Euro round up: Inter join Milan in the last 16, Napoli put one foot in it

Round five proved to be a decent one for Italian clubs in the Champions League as Inter Milan joined AC Milan in the last sixteen of the Champions League. Inter traveled to Turkey, never an easy destination and picked up a 1-1 draw against Trabzonspor. Ricky Alvarez opened his Inter Milan account in the Champions League after 18 minutes but the Turkish outfit leveled through a deflected effort not long after. It ended 1-1 and Inter, without Forlan, Sneijder and Maicon on the night, had to be satisfied that the point not only qualified them but secured them top place in the group thanks to Lille winning 2-0 in Moscow earlier in the evening.  

The big game of the night was Napoli's encounter with Manchester City. Napoli were on top from the start and Edinson Cavani again rose to the occasion to head home from a tight angle. It was tight and tense but a defensive blunder from Salvatore Aronica let Mario Balotelli fire home from close range. At that moment it looked like the game may turn, but after the break Napoli came out strong and Cavani again found the net. It could, and should, have been more for Napoli with Hamsik hitting the post, Lavezzi testing Hart and Maggio blundering a 1 on 1 attempt. But instead Napoli fluffed their lines and had to endure ten minutes of really pressure at the end of the game. If finished 2-1 and Napoli are in the driving seat for the last round where they head to Villareal. They could go through even in defeat so long as Man City do not beat Bayern.

In the clash of titans Barcelona got the better of Milan 3-2 at the San Siro. It was a great game where Milan came from behind twice to level against the current holders but Xavi finished off a superb Messi pass to secure the three points and the group itself. Milan are through though in second place and given their performances against the best team in Europe will be a match for virtually any other side in the tournament. They will however look to avoid trips to Madrid and Bayern especially but the Diavolo can be confident that they can have a good run in this tournament this year. 

So Inter and Milan through to the last 16 and Napoli almost there as well. Not bad at all for Serie A so far. 

The tide appears to be turning as Udinese get green light for Stadia renovations

Udinese look set to become the second Serie A side to embark on Stadia reconstruction after being given the go ahead by their city Council to build a new Stadium. Club President Giampaolo Pozzo remarked on tuttomercato web that he was pleasantly surprised to have been given the go ahead, and that the project would hopefully begin this Summer. This is great news for Serie A as numerous clubs have wanted, but been unable so far, to push through projects of this nature. But it is clearly even better news for Udinese. 

The current Stadio Friuli is rarely full and currently only has one covered stand with an athletics track bridging the pitch from the stands. A new stadium would remedy this, as seen by the effect that Juventus' stadium has had upon their club. Average gates in Turin have gone up from 21,000 to 35,000 so far this season and there is no doubt that will improve so long as the club maintains their high league position. Whether Udinese will aim for that level of increase is doubtful, and in fact improbable given that a Stadium of 25,000 for them has been mentioned in the past. That would still represent a significant increase on their current average gate which is around 16,000. More important however it will hopefully continue the trend of new stadia. 

If Lazio, Roma, Fiorentina and Napoli follow suit, and they all have plans to do so, then grounds of between 40,000-60,000 can be expected given their strong local fan bases, which would do wonders for the leagues reputation and average attendance statistic. And, while they all occupy grounds able to hold that capacity now it is the quality of them and the match day experience that is in question rather than the football on the pitch. La Viola's ground for example, much like Udinese', has only one covered stand and while the Sun shines well in Italy during the Summer months rain and snow is not absent during the Winter as any follower of Italian football would let you no.

Today's news represents a good sign for Udinese and Italian football and one looks forward to see this project begin next Summer, hopefully.

Mihajlovic losing his grip on Fiorentina throne

Another away match for Fiorentina, another defeat. This is something that the Viola have become accustomed to this season under the leadership of Sinisa Mihajlovic. Too often his sides have looked to preserve a point first before even contemplating obtaining all three, especially when away from home.  The stats back this up, given that in his tenure as manager on the viola bench the free kick taking machine has achieved just two away wins in Serie A. Combine that with a 9^th place finish last campaign and what seems to be another drab season in the offing this year, without European commitments once again, it is hard to see how much more patient the Della Valle brothers can be. 

