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.

Derby D'Italia: Inter v Juventus

What a game, and what a time for it. With Juventus sitting pretty top of Serie A and Inter sitting, well, abysmally off the pace the contrast in this seasons league form does not mirror that of recent seasons gone by. Champions of Europe in 2010, Inter did what Juventus could not do in 2003, 1998,  and 1997 by climbing that elusive final hurdle in the Champions League final. True, Juventus did achieve that in 1996 in Rome but in recent years Inter have been Italy's finest export whilst Italy awaits Milan and Juve to catch them up, on the continent at least. Expect that to happen this season as Milan look set to do very well in the Champions League, but don't count Inter out just yet. 

Despite a poor start under a totally misguided manager who seemed determined to play every player out of position Inter have quality in abundance and will be keen to show that in today's mammoth encounter. And while Juve have started very well this season question marks have been raised about their true ability to take the Scudetto and whether they really have gotten over two totally atrocious campaigns by their own high standards. Recent matches have shown a soft defensive underbelly that Napoli, Milan, Udinese and Lazio, who all sit close behind Juve, will look to take full advantage of.

Inter however continue to stay alive, albeit only just. They sit top of their Champions League book having registered two excellent away wins against CSKA and Lille, and since Ranieri has taken over they have been resuscitated somewhat with wins over Bologna and Chievo, with the draw away at Atalanta not a bad result given their blistering start to the season so far. The Napoli game stands out, on paper, as a huge disappointment but those having seen the game will realise that it was a false economy of sorts in the sense of the poor referring performance which completely changed the shape of the game just before half time, even if Napoli were on fire that night.

Still, their is no denying the simply awful start Inter have made to live in Serie A this season. While even at this stage Scudetto chances look slim at best a win over Juventus would put some life back into their campaign and show the old lady and city rivals AC Milan that Inter can, and may well, have their say in the Scudetto race this season.

Napoli end Udinese's unbeaten run

A consummate home performance from Napoli saw them brush past Udinese who had up until this match been unbeaten in Serie A this season. Udinese, without Antonio Di Natale and Isla lacked somewhat in creativity but fell behind thanks to a wonderful Lavezzi strike after Cavani provided what seemed like an impossible assist. Udinese did fight back and Morgan De Sanctis produced an outstanding save after a well worked Udinese corner saw Antonio Floro Flores improvise with a volley that tested the Napoli goalkeeper. But he was up to the challenge and Napoli added to their lead just before half time when Maggio headed home to make it 2-0.In many respects after having just picked up one point from their last six this was a must win for Napoli who take on Catania, Bayern Munich and Juventus in their next run of fixtures.

Speaking of Juventus they continued their unbeaten start with a solid 2-1 home win against Fiorentina. It should have been buried at half time with Juve totally dominating their opponents but Fiorentina came out determined after the break to get themselves into the match and another superb strike from Stefan Jovetic leveled the tie. However, Alessandro Matri added to his growing reputation with the winning goal late on and his third in two matches to keep Juventus clear at the top. 

With Udinese defeated Lazio had the opportunity to take over at the Serie A summit against Catania and they started well in this encounter taking the lead after 17 minutes through Miroslav Klose who scored his 5th goal of the Serie A campaign so far. Despite being decimated with injury problems Lazio looked good for their lead but unlike Napoli they could not establish daylight between. They paid the price for this as Catania leveled after some poor defending by the Lazio backline. Depsite this Lazio did rally and the introduction of Hernanes and Kozak showed their attacking intent, but it was to no avail despite dominating the proceedings late on.

Elsewhere Roma fell to defeat in Genoa by 2-1 and Bologna surprised Chievo by winning 1-0 in Verona. Cesena continued their winless start with a 1-1 draw at home to Cagliari while Inter could only draw 1-1 against Atalanta away from home, with the home side continuing their fantastic start. Milan continued their ressurgence with a 4-1 win at home to Parma and move up to joint 4th in the table. Finally, Siena continued their good start with a 1-1 draw away at Novara. 

