A nice quiet weekend in Serie A.  Fortunately, there were no matches of interest and no controversy that came out of the matches.  Nothing unusual or interesting at all.

REUTERS/Alessandro Garofalo

Or not.  In a weekend highlighted by the top two squads facing off, injuries to star players, and an odd mask celebration, let's take a moment to look back on the insanity.

Nine is fine for Inter Milan

According to the poll at the end of my post, over 50% of you thought AC Milan would win by two goals or more.  If we'd have known Inter would have played most of the match with ten men, how high would the percentage have jumped?  Instead, it was i Nerazzurri who dominated the match despite Wesley Sneijder being sent off in the 26th minute and Lucio receiving a red card in second half stoppage time.  Marco Materazzi, the famous "victim" of the Zdane head butt in the World Cup, celebrated by mocking the Italian prime minister with a mask.  What a match.

Roma should enjoy its success

AS Roma's 2-1 victory over Juventus may be its high point of the season.  Roma sees itself in third place, only two points behind AC Milan for second place.  But it also sees its new acquisition out for six weeks (Luca Toni) plus a daunting schedule ahead - while they have Inter and AC Milan at home, they have almost all of the top 10 clubs away.  Roma's away record:  3-5-3 while allowing 17 goals.

Napoli hangs on to fourth

Napoli's 2-0 win over Livorno moves them three points clear of Palermo (!) for the last Champions League spot.  However it took a penalty kick against a midfielder filling in for a keeper in the 90th minute to get the full three points.  They have a chance to prove they belong with three of their next five matches against Genoa, Inter and Roma - all at home.

Bari blew a good opportunity to gain points

Do you think Giampieo Ventura will have nightmares about Henry Gimenez?  Bari had an excellent chance (and an early goal) to take care of a relegation candidate in Bologna, but instead allowed two goals to Gimenez to fall into 11th place.  Bari has to learn the lesson - if you want to compete for a European competition spot, you have to win these type of matches.

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Photo by A.A.S

A long week of debate, injury reporting, and posturing by the top two teams in Serie A has led up to this - the Milan Derby.  A win by AC Milan moves them within three points of the top spot while an Inter victory gives them much needed breathing room.  The first derby was a 4-0 thrashing by Inter, but this match sees AC Milan coming in with the positive momentum.

But before Sunday's match, share your opinion with us in the poll and comments section - who will win the match, or will we have to settle for a draw?

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After this weekend's action, the eyes of Italy will be on its largest metropolitan city.  The Milan derby could move AC Milan within striking distance of first or could help Inter Milan put some distance between itself and its rival.  And the two clubs are approaching this game from opposite directions: Inter striking some luck to grab a point from Bari and AC Milan easily dispatching Siena.  This will likely be the last time the top two clubs in Serie A will face each other this season, so sit back and enjoy the game.

In other action this weekend:

Luca Toni looked like a good signing for Roma

... at least this weekend.  Despite missing injured captain Francesco Totti, Roma cruised to a victory over Genoa with two goals from the newly-acquired Toni.  The story, however, was just as much Roma's defense, which held the visitors to one shot on goal.  The win propelled Roma into third place in the standings, an incredible rise considering where they were in November.

Fiorentina needs to find some consistency

It is hard to justify your spot in the Champions League when you cannot produce consist results against clubs you should beat.  Despite a blistering start after the winter break by beating Bari and Siena, the Viola fell at home to a team that had only four wins on the season and none on the road.  While the win helped Bologna climb out of the relegation zone, the loss for Fiorentina dropped them four points behind Napoli for the fourth spot in the standings.

The Ferrara firing watch continues

Rami has an excellent post up on the situation but it is worth noting two things about Juventus' loss to Chievo this weekend - Juventus could not win despite having possession for two-thirds of the match and  Chievo had lost three straight prior to this match.  For fans of the beautiful game, the question is: who gets fired first, Ferrara at Juve or Rafa Benitez at Liverpool?

Bortolo Mutti may be the best managerial signing this season

Granted his Atalanta squad beat a struggling Lazio team at home, but they did so in dominating fashion: a 3-0 drubbing that was over before the halftime whistle.  This was a Lazio club that had been winning of late, specifically having not lost in 2010.  While they still have a long season ahead of them to avoid relegation, Mutti seems to have them on the right track.

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Things could not have been worse for Ronaldinho coming into the latest edition of the Derby Della Madonnina.  He was still not at the level that people though he could be at, but then the big stab in his heart came midweek.

Brazil coach Dunga left the AC Milan midfielder out of his 23-man callup for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers.  His reason was simple- he wasn´t up to par.   To be told so bluntly and so honestly that you aren´t good enough at this moment either motivates a player or extinguishes whatever ember is left in that player.

There is one thing in repertoire that needs more fixing than nagging muscle injuries.  For starters, consider his ego.  When a player that can do everything is suddenly told he can't and his actions reinforce that, it is a major trauma.   For many it might mean their careers. The last time he had a huge trauma like this was after the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.  He was supposed to be the man that gave the Canarinha their first-ever gold medal.   That obviously did not happen and it took a few years to get over.  Three years to be exact.

