Fans would be content just to see Milan’s ship steadied so they can have a chance to enjoy their rivals’ mishaps. Even that, apparently, is too much to askYou could not blame Milan fans for enjoying a moment of schadenfreude. They had endured abundant humiliations already this season, from the 4-1 mauling at Lazio through to the last-gasp draw against pointless Benevento. It was time for somebody else to suffer. Better yet that it should be their neighbours, Inter, who had begun the weekend top of the table.The Nerazzurri were expected to extend their unbeaten start at home to 13th-placed Udinese on Saturday. There was a festive vibe at San Siro, where fans were given Santa hats before being invited...
Still unbeaten in Serie A after the Derby d’Italia, leaders Internazionale are rightly starting to cause a little anxiety in TurinThe stage was set for a spectacle. A full house at the Allianz Stadium and the atmosphere crackling as Juventus fans put on their usual pre-game choreography: a sea of black and white placards broken only by a green, white and red tricolore to remind everyone this is where the reigning champions reside.Well, no, actually, that wouldn’t quite do it. Ultras also prepared their own banner, in which 1970s cartoon detective Nick Carter was seen, together with sidekicks Patsy and Ten, examining a map of Europe. Italy had been blocked out in black and white stripes. Above the picture was...
Alberto Bignoli joined an exclusive club of scoring Serie A keepers, while Perisic’s hat-trick took Inter above Napoli, and Lazio showed character to beat SampdoriaWith Napoli hosting Juventus on Friday night, we split the regular Serie A blog in two this week. The main piece, covering that game, is here. But the rest of the weekend turned out to be rather lively as well … Related: Benevento win first Serie A point after keeper's injury-time header stuns Milan ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE, WHEN YOU THINK YOU'VE SEEN IT ALL... INJURY TIME, GOALKEEPER DIVING HEADER EQUALISER Sensational drama at Benevento pic.twitter.com/3q7qVYbvYU Related: This was supposed to be Milan's revival season. Instead they have regressed | Paolo Bandini Continue reading...
With no Italy in the World Cup draw Neapolitans were looking for a little joy and Friday night escapism but were again left feeling blue by their former strikerIf Italians were looking to be distracted from a World Cup draw taking place without them on Friday, they had no shortage of options. In fact, some were aggrieved at an excess of watchable TV. Napoli’s game against Juventus had been scheduled at the same time as new episodes of Gomorrah. Such was the outcry that Sky wound up making the latter available on-demand from breakfast time so viewers would not have to choose. In Naples, this was not truly a dilemma. As popular as Roberto Saviano’s crime drama has become, it...
All that really matters is that Vincenzo Montella’s approach was not working, which is why the club’s owners have terminated his services at San SiroVincenzo Montella did not see the curtain coming down. San Siro might sometimes be referred to as La Scala del Calcio – football’s answer to Milan’s famous opera house – but his team’s performances this season had rarely been worthy of such a stage. On Sunday, the Rossoneri drew 0-0 at home to Torino. It was their fourth consecutive home game without a goal in Serie A.An audience of 54,000 people jeered at the conclusion. Still, Montella continued to see his glass as half full. “We dictated the game from start to finish,” he insisted. “The...