Reuters
The big story of the weekend was the snow that postponed four matches including the much anticipated Fiorentina-AC Milan match, rescheduled for January 27. However, the weekend still had plenty of drama, especially around Juventus. In honor of the holiday season, this week’s Lessons will be handing out presents to various people and teams in Serie A:
Stocking of Coal to Juventus Manager Ciro Ferrara
When your job is hanging by a thread and you are playing a club (Catania) at your stadium that has not beaten you there in 46 years, you should probably win the match. Instead the Bianconeri dropped another match thanks to an Izco goal in the 87th minute. The biggest concern for the management must be the fans turning against the club – fans at one goal turned their back on the team, and that was the polite protest.
A Hotel Upgrade for Sampdoria
Sampdoria’s road skid that reaches back to September 13 was extended by Livorno this weekend. Tomas Danilevicius scored the go-ahead (47th min.) and clinching (90th min.) goals for the home club. The win greatly helps Livorno gain some distance from relegation, while Sampdoria falls to eighth in the standings.
An Oxygen Mask for Inter Fans
It was not only the dramatic 1-0 victory over Lazio that caused Inter fans to gasp for air. Rather, it was the up-and-down nature of the past few weeks that has caused heartburn to the faithful. Despite having a firm grasp on the top of the standings, Inter has been unable to take advantage of the inconsistency of Juventus and AC Milan. Additionally, it took Inter the full number of matches in the group stage to advance in the Champions League. At least Inter fans can go into the break happy with their standing.
A Shorter Winter Break for AS Roma
Roma’s huge 2-0 win over Parma moved them into fourth place in the table and in control of their spot for the Champions League next year. It was a few weeks ago that we were wondering if Roma could even secure a Europa League spot. Now the January transfer period will be there opportunity to secure a striker or other reinforcement for a possible Champions League bid. If only they did not need to take a few weeks off.
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Totally agree with you, especially on the point about Inter needing to take advantage of Juventus and AC Milans troubles, if they can get themselves a comfortable lead, they can start focusing on the Champions League.