Serie A: Inter fall in Verona, while Milan win again

The Scudetto race has been blown wide open thanks to a second consecutive defeat for Inter who fell in Verona. Sergio Pellissier lead the charge for Chievo as they beat Inter 2-1. Eto'o pulled one back late on but should have seen red for a head butt that was reminiscent of Zidane's infamous use of the cranium on Marco Materazzi in the 2006 world cup. Milan however are reveling in their rivals misery as they won their fourth game on the trot thanks to a wonder goal from Zlatan Ibrahimovic. His overhead kick was the difference between Milan and Fiorentina. With Inter stalling, Roma, Juve and Napoli all won against Udinese, Genoa and Bologna. Napoli were arguably most impressive, with Hamsik hitting two and answering the critics with regards to his supposed slump in form. Once agains Edison Cavani was on target with a smart finish, but Lavezzi once again arguably stole the show with a non stop tireless performance. Lazio however could only draw away at Parma, coming from behind after old friend Hernan Crespo put them in front. Sergio Floccari answered after the break, but despite dominating Lazio could not find a way to obtain three points.

It's incredibly tight at the top, and it's only got tighter this week with Palermo joining the party level on points with Inter now in joint sixth after a 2-1 win in Cesena. Chievo are now on 19 points as well, and with Sampdoria winning in Lecce this weekend thanks to a superb Pazzini hatrick there really is all to play for as we enter the final phases before the winter break. 

At the other end of the table Cagliari's decision to hire Donadoni had it's usual initial first game win effect with them achieving a strong win away at Brescia who find themselves slipping down the table. One team however going nowhere is Bari, who after a superb season last year find themselves rooted to the bottom after yet another defeat, this time at Catania. The Massimino is no easy place to go as most sides will testify, and this alone should be enough to see Catania maintain their status in Serie A as a midtable side. This time last year they were approaching crisis point, until a majestic win in Turin against Juve and the introduction of Mihajlovic as allenatore. This year however, its a different story as they now sit on 17 points, just three behind Inter. Still unbeaten at home, Catania have quality and could be a dark hourse for a European place as the season progresses.