It took a change of scenery and a group of coddling fans to turn that around for him.   Sound familiar?
Ok, Kaká (who was arguably the best player on the pitch) was offside, but the ensuing pass was laser-guided and the header was perfect. Fooled me once shame on you.

He is not at 100% yet, but was able to set his differences aside with Kaká can play together.  And when they do, God is it magic.  A defense like Inter's could have recovered.  So let's not blame one call on one team winning or losing.  Milan was the better team tactically and they played with much more fire despite what Zlatan Ibrahimovic may say.  Fooled me twice, shame on me.

Based on the game he had in his very first derby, there were flashes of the old Dinho.  It was a fifty-meter ¨one-two¨ between the two Brazilians that led to the only goal of the match.  Dinho might not be fit yet, but he is showing signs of coming back.  Hey, if he wasn´t in shape the header he scored on would have never materialized.  There is no chance that an injured player would have been able to a) jump high (or jump at all) b) be able to have the ability in the air to direct the ball that way, and c) come into the ball with that much power.  My point is that a good header heads with his legs. You can have a metal plate in your head, but if you have no legs, there is no way you are driving the ball the way he did.  So if he is able to do what he did, then he is on the way physically.  If there was any other proof, let's use Ronaldinho's first shot that could have been the first score of the game be exhibit B.  If not for a superhuman save by Julio Cesar, the result would have been the brace for the The Gaúcho.  Then again hindsight is always 20/20.

So is Ronaldinho back?  I would probably say no.  He is getting back into form.  He did change venues and he is now vital in another lethal trio.  Hey, he actually danced after scoring a goal. That could mean that the magic could come back very soon.

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Derby Preview

Goalday Preview -Inter Milan take lead ahead of their derby with AC Milan.

Scudetto holders Inter Milan lead the Serie A standings as they go into the classic city derby with recovering AC Milan late Sunday. Inter, currently on 10 points after four games, celebrated their 100th unbeaten home game mid-week, but struggled in the match beating the newly promoted visitors Lecce by a 1-0 scoreline.

AC Milan hit it's stride ahead of the showdown winning 2 - 1 away to Reggina.

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Serie A Talk readers have spoken, 49% of readers are predicting a Nerazzurri WIN!

see: Who Will Win The Derby della Madonnina

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LOCAL TIME MILANO ITALY:

(minus 6 hrs for, NYC time)

The Serie A Talk - Milan Derby Poll

The Milan derby is a hotly contested local derby and is one of the most followed derbies in the football world. It is called "Derby della Madonnina" in honour of one of the main sights of the city of Milan, the statue of the virgin Mary on the top of the Duomo, which is usually called "Madonnina"

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The big win today by AC Milan over cross-town rivals Inter, delays any celebrations as Scudetto winners by the Nerazzurri.

Kaka with the winner in the 56 minute was simply amazing but so was the entire Rossoneri squad and today's performance reminded me of the Milan of Old. The first goal a combined effort of Inzaghi and Kaka, moments before Kaka's lone strike, was truly magic and probably the best goal of match-day 36. Speeding into the box on the right, Kaka out classed the defender with pace and then finished off with a perfectly placed cross to Inzaghi, who effortlessly headed the ball into the back netting, 1 - 0 for AC Milan. Later in the match Inter forward Julio Cruz made things interesting when he curled a free-kick into the upper right-hand corner, no chance for keeper Kalac, score 2 - 1 with Inter finally on the board. However, this was all Inter could muster and the contest ended with the current Serie A leaders waiting one more match day for victory.

The Rossoneri now pull into fourth behind Juventus and hold the final Champions League spot over faltering Fiorentina. Fiorentina could not do the business against bottom of the table Cagliari losing 1 - 2.

Cagliari having home advantage and in the thick of relegation , faced a tired and morale depleted Fiorentina still reeling from their lost mid-week to Rangers, in the UEFA Cup semi-final . Prandelli's men needed to stay ahead of AC Milan with only two matches left to play. The Viola now face an uphill battle and added to the mix will be the absence of their leading goalscorer, Adrian Mutu, next match against Parma, after Mutu received two yellow cards in the dying moments.

Finally, Roma are keeping things interesting in the Scudetto by winning away to Sampdoria with 3 second half goals. Stay tuned folks for next week, same Serie A time, same Serie A channel.

for more match commentary and predictions see my comments at Punters Lounge

Complete Match-day Results

FT AC Milan 2 - 1 Inter

FT Atalanta 3 - 2 Livorno

FT Cagliari 2 - 1 Fiorentina

FT Catania 1 - 2 Reggina

FT Empoli 0 - 1 Udinese

FT Lazio 1 - 2 Palermo

FT Parma 1 - 0 Genoa

FT Sampdoria 0 - 3 Roma

FT Siena 1- 0 Juventus

FT Torino 2- 1 Napoli

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