Winners and Losers from Serie A Matches from Week 10
Napoli struck a blow in the Scudetto race this weekend at the San Paolo, beating Roma 2-0 and allowing Juventus to open up a three-point gap in first thanks to their away win over Empoli.
At the other end of the table, meanwhile, Parma looked back to their old selves against a hapless Inter side that capitulated to a 2-0 loss at the Ennio Tardini.
Elsewhere, Palermo provided the surprise of the round with an impressive victory over AC Milan at the San Siro, while Sampdoria got their first win in four over Fiorentina, who still can't find consistent form.
Winners: Palermo
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Thanks to a win at the San Siro, Palermo earned three points they won't have expected at the start of the season and now sit 12th in the table, just four points behind their weekend hosts in seventh.
Milan still aren't at their best and Palermo is a club with huge potential that never should have been relegated in the first place, but beating the Rossoneri on their home turf is still a huge scalp for a newly-promoted team.
This was an excellent group performance from Giuseppe Iachini's men. Several players had fine games, Edgar Barreto and Paulo Dybala in particular, but it was the communal effort that stood out more than any individual.
Milan were allowed to have the ball in areas that didn't threaten the Sicilians, and whenever Pippo Inzaghi's side slipped up the Rosanero were ready to take advantage.
Losers: AC Milan
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It was a night to forget for Milan at the San Siro. The 0-2 loss to Palermo casts serious doubt over their supposed improvement.
The Rossoneri's form now reads WWLDDWWDDL. Given the fact they've only played two sides above them in the table, Juventus and Lazio, those results should be a lot better.
Next up are Sampdoria, who'll be no pushovers at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris, before the Derby della Madonnina with Inter.
That's followed by a tricky run of fixtures against Udinese, Genoa, Napoli and Roma. And if Milan continue to play like they did against Palermo, it's unlikely that Inzaghi will still be on the bench by the time they head to Rome in December.
Winner: Diego Lopez
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No one in the home side's dressing room at the San Siro covered themselves in glory versus Palermo, but Diego Lopez was the best of a bad bunch.
The veteran Spaniard made a number of fine saves in the first half, and were it not for Cristian Zapata's horror show in defence, he might have kept Inzaghi's side in the game.
As it was, Lopez can hardly be blamed for the Colombian's own goal or his slip that allowed Paulo Dybala to score the Rosanero's second.
This was a vast improvement on his last game between the posts, when he conceded four to Parma.
Winners: Juventus
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You get the feeling that there'll be plenty more ups and downs still to come this season, but thanks to Roma's loss in Naples, Juventus are now clear at the top of the table.
Massimiliano Allegri's side enjoyed a comfortable 0-2 win away to Empoli, knowing that a victory at the Stadio Carlo Castellani would put them three points ahead of their main rivals following the Giallorossi's defeat to Napoli at the San Paolo.
Losers: Inter
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Faced with a side that had won just once this season, Inter had a great opportunity to take three points from their game with Parma and bag a third straight victory.
They failed to capitalise. Parma deserve credit—more on that later—but the lacklustre Nerazzurri really should have done better against a defence that had conceded 21 times in nine games.
Winners: Parma
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Parma are still in the relegation zone—and serious trouble—but a win over Inter should inspire some confidence in Roberto Donadoni's men.
The Crociati were an impressive sixth last term before inexplicably falling to pieces once the new campaign kicked off. Against the Nerazzurri, some of that old spark looked to have returned in what was a solid team performance—inspired by Paolo De Ceglie, who scored a brace from midfield.
The squad and its manager are far too talented to be wallowing in 19th with just two wins from 10, so hopefully this is the start of a turnaround.
Winner: Jose Callejon
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Napoli's Jose Callejon deserves credit for consigning his almost unbelievable miss against Atalanta to history and returning to fine form immediately in the game with Roma.
The Spaniard netted the Partenopei's second, putting the game beyond the visitors and himself to the forefront of Vicente del Bosque's attention in the build-up to Spain's next set of fixtures.
The 27-year-old is currently "capocannoniere," but has yet to represent his country at senior level. On this form, that seems unfair.
Winner: Gonzalo Higuain
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So much for the goal drought. After a slow start to the season, Gonzalo Higuain has now scored five and assisted once in his last three appearances.
Given his reputation and his price tag, the Argentinian is always going to be under pressure to perform for Napoli, but when he's playing as well as he did against Roma—or Verona two weeks ago—it's easy to see that his status is deserved.
Loser: Vincenzo Montella
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Fiorentina continue to struggle and the strain on Vincenzo Montella is now evident.
Against Sampdoria, the Viola looked a very different side to the one that recorded an impressive 3-0 win over Udinese in the previous round. This is Montella's major problem: the Florentines are far too inconsistent.
The loss of both Giuseppe Rossi and Mario Gomez has understandably been keenly felt, but three wins from 10 is an unacceptable return for a side with genuine European ambition.
Sinisa Mihajlovic's Blucerchiati have proven themselves to be no pushovers this term, but Fiorentina should still expect to at least compete with the Genoans instead of limping to a 3-1 loss.
Montella's team is now languishing mid-table despite a squad full of talent, just a point above minnows Hellas Verona and well off the pace being set by the leading pack. Something needs to change in Florence, and soon.
