Serie A Winners and Losers: Roma's Youth Lead the Way as Milan Start Controversy
This round of games in Italy saw yet another controversy rear its ugly head into view during the Juventus-Milan game.
Elsewhere, Roma returned to winning ways against Cagliari while Inter stopped the rot with a convincing victory over high-flying Palermo at the San Siro.
Lazio lost to Genoa, and Fiorentina continued their fine form with a solid 3-2 win over Atalanta.
Read on to find out who are this week's biggest winners and losers in Serie A.
Winners: Roma's Youth
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Daniele Verde was Roma's best player against Cagliari, assisting in both Giallorossi goals. The Naples native had been starring for Alberto De Rossi's Primavera side up until recently, when Rudi Garcia gave him his senior debut against Palermo.
The game in Sardinia was the first start for the 18-year-old, and he took full advantage of the opportunity. His perfectly weighted chip for Adem Ljajic's opener was reminiscent of something that Francesco Totti would try, and with obvious skill like that at his disposal coupled with pace and strength, he's the type of player worth getting excited about.
"Goals: Cagliari 1-2 Roma #BTEFS http://t.co/CSXq7Mz6WX
— BT Sport Football (@btsportfootball) February 8, 2015"
Leandro Paredes, the 20-year-old Boca Juniors youth product, also featured. The Argentine played just 16 minutes, but he scored Roma's second—set up by Verde—so he won't be too disappointed by the relative lack of playing time.
Combined, Paredes and Verde are the same age as Totti and by comparison make even the 23-year-old Ljajic look like a veteran.
It's too early for Verde and Paredes to step up to regular senior duties, because once Gervinho is back from international duty and Alessandro Florenzi and Juan Iturbe are fit again, there's a wealth of talent in front of them in the queue to start.
That said, however, there's nothing to stop Romanisti from smiling because it looks like they have some genuinely thrilling young talent to look forward to.
Loser: Milan's Credibility
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Even if Carlos Tevez was offside for Juventus' opening goal, it was by a matter of millimetres in the centre of the pitch. He still covered half the park, held off the Milan defence and beat Diego Lopez with his shot. And the Rossoneri still lost 3-1.
It wasn't the most controversial call that Serie A has seen this season—or the most decisive goal Tevez has ever scored.
Both Milan and Juve should be able to recall times when they've been treated far more generously by a referee, and the Rossoneri should focus on the fact that their midfield and forward line were completely overwhelmed by the Bianconeri.
Instead, the club took to Twitter and their official site to cook up conspiracy theories about Juve doctoring footage to make it look like their striker was onside.
"Secondo voi nel fermo immagine tv prodotto dalla Juventus, le due linee sono parallele? Per noi no #JuveMilan pic.twitter.com/VEanYEuQVf
— AC Milan (@acmilan) February 8, 2015"
Milan CEO Adriano Galliani told Corriere della Sera (via ESPNFC) that he is calling for all directors to be independent from now on, insinuating that Juventus have been influencing camera angles and the type of footage shown.
Italian football is never short on conspiracy theories, and sometimes, as in the case of Fiat sponsoring referees, a genuine case for conflict of interest can be made. But Milan suggesting that Italian TV broadcasts now favour the Old Lady is laughable—not least because the Berlusconi family own the largest commercial broadcaster in the country.
Milanisti deserve fewer excuses and more solutions from the people running their club.
Winner: Mauro Icardi
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After falling out with fans during Inter's 3-1 defeat to Sassuolo, Mauro Icardi returned to the good books by scoring a brace in the Nerazzurri's convincing 3-0 home win over Palermo.
The Argentine had clashed with supporters after they threw his jersey back at him after the game in the last round, and he didn't celebrate either of his strikes this weekend.
But while there's obviously still some tension there—Inter are only barely in the top half of the table, so some strain is inevitable—the 21-year-old has shown that he can rise above it and make a vital contribution to his side's cause.
He might not be the happiest player at the San Siro right now, but nothing will repair a fractured relationship between players and fans quicker than goals. And if Icardi can play like this more often, the stands will be ringing with his name again before too long.
Losers: Lazio
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Lazio will be disappointed with their 0-1 loss to Genoa on Monday. Felipe Anderson's return to action should have given the Aquile the kind of boost they needed to turn their recent slump around, but instead a sloppy mistake from Federico Marchetti got the 'keeper sent off and cost his side a penalty.
Diego Perotti converted from the spot, and the Grifone held on to bag a valuable three points from their trip to the Olimpico.
It's manager Stefano Pioli's second defeat in a row to a lower-ranked side—Lazio lost to Cesena the week before—and he'll need to rediscover what made his side tick very quickly if they want to keep their European dreams alive.
Winners: Fiorentina
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Fiorentina now have five wins in their last seven games in all competitions, and Vincenzo Montella should be very happy with his side's newfound confidence.
After going behind early on against Atalanta, the Viola bounced back to take the lead with goals from Jose Basanta and Alessandro Diamanti—who was excellent all game.
Richmond Boakye then grabbed a late equaliser for the Orobici which looked like sealing a point for the visitors, but the Florentines responded brilliantly and scored the winner in the dying minutes thanks to Manuel Pasqual.
Milan Badelj and Matias Fernandez—who assisted twice—were both excellent in the midfield, and while Mario Gomez—who had five strikes in his last three games coming into this match—didn't get on the scoresheet, that won't concern Montella too much given how well his side played as a unit.
Fiorentina are now fourth in the table and look to have put their early-season disappointments behind them.