Juve only draw but continue to show Serie A the way forward

Juve 2 - 2 Genoa was the final score in Turin tonight after a cracking game ended all square. Juve were sublime at times going forward, Andrea Pirlo rolling back the years with inspirational contributions to both goals, from the quickly taken corner that found Marchisio on the first goal where Matri fired home to the simply majestic dummy that let Matri again hit the back of the net. Juve looked set for the win but Genoa continued to advance forward, much through the inspired play of Milan owned Alex Merkel and drew level late on through a Caracciolo equaliser. Shambolic defending and poor goalkeeping led to Juve's demise in this encounter and in the end a point was all they could take from this one.

With this in mind you may wonder what on earth the title to this article is on about. Despite going top of Serie A, albeit temporarily, tonight was a disappointment for the home side before they go on a run of games that sees them take on Fiorentina, Inter, Napoli, Palermo and Lazio. Hardly an easy run and two draws on the trot has taken the sting out of their blistering start. But, irregardless Juve this season with their new Stadium have shown the rest of Serie A what they need to do to modernise and essentially revolutionise the league.

Juventus so far this campaign have had an average attendance of 36,293. It's not huge by any stretch and only ranks sixth overall in Serie A but it is a massive improvement on their gates from last season which culminated in an average of 21,966. You could argue it has been the difference between a great start and a poor one as well. Last season at the Stadio Olimpico Juventus lost at home to Milan, Parma and Bologna, their first three home games. This season they took seven points from those same encounters instead and the crowd played their part in these fixtures as well, becoming the the essential 12th man that had been missed and the frankly limp and lifeless Olimpico in recent seasons passed. Much of course has to be attributed to a decent Summer mercato. But, their is a freshness around this club that could well take them out of the doldrums, which undoubtedly the last two campaigns have been and their is no doubt that the new Stadium is part of this.

But how does this relate to the rest of Serie A? Well aside from the revenue opportunities that a self own Stadium would provide new stadia for the other clubs would have massive knock on effects for game day attendances which so far this season are at an average of just under 24,000. This will increase as the season goes on and games become more vital to the campaigns final outcome, but it is fair to say that this number has not been helped by teams like Chievo, Lecce, Novara and Siena who barely pull in an average of more than 10,000 a game and in that regard the sooner the likes of Torino and Sampdoria come back to Serie A the better. But, for the likes of Fiorentina, Lazio, Palermo, Roma and Cagliari, teams who have been trying to build new stadia for some time, the impact could be huge. Indeed, such has the delay been in the case of the Viola that they have considered building a new Stadium out of the city limits itself. 

Much of the problem has to do with current legislative restrictions and the frustration that local Council's in Italy will miss out on revenue generated by their currently owned Stadiums. But, the sooner the other clubs are able to follow the path that Juventus have then the better off they will be, and the better off the league will be too.

Champions League: Napoli hold Bayern, Milan and Inter push on

It was another decent round for the Italian clubs in the Champions league as all teams picked up valuable points that given all a chance of going through to the last 16. Milan tonight put one foot into the last 16 with a strong 2-0 home win against Bate. They barely had to break out of second gear to gain the three points thanks to two excellent goals from Zlatan Ibrahimovic and a Prince Boateng missile. That being said Milan played with an attitude that a goal would come eventually and although it most certainly did they almost paid the price while the encounter was balanced at 0 - 0 when Van Bommel made a sloppy pass straight to Bate forward Bressan who should have put the away side 1-0 up. However, it all ended well for Milan who now head to Belarus in the next round where they again must pick up three points before their titanic clash with Barcelona at San Siro on match day five.

Last night also saw good results for the Italian clubs. Inter picked up a comfortable 1-0 win away at Lille where Wesley Sneijder and Mauro Zarate combined some magic to supply Giampaolo Pazzini who fired home with thunderous effect to put the French Champions behind. Inter looked strong but once Sneijder and Zarate were withdrawn they lacked creativity and Lille took advantage of that, putting pressure on Inter's back line which has not exactly been up to task as of late. However they and talisman Eden Hazard could not find a way through and Inter emerged victorious and like AC Milan sit top of their Champions League group.

