Serie A 38: Milan Wins 18th National Serie A Title

Final season summary and Highlights of 38th round of Serie A

Leader: Allegri’s Milan completed the season with a scoreless tie at Udinese. The team (photo) who had secured the 18th National title with 2 rounds to go to the end of the season, dominated Serie A this year, despite many injuries. The club built up the success with a smart transfer strategy which added to Milan’s roster valuable players such as Ibrahimovic, Robinho, Cassano, Van Bommel, etc. The key man was however coach Allegri, won the title at its first attempt on Milan’s bench, successfully managing all the talent and fending off tough late challenges from Inter and Napoli.

Contenders: Inter ended a disappointing season with a win (3-1) over Catania. Expectations after last year’s 4 titles were high but Benitez’s bad start and firing combined with Leonardo’s inexperience proved fatal for Inter in key Serie A and Champions matches, with Coppa Italia now the only remaining chance for a competition win this year. Napoli, closing in third place, settled for a tie at Juventus (2-2), crowning a great season led by coach Mazzarri and the goals scored by Cavani. An even bigger surprise was Udinese this year which secured an amazing 4th place, despite an awful start to the season, thanks to coach Guidolin and the goals scored by DiNatale, Serie A’s top goal scorer this season.

Disasters: Lazio improved over last year, closing with a win at Lecce (2-4) but Reja’s team proved inconsistent and because of that missed a coveted Champions spot. Roma (winning its last match with Sampdoria 3-1) managed to do worse, never becoming a contender for the title as in years past and little was accomplished by replacing Ranieri with Montella. The biggest disaster however was DelNeri’s Juventus, a team that consistently underperformed in the middle of the standings, missing even a spot in the Europa League, the minimum target for such a high profile club.

Laggards: Palermo’s performance season (ending with a home less to Chievo 1-3) was as mixed as it was for both Fiorentina and Genoa. All three clubs expected more but handed up with less as they alternated good & poor performances. In the battle to avoid relegation many teams struggled almost to the end of the season with Chievo, Parma, Catania, and Cagliari securing another season in Serie A earlier than Cesena, Bolgona and Lecce. Among the 3 teams relegated to Serie B, Sampdoria (alongside Brescia and Bari) shocked its fans with consistent losses especially after the departure in mid-season of its 2 key talents Cassano and Pazzini, a loss from which this once glorious team was not able to recover.

Results: Bologna – Bari 0-4; Brescia- Fiorentina 2-2; Cagliari- Parma 1-1; Genoa- Cesena 3-2; Inter- Catania 3-1; Palermo    - Chievo 1-3; Juventus – Napoli    2-2; Lecce- Lazio 2-4; Roma- Sampdoria 3-1; Udinese- Milan 0-0.

Final Serie A 2010-11 Standings:
- Milan 82; (National Champion)
- Inter 76; Napoli 70; Udinese 66; (Qualified for Champions League)
- Lazio 66; Roma 63; (Qualified for Europa League)
- Juventus 58; Palermo 56; Fiorentina, Genoa 51;
- Chievo, Parma, Catania 46; Cagliari 45;
- Cesena 43; Bologna 42; Lecce 41;
- Sampdoria 36; Brescia    32; Bari 24 (Relegated to Serie B)

Serie A 37: Zuniga secures Champions for Napoli

Highlights of the 37th round of Serie A

Leader: Milan celebrated in its stadium its 18th national title by easily defeating Cagliari (4-1) led by Robhinho who scored 2 of the winning goals. With this win Milan sealed a Serie A season that it dominated despite having a young coach Allegri at its helm.

Contenders: In the key match of the day, Napoli and Inter settled for a tie (1-1) with Eto’o scoring first and Zuniga (photo) tieing the match allowing Napoli to secure third place and a spot in next year’s Champions League. The battle for 4th place meanwhile continued with Udinese winning at Chievo (0-2) and Lazio routing Genoa (4-2). Confirming disappointing seasons, on the contrary, Roma lost at Catania (2-1) while Juventus lost at Parma (1-0).

