A round of consolidation, you could say, before some big midweek clashes in Serie A that will see Juve entertain Sampdoria, Milan travel to Napoli and Inter facing Palermo. But until then, round nine is where our attention will reside.
Inter Milan 2-1 Catania
Inter, again in action on a Saturday night, took three points against Catania by 2-1. Inter started well, but the two goals scored were once again gift wrapped too them, and that's just something you cannot do when playing at the San Siro. The first was just a simple high ball from Muntari that Eto'o failed to connect with, but still found its way past Campagnolo. Inter should have doubled their lead through Viera who hit the bar, but Wesley Sneijder did anyhow moments later when he hit a strong, but arguably savable free kick, from 25 yards. Inter were cruising, but didn't finish Catania off and the Elephants got themselves back in the game through Mascara who converted a deserved penalty kick late on. Inter took the points, but if they keep playing like this then they will meet there match in Serie A soon enough, and it could be against Palermo midweek.
Chievo 1-2 AC Milan
City rivals Milan were in action on Sunday night when they traveled to Verona to take on Chievo. They struggled in the first half going down to a Giampaolo Pinzi strike, with Chievo dominating early proceedings and showing why they are comfortably away from the relegation zone at the present moment. However, Milan's confidence was on a high after a stunning win in the Bernabeu midweek, and right from the whistle in the second half Milan asserted their authority on the game. Good chances came through both Pato and Seedorf, who had decent efforts on goal, and Milan were later denied through some splendid Sorrentino goalkeeping who denied Ronaldinho, who looked sharp once again. Klass Jan Huntelaar was replaced by Marco Boriello, and it seemed to make all the difference and the former Genoa mans ariel strength put Chievo under more pressure. Indeed, thanks to a splendid ball from Andrea Pirlo, Boriello headed a strong effort against the bar only for Alessandro Nesta to catch the rebound and level the game. Milan now searched for the winner, but would have lost the tie but for some fantastic goalkeeping through none other than Nelson Dida , who somehow kept out a strong Granoche header. It proved costly for Chievo as Nesta again headed in from a Pirlo corner to give Milan all three points.
Siena 0-1 Juventus
Juventus finally got back to winning ways in Serie A thanks to a headed goal from Amauri, once again assisted by former Werder Bremen man Diego. It was not a convincing performance, and again the old lady had to rely on the heroics of Gianluigi Buffon who made yet another stunning save from Albin Ekdal to keep the tie level at that point. Still, three points to Juve who face a tough test against Sampdoria in midweek in Turin.
Sampdoria 4-1 Bologna
The weekend started in Genoa with Sampdoria in blistering form once again. It didn't take long for Samp to get in front as some wonderful work from Cassano allowed Pazzini to apply a smart finish to send them on their way. Samps second was an early contender for goal of the season as Pazzini again was involved, lobbing a ball through to former Napoli man Manini who volleyed home first time into the top right corner. Defender Ziegler got in on the act, and fired home with his left foot from 25 yards to make it 3-0. If this was great, it only got better for Samp as Cassano waltzed him was through what seemed to be the whole Bologna side and fed Manini who headed in from a few yards out. Bologna were at that moment down to ten men, and they did pull one back through Osvaldo after the break but it was already far too late. Samp will fancy their chances against Juve.
Elsewhere
Lazio continued to falter to deceiver and crashed 2-0 in Bari, against well organised and talented opposition it has to be said. Roma somehow managed to loose at home to winless Livorno as former Valencia man Francesco Tavano opened his account for the season. Napoli pulled off a stunning win in Florence as Cristian Maggio scored in the 90th minute, minutes after Fabio Quagliarella missed a penalty and Palermo registered their third win in succession as they defeated a tough and talented Udinese side. Antonio Conte's Atalanta won for the second round in a row, this time beating Parma 3-1 in Bergamo and moving them up to 9 points in the table. Last season's suprise packages, in Cagliari and Genoa, clashed in Sardinia and Cagliari came from behind twice to take the three points and register their first home win of the season.
Great stuff then, and with week 10 taking place on Wednesday and Thursday night before week 11 next weekend there will be plenty of Calcio to talk about.
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