’s games, Samp were three points off Lecce and in dire need of a quick turnaround.
Enter Il Vecchio Balordo (the Old Fool!), who put on an impressive display against the previously rejuvenated Lecce to win 4-2. Things started well enough for the visitors with Lecce going ahead through David Di Michele after just three minutes.
But Genoa were soon level through Antonio Floro Flores on the ten minute mark. Back came the away side with Di Michele grabbing his second to restore the lead. But five minutes before the break Genoa were level once again through Rodrigo Palacio.
The second period was a slightly different story. With the Apulians visibly stretched, it was left to first Palacio and then Floro Flores to complete doubles and seal what could prove a pivotal win in the battle for Serie A survival.
This was all the more apparent given that Sampdoria overcame a doomed Bari at the San Nicola stadium. In truth the game looked to be heading for a draw until Erik Huseklepp’s foul on Andrea Poli in the box gave Nicola Pozzi the chance to grab all three points for Samp. However, they still had to survive the late dismissal of Poli.
The win saw Sampdoria move out of the relegation zone on goal difference at the expense of Lecce, whilst any hopes Bari had of pulling off a mathematical miracle ended too. And although the same miraculous turnaround may now be required for this season’s Scudetto to end up out of AC Milan’s hands, as the old saying goes “it ain’t over until it’s over.”