Laggards: In the most dramatic match of the day Palermo won at Sampdoria (1-2), a result that sanctions Sampdoria’s relegation to Serie B despite the club’ successes in recent years. The wins obtained by Cesena against Brescia (1-0) and Lecce at Bari (0-2) enabled both teams to celebrate with certainty the ability to play in Serie A next year as well.

Results: Bari – Lecce 0-2; Catania – Roma 2-1; Cesena – Brescia 1-0; Chievo – Udinese 0-2; Fiorentina – Bologna 1-1; Lazio – Genoa 4-2; Milan – Cagliari 4-1; Napoli – Inter 1-1; Parma – Juventus 1-0; Sampdoria – Palermo 1-2.

Standings: Milan 81; Inter 73; Napoli 69; Udinese 65; Lazio 63, Roma 60; Juventus 57; Palermo 56; Fiorentina 50; Genoa 48; Catania 46; Parma 45; Cagliari 44; Chievo, Cesena 43; Bologna 42; Lecce 41; Sampdoria 36; Brescia 31; Bari 21.

Serie A 36: Allegri’s Milan Seals Title with a tie

Highlights of the 36th round of Serie A.

Leader: Allegri’s Milan won its 18th national title after settling for a scoreless tie at Roma taking advantage of its 8 points lead over second place with only 2 rounds to play left in the season. Milan’s team (photo) celebrated the win obtained after dominating Serie A for almost the entire season.

Contenders: With the title assigned, Inter secured second place by easily defeating Fiorentina (3-1) and taking advantage of Napoli’s loss at Lecce (2-1). In the battle for 4th place, Udinese demolished Lazio (2-1) with the DiNatale (the Serie A’s top scorer) scoring the 2 winning goals while Juventus will play later tomorrow the match with Chievo to pursue its final chances.

Laggards: In mid-table Palermo came back from behind to beat Bari (2-1) while Genoa won a dramatic home derby match defeating Sampdoria (2-1) with a goal scored in injury time. In 2 key matches of the day, Cesena won at Cagliari (0-2) while Brescia lost at home to Catania (1-2) and is now officially relegated to Serie B alongside Bari.

Results: Bologna – Parma 0-0; Brescia – Catania 1-2; Cagliari – Cesena 0-2; Genoa – Sampdoria 2-1; Inter – Fiorentina 3-1; Juventus – Chievo (TBD); Lecce – Napoli 2-1; Palermo – Bari 2-1; Roma – Milan 0-0; Udinese – Lazio 2-1.

Standings:  Milan 78; Inter 72; Napoli 68; Udinese 62; Roma, Lazio 60; Juventus 56; Palermo 53; Fiorentina 49; Genoa 48; Cagliari 44; Catania 43; Chievo, Parma 42; Bologna 41; Cesena 40; Lecce 38; Sampdoria 36; Brescia 31; Bari 21.

Serie A 35: Pazzini keeps Inter in the running

Highlights of the 35th round of Serie A.

Leader: Milan almost sealed the title with a narrow but key win at home against Bologna (1-0) thanks to an early goal scored by Flamini. Allegri’s team, decimated by injuries, has now a big 8 point lead over 2nd place and will need only 1 more point to win its 18th national title.

Contenders: Inter is the only team that now can stop Milan and it is still in the running only because it won at Cesena (1-2) coming back from behind with Pazzini (photo) scoring 2 goals in the final minutes of the match. Napoli also kept pace with a narrow win over Genoa (1-0) to secure third place and a spot in next year’s Champions League. The battle for 4th place on the contrary is wide open after Lazio’s home loss to Juventus (0-1), Udinese’s loss to Fiorentina (5-2) and Roma’s win at Bari (2-3) obtained only in injury time.

Laggards: In the bottom half of the standings important home wins for Chievo over Lecce (1-0), Parma over Palermo (3-1) and Catania over Cagliari (2-0). The most dramatic match of the day however was the one between struggling Sampdoria and Brescia which ended with a tie (3-3) with the home team struggling the most and scoring the final goal in injury time.

