Serie A Power Rankings: Round 11

Serie A has returned after two weeks of international competition put the season on hold.

Players returned from duty around the world and got back to business.

There were some shock results, scoreless draws and big clubs thrashing other big clubs.

With all the exciting action of one of the world's toughest leagues, there was certainly some movement in this week's power rankings, but which club can call itself the best? Which is the worst? And which teams helped themselves the most?

20) Novara (19)

Round 11: Lost 1-0 vs. Genoa (A)

Novara now sit at the bottom of the power rankings after suffering a defeat on their trip to Genoa.

Genoa have not been top-notch this year, but there's no way that the Griffins were losing this one.

Novara's starting to look more and more like a bottom feeder of the league.

Round 12: 11/26 vs. Parma (H)

19) Cesena (20)

Round 11: Won 1-0 vs. Bologna (A)

Cesena won?

Really?

Really?

Yes folks, believe it or not, Cesena actually won a game. It took them 11 matches, but they have finally gotten rid of that nasty zero in the win column.

It was Marco Parolo playing Captain Fantastic for the Seahorses. Wearing the armband this weekend, Parolo netted the winner only six minutes from time.

Is this the start of something special for Cesena? Probably not. Let's be honest, this team is downright dreadful right now and a win over Bologna is nothing to start getting ambitious about.

Round 12: 11/27 vs. Genoa (H)

18) Bologna (16)

Round 11: Lost 1-0 vs. Cesena (H)

Ouch.

Bologna aren't impressive themselves, but to be the victim of Cesena's first win, that hurts.

The game looked to be heading for a draw when Bologna let up and Marco Parolo took his opportunity.

Bologna need to get turned around. They'll need to pull an upset this week and grab momentum.

Round 12: 11/27 vs. Cagliari (A)

17) Lecce (15)

Round 11: Lost 2-1 vs. Roma (A)

Not a shocker that Lecce came out of their trip to Olimpico with nothing to show for it.

Roma have been on fire and continued their run against a lowly Lecce side that still looks a likely candidate for relegation.

Round 12: 11/26 vs Catania (H)

16) Chievo Verona (18)

Round 11: Won 2-1 vs. Catania (A)

Chievo got back in the win column this weekend with an away victory against Catania.

Sergio Pellissier netted what is surprisingly only his third goal of the season and Paolo Sammarco added the winner.

The hero is definitely Stefano Sorrentino, who stopped a 68th-minute penalty kick from Francesco Lodi. The Italian stopped four shots overall.

Despite being ninth in the table, this isn't a team to be totally sold on. Sunday will provide a necessary test if Chievo want to dance with the rest of the top half.

Round 12: 11/27 vs. AC Milan (A)

15) Inter Milan (17)

Round 11: Won 2-1 vs. Cagliari (H)

Inter Milan got back on the winning track and inched farther away from the drop zone.

It was a tight match most of the way against a top opponent, but Thiago Motta and Philippe Coutinho netted within six minutes of each other.

Cagliari drew one back late, but Inter held off the late push.

They sit only three points above the bottom three, meaning they still have a lot of work to do.

Round 12: 11/27 vs. Siena (A)

14) Catania (11)

Round 11: Lost 2-1 vs. Chievo Verona (H)

Francesco Lodi's missed penalty hurt Catania's chances of getting anything against Chievo Verona.

Catania have been struggled since their short stint in the top half of the power rankings.

With the penalty conceded right before halftime and the missed chance on their own spot kick, Catania really blew a chance at three points.

Round 12: 11/26 vs. Lecce (A)

13) Cagliari (10)

Round 11: Lost 2-1 vs. Inter (A)

The look on Davide Ballardini's face says it all.

This was not a result for Cagliari to be happy with.

They seemed to be in with a chance, but Thiago Motta and Philippe Coutinho had other ideas and both struck just before the hour mark.

Joaquin Larrivey pulled the guests within one in the 88th minute, but that was as close as they would get.

Cagliari continue to drop in the rankings and need to turn it around.

Round 12: 11/27 vs. Bologna (H)

12) Siena (12)

Round 11: Drew 2-2 vs. Atalanta (H)

Alessandro Gazzi saved the day and salvaged a draw for Siena, despite the absence of star forward Emanuele Calaio.

Gianluco Pegolo brought Atalanta's Germain Denis down inside the area and was then beat by Denis on the ensuing spot kick, putting Siena in an early hole.

Gaetano D'Agostino put a penalty kick of his own past Atalanta's Andrea Consigli just before halftime to even it up.

The match didn't stay tied for long as Denis scored eight minutes into the second half, but Gazzi struck back three minutes before time to save a point.

Siena were able to draw a strong team, but without Calaio, their chances of winning are always slim.

Round 12: 11/27 vs. Inter Milan (H)

11) Genoa (13)

Round 11: Won 1-0 vs. Novara

Genoa got back to winning following the break with a win against lowly Novara.

The match was very close to ending level, but Miguel Veloso put home the winner four minutes from time.

The result puts Genoa on 15 points, good for eighth in the table, but with good teams on either side of them, they're going to have to prove they belong there.

Round 12: 11/27 vs. Cesena (A)

10) Parma (14)

Round 11: Won 2-0 vs. Udinese (H)

What a statement victory for Parma!

