Serie A: 5 Things We Learnt from Week 4

Jack Alexandros RathbornJun 7, 2018

Another action packed week in Serie A as the league begins to take shape after four rounds of calcio.

For every club that is on the rise, another is destined for a crisis or more likely in the midst of one.

Italian fans and the press will exaggerate both extremes so we have to take every headline with a pinch of salt.

Starting this week I thought I would include an ending slide with stats from the weekend (scores, top scorers and assists) for those that want a fix of calcio at a glance.

So less time wasting, straight on to the first thing we learnt from this weekend's fixtures, thanks for reading.

Chievo: The Donkeys from Verona Are Flying!

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Chievo Verona are a small club, yet manager Domenico Di Carlo has big ideas and after a slow start they have exploded in to action after the latest two rounds.

Chievo were unlucky to draw against Novara on the opening day, enjoying long spells of domination and the same can be said of their away trip to Parma the following week as Sebastian Giovinco cruelly snatched all three points for the Gialloblu which they scarcely deserved.

After that many were stating that Chievo were doomed for relegation, after all if you play well and still cannot take the points, this is a formula for disaster.

The perfect opportunity arose Wednesday last week when the most in-form side in Italy travelled to Verona. Napoli were buoyed by a 3-1 victory over Champions Milan and optimistic they could mount a title challenge.

They failed to treat their opponents seriously enough though, resting key players such as Paolo Cannavaro, Marek Hamsik, Gokhan Inler and Edinson Cavani all started on the bench.

Chievo had form here too, in the sense that they upset the Partenopei twice last year with a 2-0 victory at home and an impressive 3-1 win at the San Paolo.

The Flying Donkeys as they are so affectionately known, grasped the opportunity and matched the Scudetto challengers throughout, before Davide Moscardelli pounced on a defensive blunder by Ignacio Fideleff to grab all three points.

This trait carried over to the weekend as Chievo continued to pounce on the opposition's set backs. This time againt another form side, Genoa visited the Stadio Marc'Antonio Bentegodi.

Red hot striker Rodrigo Palacio gave the Ligurians the lead before Chievo seized their opportunity when Dario Dainelli was red-carded with over half an hour to go.

Chievo worked their way back in to the game with their numerical advantage integrating a blend of styles among the new signings, including dynamic USA international Michael Bradley and the creative Peruvian Rinaldo Cruzado.

The charismatic captain Sergio Pellissier, who was a major doubt to play, claimed an equalizer before the man of the moment Davide Moscardelli, fresh off his winner against Napoli midweek, snatched all three points in the 92nd minute to send the Flying Donkeys in to raptures.

They may not be fashionable and remain hotly tipped each season to be relegated, but Chievo are a plucky team who can really expose a team's flaws and so it proved again on Sunday.

The Flying Donkeys soar to a remarkable third place.

Ranieri: Keep It Simple Claudio Inspires Inter to 3-1 Victory at Bologna

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Claudio Ranieri made a smart move upon arriving at Inter last week.

In the build up to the game at Bologna which would prove vital in turning around the club's worst start to a campaign in over 50 years, Ranieri highlighted what was wrong with the side and it was not rocket science he stated

Ranieri stated that all he needed to do to get the Nerazzurri back on track was to "re-energize" the squad.

After all it is the same core that won the treble under José Mourinho so there is still plenty of quality in the Inter ranks, so much so that despite their troubles they remain title challengers.

Ranieri ditched Gian Piero Gapserini's back three and re-instated a back four that has proved the foundation of Inter's success over the last decade. A system that has made Lucio and Walter Samuel two of the toughest defenders in Europe.

The side lacked pace though so Ranieri chose two of the quickest players at Inter's disposal from the start. Despite their inexperience Joel Obi backed up experienced Argentine duo Javier Zanetti and Esteban Cambiasso in midfield.

Felipe Coutinho was deployed behind Giampaolo Pazzini and Diego Forlan to ensure Bologna's Gabi Mudingayi and Diego Perez could not be stationary throughout the game, Inter's game plan was to draw the two holding midfielders out to the flanks and move the ball quickly in to the space for their deadly strikers to exploit.

It worked and Ranieri has a win to build on which will appease the Nerazzurri fans who begged president Massimo Moratti to cut his losses with Gasperini.

