It was an eventful week in the Serie A, where the ups and downs of top-tier football came to the fore, as some walked clubs walked away happy, while some others had to grin and bear their fortune.

Juventus took on Inter in the Derby d’Italia and ensured that the race to the Scudetto came out into the open again, after the Nerazzurri had established an early lead that had promised to get bigger as the season went on. Felipe Melo got onto the end of a set-piece form Diego, and the ex-Fiorentina player sent in a shot that was deflected into the back of the net. There was some confusion as to who would be credited with the goal, but the accolade eventually went to Melo. Biscion boss Jose Mourinho was sent off for remonstrating with the referee over the decision to award a free-kick to the Bianconeri. Five minutes after the first goal, the travellers equalised when Ciro Ferrara’s defence was caught napping, thereby leaving Samuel Eto’o unmarked to head to ball home. Claudio Marchisio settled matters in the second period and made sure his side raked in all three points.

The prestigious Derby della Capitale saw Roma trump Lazio by a lone goal, as Marco Cassetti scored with a little less that 15 minutes left on the clock. The encounter was a very tense affair, as play was stopped at one point due to several flares being thrown, which were in turn followed by loud explosions in the stands. However, a Cassetti volley was all that separated the sides during the biggest game in the capital.

Here are the results:

Bologna 2-1 Udinese
Fiorentina 2-0 Atalanta
Genoa 2-2 Parma
Juventus 2-1 Inter
Livorno 0-2 Chievo
Milan 3-0 Sampdoria
Napoli 3-2 Bari
Palermo 2-1 Cagliari
Roma 1-0 Lazio
Siena 3-2 Catania

Football Italiano