Serie A: 5 Things We Learned from Week 30

It has been an eventful week in Italy, with stories off the pitch grabbing the headlines despite some thoroughly entertaining calcio.

Serie A is once again embroiled in a betting scandal, as a confession made by Atalanta defender Andrea Masiello's in a Serie A match-fixing probe was recently leaked after his arrest Monday.

A game between Bari and Lecce last May has been cited as being especially suspicious.

The league was also dealt with the sad news that former Lazio player Giorgio Chinaglia passed away  from complications of a heart attack in his home in Naples, FL, USA.

There were plenty football-related stories to digest over the weekend too, providing more fascinating plots in what has already become a classic season.

Latest Betting Scandal Heaps More Shame on Calcio

Serie A has had plenty of encouraging signs on the pitch this season indicating that the league is returning to the elite of European football.

The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) has revealed that nine players have been cited as being involved in allegedly fixing up to five matches during the 2009-10 and 2010-11 campaigns.

Andrea Masiello, currently playing for Atalanta, is at the centre of the scandal after it was reported that he received a €300,000 payment, while with Bari, to deliberately score an own goal.

Other players who have been named include Cristiano Doni, Daniele Portanova, Alessandro Parisi, Marco Rossi and Simone Bentivoglio. The FIGC must deal with this swiftly and severely in order to rid the Italian game of corruption.

Big Decisions Could Cost Milan the Scudetto

AC Milan suffered another costly decision this weekend. It was the second time they have had a goal wrongly disallowed by a referee as not officially crossing the line.

The first time came at home just over a month ago to Juventus when the Rossoneri were leading 1-0. Sulley Muntari's shot appeared to go over the line before Gianluigi Buffon was able to claw the ball back, but referees were not able to definitively tell whether it had crossed the line.

The Bianconeri eventually equalised to grab a point and remain unbeaten this season, maintaining some momentum as they strive for the Scudetto.

It happened again Saturday on an away trip to Catania with Milan drawing 1-1, Robinho rounded goalkeeper Juan Pablo Carrizo and shot the ball towards the empty net. Giovanni Marchese appeared to have cleared the ball off the line, but replays revealed he was not able to do so before the ball had crossed the line.

Ultimately, the Rossoneri can legitimately claim to have been robbed of four points, which means that the current gap at the top of Serie A, currently two points, should in fact be seven.

Giorgio Chinaglia Will Be Remembered as a Lazio Legend

Giorgio Chinaglia will be fondly remembered at Lazio and the New York Cosmos for his prolific goal-scoring ability.

Chinaglia is notorious for his exploits while with the Italian national team at the 1974 World Cup in West Germany. He was involved in a furious argument with manager Ferruccio Valcareggi after he was substituted against Haiti. He never returned to wear the famous Azzurri kit, finishing with four goals in 14 caps.

Chinaglia's golden moment in his career came in 1974 when he won the Capocannoniere award with 24 goals in 30 matches, which was enough to help the Biancocelesti secure their first ever Scudetto.

Roma Can Claim Third Place and Champions League Qualification

Roma were impressive this weekend as they won 5-2 at home over Novara on Sunday morning. The Giallorossi took advantage of the losses from Lazio, Udinese and Napoli, narrowing the gap to third place.

The Lupi are just four points off their preseason target of third place. Considering Lazio and Napoli face off next weekend, victory away at Lecce will mean further ground will be gained on at least one of their rivals for that coveted third place and final Serie A Champions League berth.

The Lupi were highly impressive in storming back from a one-goal deficit after Andrea Caracciolo silenced the Stadio Olimpico when he opened the scoring after 17 minutes. Goals from Marquinho, Pablo Osvaldo, Fabio Simplicio, Bojan Krkic and Erik Lamela made for an emphatic victory, with the Cavallucci Marini only able to reply once more through a late consolation goal by Takayuki Morimoto.

Roma's project under new owner Thomas DiBenedetto stands to gain the most from Champions League qualification, knowing that the Giallorossi could instantly attract a greater calibre of player in the transfer market in order to eventually challenge Juventus and Milan for the Scudetto.

Stramaccioni with Plenty of Work to Do, Despite Genoa Win

Andrea Stramaccioni's career as Inter manager started off with a spectacular victory against Genoa. The Nerazzurri won 5-4 at home to the Grifone thanks to a Diego Milito hat trick. Referee Paolo Valeri awarded four penalties, and two red cards to Inter's Julio Cesar and Genoa's Fernando Belluschi. 

Walter Samuel and Mauro Zarate also scored for Inter, with Emiliano Moretti, Rodrigo Palacio and Alberto Gilardino (two) replying for Genoa in this thrilling encounter. Ultimately, victory for Stramaccioni in his first game in charge of Inter proved to be enough to force Genoa president Enrico Preziosi to sack manager Pasquale Marino.

The return of manager Alberto Malesani is seemingly due to president Enrico Preziosi's fear that the club could theoretically be relegated now that they are just six points above Lecce.

Inter's woes are not solved just yet, however, and any faint hope of reaching third place should be ignored for the time being. Inter currently have the highest wage bill in the entire league, which means that without Champions League football, the club cannot feasibly pass UEFA financial fair play rules and remain sustainable.

President Massimo Moratti must restrain from putting unfair expectations on the 36-year-old manager by realising that the club lived the dream under Jose Mourinho's tenure, and that that is in the past now.

Jack Alexandros is a football analyst for Football Radar covering Serie A. You can follow him on Twitter @jackalexandros and @FRcalcioJack.

The club's playing staff ultimately needs a complete overhaul and, as a consequence, Inter will almost certainly have to accept they cannot challenge for the Scudetto in the immediate future.

Stats Corner, Week 30: Capocannoniere and Fantasistas

Capocannoniere

Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Milan): 22

Antonio Di Natale (Udinese): 19

Edinson Cavani (Napoli): 19

Diego Milito (Inter): 17

Rodrigo Palacio (Genoa): 16

German Denis (Atalanta): 15

Miroslav Klose (Lazio): 13

Stevan Jovetic (Fiorentina): 12

Fabrizio Miccoli (Palermo): 12

Emanuele Calaio (Siena): 11

Alessandro Matri (Juventus): 10

Sebastian Giovinco (Parma): 10

Marco Di Vaio (Bologna): 10

Pablo Osvaldo (Roma): 10

Fantasistas (Assists)

Fabrizio Miccoli (Palermo): 13

Sebastian Giovinco (Parma): 12

Pablo Armero (Udinese): 10

Andrea Pirlo (Juventus): 10

Mirko Vucinic (Juventus): 10

Robinho (Milan): 9

Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Milan): 9

Marco Rigoni (Novara): 8

Antonio Di Natale (Udinese): 8

Jonathan Biabiany (Parma): 8

Antonio Cassano (Milan): 7

Miralem Pjanic (Roma): 7

Marek Hamsik (Napoli): 7

Sergio Pellissier (Chievo): 7

Juan Vargas (Fiorentina): 7

Miroslav Klose (Lazio): 7

Ezequiel Lavezzi (Napoli): 7

Francesco Totti (Roma): 7

All statistics provided by Transfermarkt