Fiorentina are however no Palermo. What do I mean by that? Well, for starters the Della Valle brothers have far more patience than Maurizio Zamperini. Mihajlovic would have been sacked a long time ago if he had produced the same record with the Rosanero. Still, with a highly competitive squad at his disposal it is hard to argue that the Viola are not underachieving. Jovetic, Vargas, Gilardino, Montolivo, Gamberini, Behrami, Cerci, Ljajic and Cassani are all quality players. Yet, they are part of a side that has already been beaten four times this season and has only ten goals to their name, with half of them scored by Jovetic. Only five sides in the division have a goal scoring record worse than that and they are Cesena, Lecce, Bologna, Chievo and Cagliari. Hardly great company.

That being said they are defensively strong, as only five sides have been better at the back, those being Udinese, Lazio, Juventus, Napoli and Siena. Now given their respective positions in the table that is great company and it illustrates the problem. Fiorentina are not adventurous enough going forward, especially away from home, and when they do attack they are not efficient enough at killing off games. Take their home game against Catania as an example. Twice they were pegged back from a leading position, while against Lazio they blew a 1-0 lead despite, for the first half an hour, dominating proceedings.

The answer right now, sadly for Mihajlovic, is a change for la Viola. The fans have begun voting on their feet despite the ultras giving Mihajlovic their support in a recent training session. Attendances have dropped and the recent game against Catania yielded a support of just 18,783. Ultimately, this is a club and a squad that should be contesting for a European spot. The fact that they seem nothing more than an afterthought in that contest suggests that the axe does indeed need to fall. 

Euro watch: Milan Qualify

Milan qualified for the Champions League in drab fashion tonight in Belarus securing a 1-1 draw with Bate. Zlatan Ibrahimovic put Milan ahead with a smart counter attacking move from Milan but it was not enough as the home side rallied in the second half to level through a penalty on 55 minutes. Milan were wasteful with their chances in the first half and have relinquished their top spot in Group H to European Champions Barcelona. They will now need to beat Barcelona in the San Siro in the next round to recapture top spot. Clearly, this will be no easy task but perhaps it will give Milan the right attitude in terms of playing to actually win the game, rather than play for a draw had they still been level on points come round five.

Tomorrow night sees more difficult encounters for the Italian clubs. Inter take on Lille at home and they will look to move up to nine points in the group so they can focus on more pressing domestic troubles away at Genoa on Sunday. It is vital that they win and qualify as group winners given to avoid tougher fixtures come the knock out rounds.

Napoli however have Bayern Munich to contend with away from home and with Manchester City closing in on the top two both Bayern and Napoli will see this as an opportunity to take control of the group. This will be tough for Napoli, although not much should be read into their defeat to Catania at the weekend. Walter Mazzari has stated today that Napoli will try to impose their game on Bayern and this is refreshing to hear, and if they adopt their smart counter attacking style that they did against Manchester City and AC Milan this season then they will be tough to contend with. They key will be not going down too early and frustrating the Bavarians whose great form has already slipped somewhat with a recent Bundesliga defeat. Difficult? Very much so but not impossible.

Attention will turn to the Europe League on Thursday night where Udinese head to Madrid to take on Athletico. Having beaten them 2-0 in the last round Udinese will be confident of qualification but a defeat here would give hope to the others in the group. Given their great form this season it will be hoped that Di Natale will start to provide a threat to the Athletico backline.

Lazio however have not mirrored their domestic form in Europe and have only two draws to show for their efforts so far. The game against Zurich at home is a must win then and one hopes that they put out a squad that is capable of delivering this in emphatic fashion. Mirslav Klose is set to be on the bench, and that is not a good start when one thinks how good he has been this season.