Napoli however arguably pulled of the result of the round taking a point of Bayern, and scoring a goal against them something which had not been done since August 7th. Bayern have been steamrolling opposition all season long and at this moment in time, along with Barcelona and Real Madrid, are arguably playing the best football in Europe so far this season. They took the lead through a defensive lapse by Napoli after just 90s seconds and the writing looked on the wall for Napoli. However, they steadied the ship and began to take the game to Bayern at the end of the first half. They were rewarded with a goal as well after Maggio's goal was deflected in by Badstauber. It could have been even better for Napoli as well had the referree spotted Schweinsteigers handball  which denied Hamsik a goal scoring opportunity. He did however spot a soft handball, if you can even call it that, which came off Cannavaro's arm when blasted at him from close range. Justice was done when De Sanctis saved from the spot. Napoli held on but were at times comfortable in possession. With Man City beating Villareal they will now go to Munich looking to take something from that match, perhaps as a necessity.

Four points seperates first from 13th as goal shy round ends in Lazio derby win

After a goal fest of action on Saturday in Serie A with Milan rolling over Palermo and Napoli and Inter both suffering surprise defeats the action did not continue on Saturday afternoon as the net was only rippled twice across six matches in Serie A. Both those goals came in the same game as Bologna won 2-0 away at Novara to move themselves up to four points in the standings and ease the pressure on them at the bottom of the table. However, as far as goals go that was all she wrote. That being said their was no shortage of controversy especially in the early kick of in Cesena as Adrian Mutu saw red for petulance that frankly blighted Cesena going on the collect the three points they looked set to get given their strong second half performance. Their slow start continued however as they picked up just their second point in six outings.

With so many draws taking place three points would have catapulted any side high up the table but not even regular Sunday afternoon goal scorer Antonio Di Natale could ripple the net as Udinese drew 0-0 away at Atalanta in perhaps what should have been the best game of the afternoon given both sides strong starts to the season. 

So, the goals were saved for the Rome derby and the game did not disappoint. Both sides had made major acquisitions in the off season with Lazio adding Miroslav Klose, Cisse and former Italian International goalkeeper Federico Marchetti while Roma had added the likes of Dutch International keeper Martaan Stekelenburg, Gabriele Heinze, Simon Kjaer, Bojan Krkic and Pablo Osvaldo to name a few. The away side started strong as well and went in front after seven minutes through Osvaldo. Lazio came back into the match late in the first half and started where they left off after the break scoring from the spot through Hernanes. The worst part from Roma however was the dismissal of Kjaer and that left them really up against it for the rest of the half. Cue lots of pressure from Lazio who rattled the woodwork twice through Cisse and Klose before the tall German finally found the winner deep into injury time much to the elation of the home support at the Stadio Olimpico. Having lost the five previous derby's the winner in injury time was of great relieve to the Laziale's the world over and they now see their team move up to third in the table.

Lazio, Milan, Inter, Udinese and Napoli now head into Europe where tough tests await in the shape of Zurich, Bate, Lille, Athletico Madrid and Bayern Munich.

Milan push on while Inter crash to defeat again

Milan and Inter both have got off to poor starts this season in Serie A. While they both sit in decent positions in their respective Champions League groups their positions in the Serie A table have been a different story. Between them prior to todays round they had been beaten five times between them, in just five rounds. With Napoli and Juve getting off to such good starts it was imperative for both clubs that they picked up three points in this round, and both had to do this against Sicilian opposition. One overcame that objective, one did not. 

Perhaps unsurprisingly given their truley dismal start it was Inter that failed to do so as five minutes of madness in the second half allowed Catania to score twice and overturn Inter's quick start thanks to a superbly taken Estaban Cambiasso goal. Having led at half time Inter looked to have established a strong foothold in this game but the lack of any sort of defensive cover allowed Catania back into this one. Almiron's stunning strike pulled Catania level while Lodi scored from the penalty spot, ironically his first Serie A goal that had not come from a free kick. 