It is clear to see that Inter suit this formation and while the transition is still premature in evolving post-Mourinho it is best to make the players feel comfortable if immediate results are required.

Gasperini's mistake was alienating the players from previous regimes by deploying them in positions they were not comfortable in. By doing so immediately and without winning over their trust and respect, the players did not believe in his tactics and promptly fell to pieces.

Tougher challenges await Ranieri but Inter can be assured that the former-Chelsea manager will play the percentages and let the players operate in a system that will bring out their best qualities.

AC Milan: Rossoneri Will Stay in Contention Despite Injuries

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Milan have started the season slowly after just two points from the opening three matches, many began to question whether Massimiliano Allegri just got lucky last season as the Rossoneri sauntered to their 18th Scudetto.

Milan should not worry just yet as despite more doubts created by a narrow 1-0 victory over lowly Cesena there are signs that they are weathering the storm and that their rivals have failed to capitalise on their slow start.

Juventus and Udinese are just three points clear of the defending champions at the top of Serie A with eight points.

That, for me, is a worry to any would-be challengers. Milan have picked up five points from four matches but they have done so without arguably the best player in the league, Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Furthermore, Allegri has been handicapped by injuries to Gennaro Gattuso, Massimo Ambrosini, Philippe Mexes, Filippo Inzaghi, Mathieu Flamini, Taye Taiwo, Gianluca Zambrotta, Kevin Prince-Boateng and Robinho.

Allegri was so short of options that Mattia Valoti, Rodrigo Ely, Simone Ganz and Adria Carmona Perez to name a few, from the Primavera squad, have been called up to the first team.

The situation was so bad this weekend that Stephan El Shaarawy started up front with Antonio Cassano. The prodigious Italian talent is capable of being a huge star but Allegri would not have envisaged using the teenager at such an early stage.

One by one though these injuries are returning thanks to the excellent work done at the Milanello training complex which has accumulated new optimism that the side has come through this rough patch unscathed.

Make no mistake, Milan are still the team to beat.

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Cagliari: Daniele Conti Is as Good as Ever for the Isolani

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Daniele Conti is a phenomenon.

I simply had to include him in this week's column to show the respect this man truly deserves.

The Cagliari midfielder has started the season superbly, helping the side from Sardinia to seven points and they lie 7th in the table which is very respectable.

Conti has scored two and would have had a third had it not been for Joaquin Larrivey's deftest of touches to deflect his long range shot in the 2-1 victory over Novara.

This weekend against Udinese the Rossoblu faithful gathered to celebrate a remarkable achievement for Conti as he became the leading appearence maker in Cagliari's history.

Conti played his 328th league game on Sunday and in doing so broke the record held for 19 years by Mario Brugnero.

He stated, "I am very proud (for the record)" and that "each time I step on to the pitch I give my maximum."

He is only 32 so there will be many more games to come for this iconic player who will be remembered for in Cagliari's history for playing a tremendous role in establishing the club in Italy's top flight for seven consecutive years.

The captain will be writing more history before he hangs up the boots.

Atalanta: Colantuono Is a Master Motivator as the Nerazzurri Win Again

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Atalanta began the season in terrible circumstance with the club embroiled in a match-fixing scandal and were promptly deducted six points.

A club only just promoted from Serie B, this was a tremendous blow before they had even begun the challenge of surviving relegation from Serie A.

It would seem that Stefano Colantuono has used their damaging circumstances to galvanize the team.

Atalanta have been superb, thus far, collecting three wins out of four which would have been enough to see them top the league after four games had they not accrued the points deduction.

Colantuono has done a wonderful job in blending a solid outfit with players that have enough flair to open up defenses whilst being able to unselfishly work for the team when they do not have the ball.

Maxi Moralez, newly signed from Velez Sarsfield in Argentina, has provided a spark between midfield and attack which enables Colantuono to select a deep-lying central midfield pair of Luca Cigarini and Simone Padoin to pass with freedom knowing that there are an array of options further forward.

Pace in the wide areas from Ezequiel Schelotto and Giacomo Bonaventura mean that lone striker German Denis (on loan from Udinese) has a dream job of putting away a plentiful amount of chances that fall his way.

Atalanta face a tough task on Saturday with an away trip to Roma which should really test whether they have the credentials to comfortably survive relegation. So far the Nerazzurri have been superb and look like a threat home or away.