Week-End Reviews

Great week-end of great match-ups, once again.

In England, we had Chelsea vs. Liverpool, where the Blues’ long unbeaten streak at home was finally broken. In France, the classic Marseille vs. PSG saw the Parisian team victorious over their bitter rivals on hostile territory.

And finally in Serie A, the Derby della Mole saw Juventus put an end to a victory crisis against Torino, returning to victory in domestic competition after their great win over Real Madrid mid-week.

Partial video highlights here.

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Italian Calcio Blog week 8 review

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Gazzetta in English week 8 review

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In Sunday’s late-match, big controversy surrounded the victory of Fiorentina over Palermo on Sicilian soil. Indeed, the first Viola goal was tainted with a clear Alberto Gilardino handball, not spotted by the linesman or referee during real-time action. Video evidence however condemned the in-form Azzurri & Viola striker to a two-match ban later on Monday.

Aside from the handball, Fiorentina did deserve their victory however, scoring two more times through Adrian Mutu. Palermo had reduced the lead to 2-1 thanks to Fabio Simplicio, before the Romanian Viola striker put his mark on the final 3-1 tally.

Palermo 1-3 Fiorentina Match Report (Gazzetta)

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Earlier in the afternoon, last term’s runners-up Roma slumped to their fifth defeat of the Serie A season when they lost 3-1 at new leaders Udinese on Sunday. Italy forward Antonio Di Natale struck twice to ratchet up the pressure on Roma coach Luciano Spalletti, who made his name as boss of the Udine club.

Roma, a point above the drop zone, have been hit by injury and suspension this season but the problems look to be far deeper and Spalletti could be in trouble if they lose to Sampdoria in Wednesday’s fixtures. A 4-0 thumping at home by Inter last weekend was followed by a 1-0 defeat by Chelsea in midweek despite a battling display.

The Giallorossi started poorly against confident Udinese (victors over Tottenham in the UEFA Cup on Thursday), when Max Tonetto needlessly brought down Antonio Floro Flores to concede a 10^th-minute penalty, although it may have been just outside the box. Di Natale slotted home and striker Floro Flores added the second midway through the half with Roma looking ragged. Di Natale extended the lead after the break in another flowing move with Francesco Totti‘s late penalty useless for the away side. “I probably made a mistake because everyone knows about the long balls Udinese play to their front three. We didn’t react well to that,” Spalletti told Sky television.

Udinese 3-1 Roma Match Report (Channel4)

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Meanwhile Inter Milan, who are now level with Udinese on 17 points from eight games, drew 0-0 with Genoa in another drab home display. The Nerazzurri sneaked a 1-0 home win over Anorthosis Famagousta in the Champions League on Wednesday, but struggled this week-end and apart from coach Jose Mourinho’s new shorn haircut, their closest shave came when Maicon’s cross deflected on to the bar. Genoa also struck the woodwork and although they had Ivan Juric dismissed for a second booking, the visitors could easily have snatched victory.

Inter 0-0 Udinese Match Report (Channel4)

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Napoli are also on 17 after Sebastiano Siviglia’s unlucky own goal secured a 1-0 victory at fast-sinking Lazio, who were early pacesetters but have now not won in three games.

Lazio 0-1 Napoli Match Report (mCalcio)

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Midtable Juventus, who had lost their last two matches in Serie A, beat Torino 1-0 in Saturday’s Turin derby thanks to a third goal in a week from striker Amauri.

Juventus 1-0 Torino Match Report (mCalcio)

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AC Milan are a point behind after Kaká scooped home 10 minutes from time to seal a fortunate 1-0 win at Atalanta, who had troubled a shaky visiting defence. Kakà’s shot from Marco Borriello’s pass went into the ground and bounced high into the net.

Atalanta 0-1 Milan Match Report (Channel4)

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For other matches, check out Channel4′s Week 8 page.

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GOALS of the WEEK

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If this beauty by Robert Acquafresca doesn’t remind you of Gabriel Batistuta, I think you’re too young to remember.

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Serie A 2008-09 Matchday 8

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	Siena	1-1	Catania
	Juventus	1-0	Torino
	Cagliari	2-0	Chievo
	Udinese	3-1	Roma
	Inter	0-0	Genoa
	Reggina	2-0	Lecce
	Sampdoria	2-0	Bologna
	Atalanta	0-1	Milan
	Lazio	0-1	Napoli
	Palermo	1-3	Fiorentina

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Tags: Serie A

Posted in Serie A |

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