It was a well deserved win for Catania and another defeat for Inter whose season looks in tatters before we have even reached November. Milan however pulled away from the disaster zone after recording a comfortable win over high flying Palermo. Having set out in two banks of 4 at the back Palermo looked hard to break down and it took Milan a while until Ibrahimovic unlocked the door with a ball to the back post that was knocked across goal for Nocerino to send in. Milan had been applying the pressure and deserved the lead, and this was doubled not long after the break with Ibrahimovic again involved as he fed Robinho who opened his account for the season. Milan were in total control now and Cassano added a third as he continued his superb form so far this season. Having hit two for Italy midweek his confidence was high and it showed as he fired home with consummate ease to make it 3-0 despite their being a number of bodies in between the ball and the goal. 

It was a good win for Milan and with Lecce and Parma up next in Serie a they will be confident of climbing the table soon enough. For Inter however as things stand the season looks long and hard and one wonders whether any shot at the title is in fact already over.

Calcio comment: Juve got to believe them!

Questions had been asked of Juve up until this round, whether they had really turned a corner or whether they were the Juve of the last two seasons which faltered to deceive and then promptly embarrassed the 27 time, or 29 depending on which fence you sit, Scudetto winners. But, when the champions came to town tonight Juve gave a performance worth of champions themselves, dominating possession with an expansive style of play that at times left Milan looking one dimensional and without threat. Not bad, considering this was a Milan side that drew a Barcelona only a few weeks ago. Despite this, it was 0-0 come 86 minutes until Claudio Marchisio hit the back of then from a well worked team goal and then doubled his tally moments later thanks to an Abiati howler. It's only week five but there is definitely a different feel to Juventus this season, their new stadium and new additions appear to have transformed a side that has been in the doldrums for a few seasons.

Elsewhere Napoli, or perhaps referee Rocchi added to Inter's miserable start to the season. The game had been played at a cracking pace with Inter on top in the early exchanges until Joel Obi was adjudged to have fouled Christian Maggio inside the box. Infact, the foul was committed outside the box and Obi's initial yellow card was extremely harsh. To make matters worse for Inter after Hamsik's penalty was saved Hugo Campagnaro converted the follow up, despite have encourached into the penalty area way before the kick had even been taken. It was a poor night for the referee but Napoli fans won't care and the partenopei came away with three fantastic points after a dominating the second half with some great football.

One city that whose clubs have had a mixed bag of results so far this season is Rome, but both clubs set themselves up for the Rome derby with solid wins, Roma over inform Atalanta and Lazio with a superb away win at Fiorentina who themselves have had a good start to the season. Roma broke down Atalanta with goals from Bojan, Osvaldo and Simplicio while Lazio came from behind in florence thanks to a wonder strike from Hernanes and another crucial winner from German hero Miroslav Klose who hit his third Serie A goal in five games.

Elsewhere, Genoa were mauled in Parma thanks to Seb Giovinco while Novara and Catania played out a wonderful 3-3 draw. Bologna were again beaten by pace setters Udinese while Palermo continued their great start with a 2-0 win over Siena, despite being down to ten men. Cesena picked up their first point against Chievo but will rue a Adrian Mutu penalty miss while Lecce look in deep trouble after another home defeat this time to Cagliari.

Round five review: True leaders yet to reveal themselves

It has been an intriguing start to the Serie A season and round five has only further added to its intrigue as just five points separate first from 18th in a table so tight that one win would change the scope and ambition, albeit temporarily at this early stage, of any Serie A club. Inter got this round underway and Claudio Ranieri began his tenure in emphatic fashion with a 3-1 win away at Bologna. Gone was the 3-4-3 formation championed by Gianpiero Gasperini and in came a 4-3-1-2 formation which gave Inter a more solid approach to the game and brought the best out of their available players. No Sneijder, no problem as Milito, Lucio and Pazzini all found the net to get their season back on track.