Results: Bari – Roma 2-3; Catania – Cagliari 2-0; Cesena – Inter 1-2; Chievo – Lecce 1-0; Fiorentina – Udinese 5-2; Lazio – Juventus 0-1; Milan – Bologna 1-0; Napoli – Genoa 1-0; Parma – Palermo 3-1; Sampdoria – Brescia 3-3.

Standings: Milan 77; Inter 69; Napoli 68; Lazio 60; Udinese, Roma 59; Juventus 56; Palermo 50; Fiorentina 49; Genoa 45; Cagliari 44; Chievo 42; Parma 41; Catania, Bologna 40; Cesena 37; Sampdoria 36; Lecce 35; Brescia 31; Bari 21.

Serie A 34: Robinho brings Milan closer to title

Highlights of the 34th round of Serie A.

Leader: Milan is ever closer to winning the national title after clinching a key narrow win (0-1) at Brescia. Allegri’s team struggled quite a bit to win but in the end prevailed on a goal scored by Robinho (photo) on a fast counter attack. With the main contender stumbling, Milan has now a huge 8 point lead over second place.

Contenders: After Napoli lost again at Palermo (2-1), Inter moved up to second place with a convincing win (2-1) over Lazio by coming back from behind led by Sneijder and Eto’o, despite played one man down for a good portion of the match. Behind the top 4 clubs, Udinese crumbled at home against Parma (0-2) allowing Roma, victorious over Chievo (1-0), and Juventus, held to a tie at home, to move closer to 5th place.

Laggards: In mid-table Fiorentina celebrated a win at Cagliari (1-2) while Genoa came back from 2 goals behind to defeat Lecce (4-2). In the battle to avoid relegation 2 externa wins stand out: Cesena easily won at Bologna (0-2) while Sampdoria edged out Bari (0-1) with a penalty that mathematically relegated Bari to Serie B.

Results: Bari – Sampdoria 0-1; Bologna – Cesena 0-2; Brescia – Milan 0-1; Cagliari – Fiorentina 1-2; Genoa – Lecce 4-2; Inter – Lazio 2-1; Juventus – Catania 2-2; Palermo – Napoli 2-1; Roma – Chievo 1-0; Udinese – Parma 0-2.

Standings: Milan 74; Inter 66; Napoli 65; Lazio 60; Udinese 59; Roma 56; Juventus 53; Palermo 50; Fiorentina 46; Genoa 45; Cagliari 44, Bologna 40; Chievo 39; Parma 38; Catania, Cesena 37; Sampdoria, Lecce 35; Brescia 30; Bari 21.

Serie A 33: Inler’s Udinese stuns Napoli’s hopes

Highlights of the 33rd round of Serie A.

Leader: Milan continued its run toward the title with a convincing win (3-0) over struggling Sampdoria. Seedorf gave Milan the lead solidified by the goals scored by Cassano and Robinho who sealed the win. The day for Allegri’s team was particularly good given the losses suffered by its top 2 contenders for the title.

Contenders: Napoli was stunned by the fast Udinese’s gameplay and suffered a defeat at home (1-2) with Inler (photo) scoring the lead for the Udinese and Denis closing the match. In 3rd place, Inter also lost ground losing at Parma (2-0) and is now watching its back as Lazio continued to surge after its win (1-4) led by Hernanes at Catania. Further behind Roma crumbled at home at the hands of Palermo (2-3) while Juventus settled for a scoreless tie with Fiorentina.

Laggards: Genoa definitively moved out of the hot zone with a convincing win (3-0) over Brescia, followed by Chievo which also won at home against Bologna (2-0). Further down the standings important win for Cesena over Bari (1-0) while Lecce and Cagliari battled to the end only to settle for an entertaining tie (3-3) results that leaves both unhappy.

Results:  Catania – Lazio 1-4; Cesena – Bari 1-0; Chievo – Bologna 2-0; Fiorentina – Juventus 0-0; Genoa – Brescia 3-0; Lecce – Cagliari 3-3; Milan-Sampdoria 3-0; Napoli – Udinese 1-2; Parma – Inter 2-0; Roma – Palermo 2-3.

