AC Milan go top as Inter's slump continues
Serie A attracts criticism both for the absence of truly world-class players and for a perceived lack of excitement, however as last night's results showed, you'll struggle to find a more competitive league in Europe, in which the teams at the bottom are capable of regularly tripping those at the top.
Lecce, Brescia and Cesena, the three promoted sides that started matchday 11 in the bottom five hosted Inter Milan, Juventus and Lazio, a trio who were all in the top five, and took a combined five points off them, with Lecce and Brescia drawing and Cesena taking Lazio off top spot with a 1-0 win.
Mauro Zarate was scapegoated by boss Edy Reja for Lazio's shock defeat - their second in four days - against a club who had taken just a point from their previous seven games. With Napoli next up for the Biancocelesti, their brief stint as title contenders is almost certainly over, hence odds of [29.0].
The new leaders are AC Milan, whose controversy-plagued 3-1 victory over Palermo saw them emerge as [2.62] title favourites ahead of Sunday's derby. Rosanero president Maurizio Zamparini has vowed to sell up out of fury at what he considered a biased display from referee Luca Banti.
But while AC Milan head into the Derby della Madonnina on a high, the pressure is increasing on Rafael Benitez after their 1-1 draw at Lecce made it two wins in seven domestically. The injury situation hasn't helped, yet it's far from the only problem and if the Nerazzurri lose they'll be six points off the pace, so it's no surprise that they are out to [2.74] to retain.
An Alessandro Diamanti wonder goal denied Juventus at Brescia, so Napoli and Roma were the other major midweek winners. The Partenopei in particular are beginning to look like interesting outsiders at [30.0], overtaking Inter in third after the brilliant Ezequiel Lavezzi struck at the death in Cagliari.
Will Walter Mazzarri's men pass their Lazio test on Sunday? They're [3.8]...
Published: 11 Nov 2010
Leave a comment