A topsy-turvy week was in store for the heavyweights in the Serie A, as Inter were held to a draw, while Juventus and Milan succumbed to losses.

Atalanta held off Jose Mourinho’s men to a 1-1 draw at home. Diego Milito had given his side the lead after 15 minutes through some slick play that saw the striker dodge three tackles before sending the ball home. As the game drifted toward another regular piece of business for the travellers, La Dea conjured a play that saw Simone Tiribocchi superbly send the ball past the goalkeeper with less than 10 minutes to go. As the referee brought the game to a halt, it was a point well earned for the hosts, while the Biscion would have to view this as two points dropped. Despite the stalemate, Inter were able to extend their lead at the top owing to the results that saw their immediate competitors drawing blanks in their respective games.

Milan were tactically outplayed in their own backyard as Palermo displayed the very definition of counterattacking football. The visitors scored through twice, through Fabrizio Miccoli and Mark Bresciano to seal the three points on offer at the San Siro.

Juventus were handed a heavy blow in their chase for the Scudetto, as they lost 3-1 to Bari at the Stadio San Nicola. The teams were looking to go into the half-time break at one apiece, but the referee pointed to the penalty spot with only a minute to go, when Barreto was adjudged to have been Fouled by Fabio Cannavaro. It was a call that could have gone either way, as it was unclear even with replays as to whether ‘Canna’ had actually tripped his opponent. The Brazilian stepped forward to take the spot-kick and managed to give his side the all-important lead. The Bianconeri were handed a chance to equalise from the spot during the second period, but Diego’s shot ballooned over. The Galletti got a two-goal cushion with less that ten minutes to go, when Sergio Almiron hit the back of the net. This effectively killed the game, handing the home side a fantastic victory.

Here are the results:

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

Football Italiano