Italian Serie A Weekly Review

Weekly report : 11.5.2008

Siena twice came from behind to draw 2-2 at Inter and leave the Serie A leaders just one point clear of Roma, who beat Atalanta 2-1, with one game left in the season. Inter would have won the title with a victory but Marco Materazzi missed a penalty in the 78th that would have put the defending champions ahead. Napoli defeated Milan 3-1 and pushed the Rossoneri out of fourth place and the last spot in next season's UEFA Champions League.

In the final round, Parma must defeat Inter at home to stand any chance of preserving their top-flight status. Roma play at Catania, who will be relegated if they lose and Parma win. If Inter lose and Roma draw next week, the two teams would finish with 82 points, but Inter have a better head-to-head record over Roma. Milan can make the UEFA Champions League if they defeat Udinese and Fiorentina fail to win against Torino.

Team of the week

Statistics

Weekly report : 4.5.2008

Inter will have to wait at least one more week for their third straight Serie A title after losing to city rivals Milan 2-1 Sunday. Filippo Inzaghi scored his ninth goal in the last five games and Inter's lead at the top of Serie A was halved to three points with two matches remaining. The victory moved Milan into fourth place, one point ahead of Fiorentina, and into the last spot for next year's UEFA Champions League.

Second-placed Roma defeated Sampdoria 3-0 and they have 78 points, followed by Juventus, who lost 1-0 at Siena, with 70 and Milan with 60. In the relegation zone, Parma moved to within one point and one place of fourth-from-bottom Catania with a 1-0 home defeat of Genoa. Udinese won 1-0 at second-from-bottom Empoli, while basement side Livorno conceded an 88th-minute goal to lose 3-2 at Atalanta.

Weekly report : 27.4.2008

Inter can wrap up the Serie A title against city rivals Milan next weekend after maintaining their six-point lead at the top with a 2-1 win at home against Cagliari. Second-placed Roma, six points behind Inter with three games left but with a worse head-to-head record, made sure the title race would continue for another weekend by thrashing struggling Torino 4-1 at home.

Juventus, in third, booked their place in next year's UEFA Champions League qualifying round by defeating Lazio 5-2. Filippo Inzaghi scored a hat trick in Milan's 4-1road victory over Livorno. The result means they are just two points behind fourth-placed Fiorentina, who drew 2-2 with Sampdoria, in the race for the final UEFA Champions League qualifying spot.