AC Milan fans saw the best and worst of their squad this weekend in London as the club competed in what has become a big-name tournament.  The Emirates Cup is a two-day preseason event where host Arsenal and three clubs (many of whom are sponsored by Emirates Airlines) compete to win the Emirates trophy but more importantly have the chance to play their entire squads against good competition.

The 2010 edition was won by Arsenal with eight total points, while the Rossoneri finished last with four.  Milan faced the hosts on Saturday and Ligue 1′s Lyon on Sunday, with Celtic as the fourth club.  A win was worth three points and a tie worth one, with a point awarded for each goal scored.

The first match against Arsenal could have gone spectacularly wrong for Milan on Saturday.  They fell behind early on a goal by new Arsenal striker Marouane Chamakh in the 36th minute, and if it were not by some quality keeping by Christian Abbiati they could have been down by more.  Arsenal dominated possession early in the second half as substitutes like Theo Wolcott constantly threatened in the Milan half.  However, Arsenal lived up to their reputation and despite some nice passing, failed to score the decisive second goal.  Alexandre Pato made them pay in the seventy-seventh minute.  He headed in a free kick from Clarence Seedorf from just outside the box.

The second match saw new keeper Marco Amelia start in goal, as well as starters Clarence Seedorf and Marco Borriello.  It was the latter who scored the first goal of the game in the fifty-fifth minute and it was the former who again set up the scoring chance with a nice pass through to Borriello.  While both sides had excellent scoring chances and the Rossoneri played well overall, they still gave up the tying goal in the eightieth minute to deny themselves three points.

While the Emirates Cup is only two preseason matches, AC Milan fans could should feel confident about their club.  Both keepers looked quality although it helped that some serious chances hit the crossbars.  Clarence Seedorf played very well and looks to be ready for the next season.  The new defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos also contributed in the Arsenal match and looks like a good signing so far.  So although the club finished last in the standings, the experience looks to have allowed them to tune up effectively for the new season.

Photograph: Alessandro Garofalo/Reuters

This weekend’s action has a wealth of subplots, controversy, and exciting soccer play.  But the main story line out of this weekend is the standings.  Right now, the top four spots in the Serie A standings are occupied by the clubs most thought would occupy them in some order: Inter Milan, AS Roma, AC Milan, and Juventus.  And with fourteen weeks to go, the title race in again in doubt as the top clubs drew closer together.

AC Milan showed it is a championship club

Viewers of the AC Milan/Bari match saw a clinic put on by the Rossoneri.  The 2-0 scoreline was deceiving; Milan dominated the action pretty much from beginning to end.  Ronaldinho was once again magnificent with the ball, setting up both Milan goals.  And Milan’s defense was good, with Abbiati denying some good scoring opportunities for the home club.  This is the club Milan fans thought they would see all year, and a Wednesday win over Fiorentina will move Milan into second.

Inter goes shorthanded again – during and after the match

Much like the Milan derby this year, Inter again had players sent off in the course of their match against Sampdoria.  But instead of pulling out a win like they did against Milan, Inter could only muster a scoreless draw.  To describe the play as chippy would be an understatement; the match featured multiple fights and some overly aggressive tackles.  Not only were two Inter players eventually sent off, but so was Sampdoria’s star Pazzini.  And of course it would not be an Inter match without a Jose Mourinho subplot – the Inter manager was suspended three Serie A matches for the “disrespectful” gesture seen above.

AS Roma moves closer to Inter

Another weekend, another Roma victory.  This weekend the victim was Catania, when Roma scored an early goal and held on for the victory.  The goal was Mirko Vucinic’s fifth in Serie A this season.  They now sit five points behind Inter Milan, and travel to Napoli next week before their major home match against Milan.

Napoli slips a little more while Siena shows progress

Napoli failed to score a goal against last place Siena and has now gone four matches without a victory.  The match leaves them in fifth place, one point behind Juventus for the final Champions League spot.  The problem seems to be their offense – this was their third goalless draw in the current winless streak.  On the flip side, Siena has now gone two games without a loss.  A bit of momentum, but it may be too little too late as they sit seven points from seventeenth place.

Seven words you can’t say on a soccer pitch

Basketball officials call them “the magic words” – those obscenities that are grounds for an automatic technical foul.  Udinese defender Christian Zapata said his own magic words on the pitch in Saturday’s and was immediately given a yellow card under FIGC’s new anti-swearing rules.  It was yellow card number two, and Udinese had to play ten men down the rest of the match.  A warning to all footballers – watch your tongue.