Standings: Milan 71; Napoli 65; Inter 63; Lazio 60; Udinese 59; Roma 53; Juventus 52; Palermo 47; Cagliari 44; Fiorentina 43; Genoa 42; Bologna 40; Chievo 39; Catania 36; Parma, Lecce 35; Cesena 34; Sampdoria 32; Brescia 30; Bari 21.

Serie A 32: Seedorf’s Milan keeps Napoli behind

Highlights of the 32nd round of Serie A.

Leader: Milan continued its march toward the title with an important win (1-2) against Fiorentina away from home. The veteran Seedorf (photo) led the team to victory scoring the first goal while Pato doubled the lead before the home team was able to cut the deficit. With this win however Allegri’s team was only able to retain its 3 point lead over second place.

Contenders: Napoli continued to remain on Milan’s heels after winning at Bologna (0-2) with goals scored by Mascara and Hamsik. Mazzarri’s team continues to amaze and with 6 matches to go to the end of the season it will do all it can to battle the leader and hope it stumbles. Inter maintained third place easily disposing of Chievo (2-0) but Leornado’s team chances to win the title seem minimal at this point of the season. The battle for the key fourth place (which provides a chance to the play in next year’s Champions League) is heating up with Lazio ahead after beating Parma (2-0) and Udinese losing at home to Roma (1-2) with Totti scoring the 2 vital goals. The battle which also will determine the spots that provide access to next year’s Europa League, also includes Juventus which edged past Genoa (3-2) to keep its hopes alive to reach this minimum target.

Laggards: In the bottom half of the standings amidst a set of tie results most surprising was Palermo’s tie at home against Cesena (2-2) which squandered a 2 goal lead and conceded 2 goals in injury time. Even more amazing was Sampdoria’s loss at home to Lecce (1-2) which surprisingly places Sampdoria 1 point away from the relegation zone. The last 6 matches to the end of the season seem to be setting up, as often the case, a dramatic in the battle to avoid relegation.

Results: Bari – Catania 1-1; Bologna – Napoli 0-2; Cagliari – Brescia 1-1; Fiorentina – Milan 1-2; Inter-Chievo 2-0; Juventus-Genoa 3-2; Lazio – Parma 2-0; Palermo – Cesena 2-2; Sampdoria – Lecce 1-2; Udinese-Roma 1-2.

Standings: Milan 68; Napoli 65, Inter 63, Lazio 57, Udinese 56, Roma 53, Juventus 51, Palermo 44, Cagliari 43, Fiorentina 42, Bologna 40, Genoa 39, Chievo, Catania 36, Lecce 34, Parma, Sampdoria 32, Cesena 31, Brescia 30, Bari 21.

Serie A 31: Pato’s Milan beats Inter, dreams title

Highlights of 31st round of Serie A.

Leader: Milan clinched a key win beating second placed Inter (3-0) in the home derby match with an extraordinary Pato (photo) scoring 2 goals and Cassano scoring on penalty. With this win Allegri’s team has taken a big step toward the title but the distance over second place (3 points) remains too tight to start celebrating.

Contenders: After Inter’s loss, Napoli seems now the major contender against Milan for the title. Napoli’s dramatic win, coming back from behind, against a tenacious Lazio (4-3) was powered by Cavani who scored 3 goals and remains the driving force of this team. Behind the top 3 clubs, Udinese crumbled at Lecce (losing 2-0) while Juventus won at Roma (0-2) in a match between two highly disappointing teams this season.

Laggards: In mid-standings, Cagliari won an important match at Genoa (0-1) while Catania defeated Palermo (4-0) with a dominating performance. Further down the standings Brescia beat Bologna (3-1) while last placed Bari stunned Parma winning (1-2) in injury time further complicating the battle to avoid relegation.

Results: Brescia-Bologna 3-1; Catania – Palermo 4-0; Cesena – Fiorentina 2-2; Chievo – Sampdoria 0-0; Genoa – Cagliari 0-1;
Lecce – Udinese 2-0; Milan – Inter 3-0; Napoli – Lazio 4-3; Parma – Bari 1-2; Roma – Juventus 0-2.