Both Milan and Roma got their seasons back on track with wins, albeit unconvincing in nature. Both clubs scraped to 1-0 victories over Cesena and Parma respectively thanks to Clarence Seedorf and Osvaldo and eased the pressure on their respective managers. Up next for Roma is Atalanta, who would, but for their six point penalty, be top of Serie A right now on ten points after another home win this time against Novara. The win was somewhat controversial in nature after the away side had a goal ruled out late on but that will be of no concern to the Nerazzurri fans who have had a superb start to life in Serie A.

One club that has not had a superb start to their life in Serie A is Siena, but with a 3-0 win against Lecce today they eased concerns over their goal scoring issues and built on a superb away performance at Roma midweek. Joining them on five points is Catania who held Juventus at home in a 1-1 draw. They were unlucky not to win and perhaps would have but for a goalkeeping error in Milos Krasic's drive which leveled the tie just after half time. Catania had a chance to win it at the death but failed to capitalise on a strong breakaway chance. Juventus remain unbeaten, along with Atalanta and Udinese, the latter of which joins them on top of the standings after a 0-0 draw away at Cagliari in Sardinia. 

Also drawing 0-0 were Lazio and Palermo who played out a stalemate at the Stadio Olimpico. Both sides had decent chances to take the initiative in this one but in the end could not find away past each others defense. For Lazio with Fiorentina and Roma up next in the league two points dropped here may be looked back with regret in the rounds to come. Napoli also dropped points in the Saturday evening game at home to a strong Fiorentina side while Genoa relinquished their top stop after being reduced to ten men in Chievo and falling to a 2-1 defeat after having initially led.

So another round in the books and although not as entertaining as ones just passed, in terms of goals at least, the table is set up in such a manner that anyone on four points or more will begin to think they could make a run at Europe or in some select cases the Scudetto this season. This tight nature coincides with some huge clashes in the next round with Juve hosting Milan, Inter hosing Napoli and Lazio heading to Florence. It's not make or break yet but each one of these six will be looking to lay down a marker heading into the International break while Roma, Udinese and initial pace setters Genoa will be looking to capitalise on the fall out. 

Calcio comment: Topsy turvey table

It was no surprise to hear this morning that Inter coach Gasperini had been sacked after a hapless start to his managerial career, a start that with just one game to go in round four sees Inter Milan, European Champions in 2010, in the relegation zone. Rumours are abound that Claudio Ranieri will take over and he at least has big club experience from his time at Valencia, Chelsea and Juventus. Whether he will be the answer for Inter's woeful start remains to be seen but things could not continue especially after a horrendous 3-1 defeat to Novara last night. 

However, this was not a round for the big guns as Milan, Juve and Napoli all failed to pick up three points which leave Genoa top of Serie A, on goal difference, tonight. Milan and Juve both failed to beat Udinese and Bologna respectively with Juve down to ten men for the last 45 minutes of their match. Napoli did not fare much better either having fell 1-0 in Verona after their heroics against Milan on Sunday night. An unpredictable round it was and no game illustrated this more than Lazio's win in Cesena. Having put in a limp first half performance and trailing at half time Lazio overturned the score through Hernanes and Klose within minutes in the second half.

Two teams flying under the radar, for different reasons are Atalanta and Fiorentina. The viola recored their second win of the campaign with Stefan Jovetic hitting a brace while Atalanta have now wiped out their points penalty, after just three rounds, to put them up to 15th in the table. Not many would have thought that possible at the beginning of the season. Then again, not many would have thought Milan and Inter would be in the bottom half of the table. It looks wide open and unpredictable this campaign and that should just add to the excitement.

Champions League: Milan and Napoli pick up great away draws while Inter disgrace themselves

Milan and Napoli both emerged from tough encounters with Barcelona and Manchester City respectively with a hard earned away point but Inter's truly woeful start to the season continued as they crashed to a 1-0 defeat to Turkish side Trabzonspor. 

