Round 25: Juve win derby D'Italia

The 182 derby D'Italia in Serie A ended with a Juventus win as Alessandro Matri continued his excellent start to his Juve career nodding home a Fredrick Sorrenson cross. It was the combination of the two talented young players that brought down the European Champions although it was anything but easy, as on more than one occasion Gianluigi Buffon confirmed why he is regarded as the world's best in his position with a number of important stops. There was nothing Buffon could do at the end however when Eto'o was unmarked at the back post, but somehow the Cameroon star cannoned his effort off the cross bar to all but wrap up the Juventus win. This was Juve's 81st win against Inter in Serie A in this prestigious fixture and gives them some lead of the Nerazzurri in that department as Inter sit on just 55 wins in comparison. However what really matters at this moment is where they sit in the table and these three points for Juve move them up to sixth on 41 points with Inter slipping down to fourth on 44 points after being leapfrogged by Lazio after their 2-0 win in Brescia this afternoon. 

Inter do however have a game in hand and that will take place this coming Wednesday against Fiorentina in Florence. Inter will not be pleased with their return to form however as their magnificent 4-2 win in Palermo confirmed earlier today. After going behind twice in that fixture Fiorentina dug deep and secured their first away win of the campaign this season thanks to a own goal by Cesare Bovo, whilst a late Ricardo Montolivo finish wrapped up the points late on.

The race for European places really has cranked up a notch now and Udinese again were victorious, this time in Cesena, with Toto Di Natale on target twice as he looks to catch Edinson Cavani in the race for top scorer. Lazio also picked up three points after a comfortable display in Brescia. Without Sergio Floccari and Mauro Zarate Libor Kozak once again stepped up heading home a beautifully weighted Cristian Ledesma corner to wrap up the points in the second half. 

In the battle for relegation Bari broke their losing streak but could only manage a draw at home to Genoa while Lecce lost to Catania 3-2 after having led 2-1  up until late on in the fixture as Diego Simeone tasted his first victory as Catania boss. Sampdoria moved themselves away from trouble with a 3-1 win against fellow midtablers Bologna while Cagliari all but secured their place in Serie A for next season with a thumping 4-1 win at home over the often dogged Chievo Verona.

So, another entertaining round comes to a close and its advantage AC Milan and Napoli in the race for Lo Scudetto but despite their defeat tonight a win for Inter in Florence on Wednesday night will bring them right back into it.