Serie A Saturday fixtures yesterday left a bitter experience for two Serie A top teams, Inter Milan and Napoli, as both picked up a defeat while in the other hand, Ac Milan revived themselves by getting a convincing victory.
The Nerazzurri didn’t share the same result as their their city rival this weekend after being pinned back by Catania 2-1, while Napoli surprisingly were beaten by struggling Parma at San Paolo. Milan, who looked to finally found their best suited formation trashed Palermo 3-0 in San Siro, with former Rossanero man, Antonio Nocerino played an important part.
Inter Entering Relegation Zone
Still playing without important players such as Julio Cesar, Wesley Sneijder and Thiago Motta, Inter Milan actually started their away trip to Catania with a bang as Esteban Cambiasso took the lead for the visitor with a fine volley after receiving Douglas Maicon’s cross. However, things changed in the second period as the home team’s counter attacking play twice caught the Nerazzurri defense, causing two goals scored by Sergio Almiron and also a penalty by Francesco Lodi.
The defeat obviously caused problem for Inter as it was their fourth defeat already in the league this season, second in a row under Claudio Ranieri’s regime after the 3-0 battering against Napoli few weeks ago. This result also gave a very bad preparation for Inter ahead of their Champions League tie against Lille in the midweek as now the team are obviously under pressure again to provide result just like the condition that happened when the Nerazurri were still playing under Giam Piero Gasperini.
Napoli Shocked by Parma
The International break apparently didn’t do any good for Napoli this weekend as they failed to continue on their fine run as Parma surprisingly beaten Walter Mazzarri’s side at San Paolo, despite the home team did fielded their best eleven. Having attacking trio of Ezquiel Lavezzi, Marek Hamsik and Edinson Cavani starting the game the home team were obviously seeking for a quick lead but things were very tight especially in the first period as both teams failed to score a goal.
Things got more interested in the second period when Parma took the lead through Gobbi, which got replied by substitute, Giuseppe Mascara around 19 minutes later. However, the 1-1 scoreline didn’t last that long as five minutes later, the visitor strike again, this time through Modesto, who stumped Sebastian Giovinco’s fine cross. Despite the extremely offensive setup that Napoli set in the final minutes, the score line remain unchanged and the Partenopei picked up their first home defeat this season.
Milan Revives Against Palermo
Massimiliano Allegri kept his promise in revitalizing his squad after the international break as the return of Robinho in the starting line up obviously played a big part in the Rossoneri’s performance on Saturday night. Lining up Antonio Nocerino, Mark Van Bommel and Alberto Aquilani in the midfield, Milan looked very dominant on that area as both Aquilani and Nocerino played a huge part in the first goal which the latter scored.
Nocerino’s simply tap in from Aquilani’s flick header gave the goal that the home team needed as things could start getting frustrating should Milan kept on wasting the goal scoring chances they got. The first goal simply improved the Rossoneri’s confidence as in the second half, two more goals from Robinho and Cassano sealed the convincing victory for the Red and Black squad, which could really marked their revival for the season.