Milan were handed a nightmare start to their champions league campaign but despite being subjected to the usual avalanche of Barcelona possession they emerged from the Camp Nou with a 2-2 draw, thanks to an early wonder strike from Pato and a header at the death from Thiago Silva. Despite being out bossed in terms of possession Milan were strong defensively and well organised and with three less complicated fixtures up next will hope to go into their home game against Barca in round five of the Champions League with ten points under their belt. It's early days but they have at least given themselves a chance to top this group and avoid a tougher round in the second round.

Napoli also emerged with a credible point, although it could have been more. City dominated the early proceedings but arguably the best chance fell to Lavezzi in the first half as his curling effort was half an inch away from gracing the back of the net. City, not to be outdone, also hit the bar through Yaya toure but 0-0 at half time it was. After the break Napoli started the stronger and should have gone in front through a Marek Hamsik volley which was cleared of the line, in superb fashion, but Vicent Kompany. City were rocking though and Hamsik again was at the centre of it all. A lightning fast counter attack led by Hamsik broke away and Cavani applied the finish to Hamisk's exquisite through ball. The lead did not last long however as Kolarov fired home from a free kick but replays showed Napoli really should have done better defensively as no attempt was made at jumping by the wall. Still, it ended 1-1 and Napoli will entertain Villareal at the San Paolo in the next round.

That leaves Inter and their crisis depend tonight after a truly woeful defeat at home to Trabzonspor, losing by one goal to nil. Despite creating numerous chances Inter were kept at bay by superb goalkeeper from Zengin and woeful misses in front of goal, especially from Pazzini and Milito who both spurned great chances. They were punished for their complacency and now have it all to do. The only good news was that Lille and CSKAs game ended all square, and that leaves Inter still in serious contention but with their tails between their legs for now. 

Round two roundup

It seems strange to call this round two given that it was in effect opening day but technically speaking this was the second round and it did not disappoint with 35 goals being banged in around the Penisula over just ten games. It is truly great to be back. 

Big crowds packed the stands as well despite the strike in week one and this was the case in Turin today when Juve put on a superb display to beat Parma 4-1 in the grand opening of their stadium. A wonderful display from Andrea Pirlo rolled back the years as he ran the game from midfield. The Juventini would have been encouraged by this dominant display and entertained by two especially stunning strikes from Claudio Marchisio and new midfield rock Artur Vidal.

Not to be outdone of course rivals Napoli had the night before put three past Cesena as they won their for the second year in a row. This time however it was Marek Hamsik and not Edison Cavani who was the hero as the midfielder provided the assist for Hugo Campagnaro's goal and then belted one in with a fierce left footed drive himself in the games dying embers. With Milan and Lazio sharing the spoils this put Napoli and Juve ahead of two of their major rivals this season before Fiorentina, Roma and Inter went into action later in the day. Fiorentina did not let the viola fans down putting in a dominant home display to beat Bologna 2-0. Alberto Gilardino headed the Florence outfit in front and Cerci who ended the season red hot began this one in the same manner and put them 2 in front after the break.

Two of the big title contenders were still to come and Roma's tifosi will not be impressed with the manner in which their season has started as they crashed to a 2-1 home defeat to Cagliari. Luis Enrique will be under huge pressure and with Inter up next week they could well enter week three with no points on the board. Inter however could face that prospect as well as they fell 4-3 to Palermo in Sicily tonight in a belter of an encounter. Inter at half time but that has often been a curse on this fixture in recent years and it proved to be the case tonight as Palermo secured the win through two brilliant strikes from Miccoli and Pinilla respectively. Milito and Forlan both hit the net but it was not enough for the Benemata.

Elsewhere Genoa stalled at home to Atalanta while new boys Novara managed to come back twice away at Chievo to secure a precious point. Siena and Catania also shared the spoils while Udinese picked up three massive points in Lecce to begin their season with a vital away win.

Season opener: Milan 2 - 2 Lazio

The season has finally begun and it was worth the wait as there were goals galore in Milan tonight. Lazio headed to Milan, a place they had not won in Serie A since 1989, saying they would attack and they did just that taking the game to the Rossoneri right from the first kick of the ball. It did not take them long to start creating chances either and a superb assist from Mauri allowed new signing Miroslav Klose to unlock the Milan back door to send Lazio in front. Milan did not no what had hit them as Lazio dictated the play for the first 25 minutes and it only got worse for the Diavolo when Djibril Cisse headed home another Mauri assist to put Lazio 2 goals to the good.

