Carlo Ancelotti has a plan for December. His plan is to catch up to Inter before the Christmas break, so that his team can go on holiday with a good psychological advantage.
After the events on Sunday evening, it seems like Carlo should think of a “plan B”.
AC Milan got litterally trampled on Sunday, besieged and mocked by the best Palermo side of the season. Even though the goals were all scored in the second half, the Rosanero dominated all of the 90 minutes of play, eventually piercing through the (weak) Rossoneri defenses with Miccoli, Cavani and Simplício. Milan’s late reaction (Ronaldinho P.K.) was thoroughly insufficient as Ancelotti’s team repeated (and even amplified) all of the limits shown in the draws against Lecce and Torino.
After tonight’s display between Juventus and Palermo, the (Bianconero) cynic in me has this to say: at least we didn’t tie. Indeed, after three consecutive draws against Catania, Sampdoria, and Bate Borisov, Claudio Ranieri can finally get rid of the “Mr. X” tag that was bestowed upon him this past week. This time, Juventus lost.
Sure was a busy week-end in Serie A this week. The Derby della Madonnina may not have provided a lot of goals, but excitement definitely wasn’t absent from San Siro on Sunday.
Serie A started with Bianconeri and Viola involved on Saturday, on account of their mid-week commitments in the UEFA Champions League (against Bate and Steaua respectively). And while Fiorentina went on to beat Genoa 1-0 (thanks to yet another goal by Alberto Gilardino), Juventus was held to a 0-0 draw at Sampdoria. Not the best motivational result for Claudio Ranieri’s boys…
On Sunday, the big hero of the Serie A afternoon was Argentine forward Mauro Zarate, who scored twice and set up another goal to help Lazio beat Torino 3-1 Sunday (and assert itself as a serious challenger to Inter Milan atop the Italian league standings). Zarate drew three defenders toward him and passed to Goran Pandev for the opening goal in the 30th minute, then scored in the 63rd with a powerful, curling shot before adding a penalty in the 84th. Nicola Amoruso pulled one back for Torino with a penalty in added time.
With its fourth win in five rounds, Lazio took a two-point lead on Inter ahead of the Milan derby later Sunday, leading the Serie A with 21 points. Napoli, who beat Bologna 1-0, is next with 11 points while Inter, Udinese and Catania are tied with 10 each.
Of course, the biggest attention on Sunday was pointed toward Stadio Giuseppe Meazza “San Siro” in Milan, which hosted the 171st edition of the famous AC Milan vs. Inter Milan match. The great victors of the night were the Rossoneri and in particular a certain Ronaldinho Gaucho, who thanks to his first half header gave Carlo Ancelotti his first derby win of the season (and also José Mourinho’s first loss in the Serie A).
In other matches, Fabio Quagliarella scored one and set up another goal as Udinese beat Siena 2-1, and Michele Paolucci found the net for Catania in a 1-0 win over Chievo. Roma beat Atalanta 2-0 for only its second win, with goals from Christian Panucci and Mirko Vucinic as captain Francesco Totti again sat out. Also, Fabrizio Miccoli scored his fourth goal of the season as Palermo beat Reggina 1-0, and Lecce had goals from Guillermo Giacomazzi and Jose Castillo in a 2-0 win over last-place Cagliari.
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GOALS of the WEEK
Nothing particularly extraordinary this week, with the exception of two very nice top-corner howitzers. Mauro Zarate is appearing quite regularly in this segment lately… .
And the winner is… Guillermo Giacomazzi. You just gotta love it when someone blasts it into the top corner from 30 yards, and as far as this week goes, Giacomazzi’s was better than Zarate’s. .
AC Milan‘s poor early-season form continued on Sunnday when they lost 2-0 at Genoa for their second consecutive defeat. Giuseppe Sculli struck in the first half and Diego Milito converted a stoppage-time penalty to leave Milan with no points in Serie A after they lost their opener 2-1 to promoted Bologna. The result increases the pressure on coach Carlo Ancelotti following Milan’s disappointing 5th-place finish last season and an embarrassing 2-0 defeat at second-division Swiss side Lugano in a friendly on Wednesday.
Champions Inter Milan beat Catania 2-1 at home (thanks to two Sicilian own goals), while last year’s runners-up AS Roma lost 3-1 at Palermo on Saturday, despite taking the early lead.
