Week 28: Milan scrape back into the race

A piece of sublime skill from Clarence Seedorf masked over yet another poor performance from AC Milan and brought them within one point of Inter Milan after they were beaten by a totally transformed Catania side 3-1. As for Milan they once again looked one dimensional and absent of any pace to turn the game. In fact they should have been 1-0 down at half time after a Yepes strike was incorrectly called offside. Milan did have the odd chance with a Boriello header being dealt with in the first half, but other than that there seemed little urgency. Maybe they were playing the patient game, maybe they were still mentally shell shocked after the beating they received in the Champions League midweek. Either way, they have forced pressure onto Inter with only ten games remaining as a point is all that separates. Even Roma, despite their draw at Livorno, can consider themselves in contention just six points back especially as they have to face Inter in a few weeks time at the Stadio Olimpico. It does make for an exciting end to the season, but certainly in the case of Milan it is in danger of painting a far prettier one than actually exists under the surface. The truth is that, like Juventus, they must look to rebuild in the summer especially at the back and in midfield. Investment is almost certain at Juve with 80 million said to be ready to help complete their rebuilding process. Sadly, there can be no cush certainty at Milan despite their owner being a billionaire.

As for Inter the pressure is on, and no more so than tonight when they face Chelsea in the Champions League. The implosion at Catania came after a decent second half spell where Diego Milito finished off a Samuel Eto' move. Sadly for them Catania came back after Maxi Lopex converted a cross emphatically and then Giuseppe Mascara scored a spoon from the spot after Sulley Muntari was sent off after only two minutes on the pitch. Martinez finished off the rout and pulled Catania away from the drop zone.

The Battle for Fourth Spot
Napoli again slipped up and lost their unbeaten home record after Fiorentina bounced back from their European exit with a 3-1 victory with Gilardino once again lethal in front of goal. Stefan Jovetic added one late on to cancel out the Napoli opener from Lavezzi. Palermo lost as well by 3-2, although this time away at Udinese which is always a difficult trip for any side. Juve however thought they had taken advantage of this, being 3-0 up after ten minutes with a brace from Del Piero and a wonder strike from Candreva. But incredibly bottom side Siena came back from the dead to draw 3-3. Sampdoria, also in contention for 4th could only manage a draw away at a consistent Bologna, conceding for 1-1 late on. Genoa also can now consider themselves in contention after a superb 5-3 win over Cagliari, with a stunning goal from Rodrigo Palacio.

Ultimately, what we have here is arguably six teams in this battle for fourth, with Fiorentina back in it especially after their fixture list has been reduced after their elimination in Europe. Should be an exciting run in.

Elsewhere
Despite a packed Olimpico Lazio still crumbled under the pressure against a decent Bari side, defeat 2-0 Sunday afternoon. The slide towards the abyss continues, and unless performances alter dramatically then severe problems will be afoot. Fellow struggles Atalanta continued to struggle, this time away to Parma who registered a solid 1-0 win again at the Tardini this time courtesy of Valeri Boijinov.