Jonathan Biabiany and Sebastian Giovinco struck in the second half as they picked up a 2-0 victory over Udinese.

Giovinco's penalty brings him to seven goals on the season, putting him third in the race for top scorer in Serie A behind Atalanta's Germain Denis and Udinese captain Antonio Di Natale, who was quieted by the Parma defense.

Parma had been struggling, but can they turn it around after this big win?

Round 12: 11/26 vs. Novara (A)

9) Atalanta (7)

Round 11: Drew 2-2 vs. Siena (A)

Germain Denis' two goals were put to waste as the Atalanta defense couldn't stop Alessandro Gazzi from netting the equalizer just before the final whistle.

Denis' two goals put him above Antonio Di Natale on the scoring list and has been incredible this season, but he can't do it all himself. The rest of the team needs to help put games away.

Atalanta are still one of the hottest teams around and can easily turn it around.

Round 12: 11/26 vs. Napoli (H)

8) Fiorentina (9)

Round 11: Drew 0-0 vs. AC Milan (A)

Delio Rossi's debut as manager of the Viola ended in a somewhat positive way with a draw against the champions, despite the absence of Stevan Jovetic.

Fiorentina were outplayed, but the defense held strong and Artur Boruc's save on Urby Emanuelson after a near goal from Alexandre Pato was the play of the game, saving the hosts from a defeat.

Delio Rossi is a proven manager who can help Fiorentina return to the form of a few years ago, but will it be right now? That remains to be seen.

Round 12: 11/27 vs. Palermo (A)

7) Palermo (6)

Round 11: Lost 3-0 vs. Juventus (A)

Juventus have had a way of making the league's best look silly and such was the case when they welcomed Palermo to the Juventus Arena this weekend.

Juventus peppered the goal all match and the three shots on target all beat Alexandro Tzorvas. Gianluigi Buffon stopped the only two shots that came his way.

Palermo have struggled against the big clubs this season. Their five losses are to Atalanta, Milan, Roma, Udinese and Juventus by a total of 9-0. They need to step it up if they want a chance at Europe next season.

Round 12: 11/27 vs. Fiorentina (A)

6) Roma (8)

Round 11: Won 2-1 vs. Lecce (H)

In a game that should have been 3-1, Roma continued their great form.

Miralem Pjanic and Fernando Gago put Roma up 2-0 and despite Lecce drawing one back with 25 minutes left, they never really stood a chance.

Pablo Osvaldo could have made it 3-1, if the linesman did his job and kept his flag down on what was clearly a fair goal. Unfortunately, this wonder goal was called offside.

Roma have been playing well lately and now find themselves fifth in the standings and sixth in these rankings. Luis Enrique has got things looking good for the Romans.

Round 12: 11/25 vs. Udinese (A)

5) Udinese (4)

Round 11: Lost 2-0 vs. Parma (A)

Not a good day at work for the Zebras.

The defense which has been so menacing this season was opened up and the club which had given up only four goals all season gave up two against Parma, who had been struggling heading into the break.

Antonio Di Natale and his frontmen were contained all day by the hosts.

A small bump in the road to be sure for Udinese. This isn't a loss to get concerned about.

Round 12: 11/25 vs. Roma (H)

4) Napoli (5)

Round 11: Drew 0-0 vs. Lazio (H)

Two of the league's best battled to a scoreless draw at the San Paolo.

Napoli move up due to the Udinese loss, but the gap between the clubs in the top five is razor-thin. They are all incredibly close and in reality, all five are in with a shot at the title. It could go to anyone at this point.

Napoli are no exception.

Round 12: 11/26 vs. Atalanta (A)

3) Lazio (3)

Round 11: Drew 0-0 vs. Napoli (A)

Lazio couldn't get anything going, but also held Napoli in a tense draw.

Juventus' 3-0 win drops Lazio to second based on goal difference, but Juventus also have a match in hand.

Again, however, there is very little separating the teams in the top five. They are the elite. They are the title challengers.

Speaking of Juventus, Lazio get the chance to challenge them this weekend.

Round 12: 11/27 vs. Juventus (H)

2) AC Milan (1)

Round 11: Drew 0-0 vs. Fiorentina (A)

AC Milan were held scoreless for only the second time this season and have collected only seven of a possible 15 points away from the San Siro following a draw with Fiorentina.

Good news for Milan is that Alexandre Pato returned to the squad for the first time since September 21st and very nearly put Milan ahead.

Pato's return should help Milan, which is scary considering they have scored 23 goals, five more than Juventus, their closest rival for top attack.

If the defense can continue to blank opponents, this is a dangerous team.

Round 12: 11/27 vs. Chievo Verona (H)

1) Juventus (2)

Round 11: Won 3-0 vs. Palermo (H)

Gianluigi Buffon's looking pumped in this picture and for obvious reasons.

Juventus' thrashing of Palermo sees them back to the top of both the standings and these power rankings.

With a game in hand, Juventus are level on points with Lazio and continue to look like a dominant club, something this league has missed with Juventus since Calciopoli.

The offense is coming from all over the ground as Simone Pepe, Alessandro Matri and Claudio Marchisio struck at the Juventus Arena.

Another tough test for Juventus this weekend, but the way they've played against the best makes it hard to imagine they can't take the three points.

Round 12: 11/27 vs. Lazio (A)