Milan were rocking but were allowed back into the game through a bad defensive play by the Lazio back line which left Ibrahimovic the task of tapping in from one yard out. Now it was Lazio who were rocking and the score was levelled after Antonio Cassano somehow managed to get on the end of a ball which Luciano Zauri should have cleared with ease. It looked a matter of time before Milan took the lead but the Aquile dug in and went in at the break level. After the break Milan started like that finished and it began to look like a back to the wall job for Lazio. Indeed stand in goalkeeper Albano Bizzarri repeatedly kept Boateng, Cassano and Ibrahimovic at bay although was lucky when a Cassano effort came back of the post. Despite this the best chance of the half fell to Lazio's Cisse who after rounding the keeper could not quite convert mainly due to some brilliant defending from Alessandro Nesta.

It finished 2-2 and Lazio will certainly be more pleased than Milan. Inter, Juve Napoli and Roma would have looked on with interest too and perhaps after this Milan don't seem as formidable as pundits have made out this season and an unpredictable season and Scudetto battle is afoot.

Club Focus: Cloud nine for Cesena?

A year ago Cesena rejoined the Serie A elite for the first time since 1991. It must have felt like a dream, especially with the club having spent time rotting in Serie C1 during the late 90s. Indeed, they were still there in 2009 until back to back promotions saw them arrive in Serie A. Last season was superb really for them. They were always comfortably away from the heat of the relegation battle and in the end finished just seven points away from a position in the top ten.

Quite some achievement you might say, but rather than rest on their laurrels and anticipate the famous second season syndrone the board room at Cesena has been active as well bringing  players with quality and experience. Adrian Mutu, Jorge Martinez, Antonio Candreva, former Brescia forward Eder and Abdel Ghezzal have all arrived while key talent Marco Parolo remains despite interest from some of Italy's biggest clubs. Impressive sums up this mercato for Cesena and this has been reflected in their season ticket sales which have exceeded 12,000 already. Not bad for a ground which has a capacity of just under 24,000 and given that their average attendance last season was 16,469 last year it is logical to forsee a significant increase on that figure come the end of the season. 

Despite the small capacity however the Stadio Dino Manuzzi will be an intimidating place to come this season with the fans so close to the pitch and if they start well a top ten placing could well be within their grasp come the seasons end.

Club focus: Tough year in store for Palermo

Most Serie A clubs this Summer have attempted to strengthen their squads. Inter, Milan, Juventus, Napoli, Lazio and Roma have all added significant players to their rosters while Genoa and Fiorentina, both aiming for top six places, have also added players of quality in the shape of Sebastian Frey and Andrea Lazzari whilst also retaining important players as well. Even Udinese, who sold Sanchez, Inler and Zapater can still call on developing talents and established first team players in the shape of Di Natale, Asamoah, Armero and Handanovic. For Palermo however this market has been something of a different story.

The season for Palermo ended on a high last year, even if they lost in the Coppa Italia final to Inter Milan. The final in the Stadio Olimpico represented a magificent moment for the club and their tifosi in pink replica kits vastly outnumbered their Inter rivals, taking over around three quarters of the 72,000 capacity stadium. Enthusiasm was high even in defeat but one wonders whether that is the case now after a quite woeful Summer market. Gone are Javier Pastore, Cesare Bovo, Mattia Cassani, Salvatore Sirigu, Fabio Liverani and Antonio Nocerino. The only transfers of note to come in are Matais Silvestre and Andrea Mantovani. True, this is a squad that still boasts talent in the shape of Josep Illicic, Armin Bacinovic, Ezequiel Munoz, Abel Hernandez and Fabrizio Miccoli but the sale of some of their best players, especially in the back line, is not the actions of a club aimining to keep pace with the rest of the big sides in the division.