Standings: Milan 65; Napoli 62; Inter 60; Udinese 56; Lazio 54; Roma 50; Juventus 48; Palermo 43; Fiorentina, Cagliari 42; Bologna 40; Genoa 39; Chievo 36; Catania 35; Parma, Sampdoria 32; Lecce 31; Cesena 30; Brescia 29; Bari 20.

Serie A 30: Pazzini’s Inter now on Milan’s tail

Highlights of the 30th round of Serie A.

Leader: Milan lost at Palermo (1-0) after offering a poor performance and has seen its lead substantially eroded over the last few rounds. Without substantial improvement Allegri’s team will risk losing the first place which it has controlled for most of the season.

Contenders: Inter continued to make up ground lost by defeating at home Lecce (1-0) with a goal scored by Pazzini (photo). Leonardo’s team is now only 2 points behind Milan in the standings with 8 rounds to go to the end of the season. Napoli however is also a contender for the title, only 1 point behind Inter, after it defeated Cagliari (2-1) with 2 goals scored by Cavani. The battle for 4th place, after Roma’s tie with Fiorentina (2-2), seems to be between a surprising Udinese (defeating Catania 2-0) and a tenacious Lazio (1-0 over Cesena).

Laggards: Juventus returned to victory defeating Brescia (2-1) led by DelPiero without impressing its disappointed fans. In the lower half of the standings 2 external wins standout in the battle to avoid relegation: Chievo won at Bari (1-2) while Parma defeated a deeply struggling Sampdoria (0-1).

Results: Bari – Chievo 1-2; Bologna – Genoa 1-1; Fiorentina – Roma 2-2; Inter – Lecce 1-0; Juventus – Brescia 2-1; Lazio – Cesena 1-0; Napoli – Cagliari 2-1; Palermo – Milan 1-0; Sampdoria – Parma 0-1; Udinese – Catania 2-0.

Standings: Milan 62; Inter 60; Napoli 59; Udinese 56; Lazio 54; Roma 50; Juventus 45; Palermo 43; Fiorentina 41; Bologna 40; Cagliari, Genoa 39; Chievo 35; Parma, Catania 32; Sampdoria 31; Cesena 29; Lecce 28; Brescia 26; Bari 17.

Serie A 29: DiNatale’s Udinese flies forward

Highlights of the 29th round of Serie A.

Leader: Milan disappointed its fans by settling for a tie (1-1) with last placed Bari. Allegri’s team actually risked losing until Cassano tied the match in the final minutes of the match.

Contenders: Inter, in second place, failed to take advantage of Milan’s tie by settling for a tie (1-1) of its own at Brescia. Napoli on the contrary cut down the defitic from the leader by winning at Parma (1-3) coming back from behind. More surprising was Guidolin’s Udinese’s resounding win at Cagliari (0-4) led by DiNatale (photo) who scored two goals and continues to be Serie A leading scorer. Also notable was Roma’s win in the home town derby against Lazio (2-0) thanks to two goals scored by Totti.

Laggards: Juventus continued to disappoint with yet another tie at Cesena (2-2) while Fiorentina appears on the mend after winning at Chievo (0-1). Further down the standings, Bologna won at Lecce (0-1) while Genoa defeated Palermo, and Catania defeated struggling Sampdoria (both 1-0) to shake up the ever more convoluted relegation zone.

Results: Brescia-Inter 1-1; Cagliari – Udinese 0-4; Catania – Sampdoria 1-0; Cesena – Juventus 2-2; Chievo – Fiorentina 0-1;
Genoa – Palermo 1-0; Lecce – Bologna 0-1; Milan – Bari 1-1; Parma – Napoli 1-3; Roma – Lazio 2-0.

Standings: Milan 62; Inter 57; Napoli 56; Udinese 53; Lazio 51; Roma 49; Juventus 42; Fiorentina, Palermo 40; Cagliari, Bologna 39; Genoa 38; Chievo, Catania 32; Sampdoria 31; Parma, Cesena 29; Lecce 28; Brescia 26; Bari 17.