In other matches, Napoli came from behind to beat Fiorentina 2-1 thanks to second-half goals by Marek Hamsik and Christian Maggio after Adrian Mutu had put the visitors ahead four minutes before the break. The end stands of Napoli’s San Paolo stadium were closed and will remain shut for the next two home games as a penalty after violence marred their opening-day visit to Roma. The game was also one of three games considered high risk which away fans were banned from, along with Genoa-Milan and Saturday’s match between Inter and Catania at the San Siro.
Lazio are the early pacemakers in Serie A this year, courtesy of a 2-0 home win over Sampdoria secured with goals by Mauro Zarate and Goran Pandev. Atalanta also have a 100% win record from two games after Tiberio Guarente gave them a 1-0 victory at Bologna.
Finally, Lecce overcame Chievo at home thanks to goals by Caserta and Castillo, Reggina vs. Torino ended in a 1-1 draw (goals by Amoruso and a Di Loreto o.g.), while Siena went on to defeat Cagliari at home through Calaió and Ghezzal.
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GOALS of the WEEK
Keeping true to our “more quality, less quantity” tradition (I change it when it suits me), here’s the candidates for goal of the week… .
And the winner is… Giuseppe Sculli. Not so much because of the individual finish (a banal diagonal effort) but rather due to the orchestrated teamplay and action as a whole, in particular the gorgeous Milito chest-pass. Maldini and Favalli don’t know what hit them…
Who knows? Maybe Maurizio Zamparini’s never-ending “I love you… no I hate you, you’re fired” attitude might be working to some degree. The Palermo president probably surely holds he record for most manager terminations in the entire Serie A, and this season’s debut was no exception to that reputation (Stefano Colantuono’s head was the first to go on matchday 1). So, matchday 2 was the opportunity for new coach Davide Ballardini to set the record straight against Roma. Not the easiest of games mind you…
Well, it might be a bit early to say this yet, but Ballardini just might have turned this team around. Down by a goal in the first half, the Rosanero managed to find the psychological and physical resources to overcome their disadvantage, and then turn the game right on its head. O Totti where art thou?
(From Gazzetta dello Sport): As far as poker faces go, Luciano Spalletti lost his very early into the match. Indeed, Roma immediately put their cards on the table with a the very clear intention of scoring first, particularly thanks to Cicinho‘s offensive verve on the right wing. And thus, despite the many new faces compared to the Giallorossi’s “usual” line-up, it only took 8 minutes for the visitors to open the score: a De Rossi-Aquilani-Okaka-Julio Baptista combination was nicely finalized by the Brazilian “Beast”, and Roma were ahead. 1-0.
What the Giallorossi hadn’t factored in into their calculations, was Ballardini’s uncanny ability (as demonstrated in last year’s tenure with Cagliari) to turn a team’s morale inside out as if it were a freshly washed piece of laundry. The shock of conceding a goal was a fast thing to absorb for the Rosanero, who immediately started to roam forward close to Doni’s box with dangerous intentions (Simplicio, Cavani, and a Miccoli in smashing form leading the way). Cicinho’s offensive prowess was turning to be a double-edged sword for Spalletti, because the right-backs’s efficiency at covering was nowhere near as good as his contribution to the attacking effort.
As a result, it was precisely on that side that Palermo managed to break through, first through Cavani (two one-on-ones with Doni, neutralized by the Brazilian keeper) and then through Fabrizio Miccoli. On the latter chance, the ex-Juve and Benfica striker invented a beautiful dribble on the edge of the box and a smashing top-corner finish to go with it. 1-1 in great style.
Roma were really not in “it” at this point, and Daniele De Rossi’s neck injury before the break certainly didn’t do much to help the proceedings. Palermo on the other hand were galvanized by their equalizer, and their morale boost extended way into the second half (probably also thanks to the Ballardini magic half-time recipe). Fabio Liverani gave everyone the illusion of yet another goal (a great free-kick just inches wide of the post), before Fabrizio Miccoli stuck once again the dagger into Roman hearts: it was minute 56, and the “Romario del Salento” had just exploited a Simplicio steal to poke the ball under Doni’s body. 2-1 Palermo.
Roma were expected to fight back at this point. Spalletti tried alternative solutions by replacing Taddei with French (future) star Jeremy Menez. It had little or no effect. Instead, the Rosanero continued to dominate all of ball possession, offensive creativity, and yes, goals. In minute 73 and set up yet again by Fabio Simplicio, Edison Cavani put the icing on the Palermo cake by sending the ball past Doni for the third time. 3-1 and game over.
Without Mèxes, De Rossi, and Totti, there is just something missing from this “Roma Reloaded” team…