Palermo fans will be disappointed and not for the first time given that Cavani and Kjaer both moved on last Summer and now both find themselves in rival Serie A sides, and given the huge income received from the Cavani and Pastore sales questions will be rasied as to why more of it was not invested in the squad. Palermo fans will also be disappointed that they are already out of Europe following a quite pitiful display in the Europa League qualifiers and that their coach has already been fired before a single game has been played in Serie A. The reigns have been handed to Devis Mangia who at just 37 years of age has a massive job on his hands after Delio Rossi declined to take up the hot seat in the Renzo Barbera once again. 

Despite this Zamperini will surely expect them to challenge for the Europa League places but with everyone else re-enforcing this will surely be beyond them. A place in the top ten looks like the best they can hope for at this stage and the dream of chasing down a Champions League spot, as they did just two seasons ago, must feel like a dim and distant memory. As for new coach Mangia he had better hope to hit the ground running at home to Inter this coming weekend else the comparisons made to Pep Guardiola by Zamperini himself today will also seem like a dim and distant memory as well.

Serie B: Pescara off to a great start while Nocerina hold on in first Serie B home game for 32 years

Zdenek Zeman steared Pescara to a second consecutive win to take the Abruzzo based side top of the Serie B table. Pescara fans have a right to be excited right now, not least because Juve man Ciro Immobile fired twice tonight in a 3-2 win over Serie B heavyweights Empoli. With Sampdoria stalling again in Livorno in a 0-0 game, Pescara have steamed away at the top with Sassuolo on six points. It is early day but with Zeman in charge Pescara will certainly be entertaining to watch this season. 

Joining them in the win column tonight was Bari winning 1-0 away at Modena while Ascoli were also victorious, chipping away at their six point penalty which they were given at the beginning of the season. Not every team in Serie B played tonight but Nocerina did and they entertained Brescia in a packed Stadio San Francesco D'Assisi in their first Serie B game for 32 years, having been promoted from the Lega Pro last year. This is something of a fairytale for this club and they did not disappoint, taking the lead after Castaldo headed in a deflected shot after 40 minutes. The lead did not last long however as Ignacio fired home a superb low strike from outside the area on the stroke of half time. It finished 1-1 after an entertaining second half with Brescia twice hitting the woodwork. Tomorrow Torino and Hellas Verona are both in action and will be looking to pick up three points against Cittadella and Juve Stabia respectively.

Inter kick start their mercato, at last

It's taken them some time but much like city rivals Milan last Summer Inter have finally taken substantial action as far as their mercato goes. Diego Forlan and Andrea Poli are set to come in and this may kick start a frantic final few days of the mercato for the Nerazzurri. 

With Samuel Eto'o moving to pastures new Diego Forlan is set to take his place. Although older than the Cameroon Lion Forlan represents a quality addition to an already quality forward line with Diego Milito back from injury, Giampaolo Pazzini already in good form after his pre-season exploits and Luc Castingos arriving from Feyenoord ready to learn his trade alongside some of the top forwards in the world. 

The loss of Eto'o will still hurt for the Inter Tifosi and perhaps more players are set to arrive given that Forlan is rumoured to cost Inter 'only' five million and that Andrea Poli, the talented young midfielder who broke through at Sampdoria over the last two years, is set to arrive on loan with an option to buy. 

Inter have though been heavy spenders over the last decade and beyond and perhaps with Inter having achieved everything now under Moratti's watch the incentive to splash million after million has dried up somewhat and now is the time to reign this in. Time will tell whether this is the case for Inter and the opportunity to sell a player of 30 years of age for almost 30 million euros is not an offer to be sneezed at. Alternatively, perhaps Moratti sees this as the time to freshen up a squad that slumped last year after that treble winning season with fresh faces, eagar to make a run at the Scudetto and Champions League titles once more. 

Perhaps whether anyone else of significance arrives or not will indicate whether Inter are looking to halt the big spending of recent years or instead freshen up the squad much like they did last time in the wake of Ibrahimovic being sold. Either way, Interista's should be pleased tonight at least that some intent has at last been shown by their club this Summer.