Is the title race still open?

Up to a month ago, this question was rhetorical. Now, it is no longer thus after long-time leaders Juventus went four successive games without a win and their lead at the top has been cut to only five points.

With four games to go, the title race is still open albeit Juventus are still the firm favourites to win the crown for the 29th time.

Juventus had been in fine form in the first five months of the campaign only to fade when the second phase of the Champions League began in February.

Until then, Juventus looked to have opened up an unassailable lead at the top of the Serie A. Suffice to say that in the first round, Juventus had only dropped five points (a 1-3 defeat against Milan and a 1-1 draw with Lazio) from the available 57.

Title glory beckoned Juventus again, it seemed. However, in the last two months, they have found the going extremely tough as a series of below-par performances saw them losing vital points against teams from the lower half of the table, even against bottom-of-the-class Treviso. Juve's problems are down to physical fitness or rather, the lack of it.

It is typical of teams coached by Fabio Capello to start on a high, take an assuring lead at the top and then administer their advantage till the end.

This formula worked wonders when the shrewd Capello was in charge of Milan, Real Madrid, Roma and even last season with Juve. The only difference between now and last season is that in their last six games in 2004-2005, Juve rose to the occasion and made sure of the title conquest after beating Milan in a direct encounter at the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium early in May.

Juventus may do it again this season but the indications are not that positive. It is perhaps to Juve's advantage that their only challengers for the scudetto are Milan, whose main focus at this stage is the coveted Champions League.

It will not be easy for Carlo Ancelotti's Milan to stay focused on two fronts especially when considering that they have to cross swords with mighty Barcelona in what promises to be a crunching semi-final, the first leg of which was played yesterday. Also, Milan's last four fixtures - vs Messina (away), Livorno (home), Parma (away) and Roma (home) - seem to be more difficult than Juve's.

The Bianconeri, on their part, have still to take on Lazio and Palermo at home while their last two away fixtures are against Siena and Reggina.

In all probability, Juventus would have to lose at least two of these four games to finish second to Milan. Juventus have lost just one game so far this season and are unbeaten in their last 24 league outings. These statistics show that Milan's task is an arduous one. But never say never in football.

Ancelotti's experience

Although a last-gasp turnaround in the title race seems very difficult to materialise, Ancelotti knows that a scudetto can be lost at this stage.

In season 1999/2000, when he was at the helm of Juventus, the latter had a five-point lead over nearest pursuers Lazio with four games left.

Juve went on to finish second after they lost the last game against Perugia on the water-logged pitch of the Renato Curi Stadium.

If there is a person who relishes the chance of experiencing a late reversal of fortunes, it is certainly Ancelotti who is working hard to ensure that Milan do not finish empty-handed for the second successive season.

Furthermore, a title win with Milan would see Ancelotti getting his own back on a club who had shown him the backdoor after that beleaguered 1999/2000 campaign. For Milan, it is a matter of staying in touch with the faltering leaders and hope for the unexpected to happen.

Serie A statistics

1 draw in their last five winless games has been collected by crisis-hit Siena as Luigi De Canio's side remained in the mire of relegation after their latest upset to in-form Empoli. A Siena win in Tuscany has been missing since May 21, 1995 (3-2 in Serie C1). Meanwhile, the latest of five draws in 26 meetings at the Carlo Castellani Stadium dates back to March 29, 1970 (0-0 in Serie C). Reggina made a bold step towards retaining their Serie A status after beating Ascoli 2-0 in their Oreste Granillo Stadium. Reggina's first win after a draw and a defeat coincided with Ascoli's fifth game in a row without a win (two draws and three defeats).

4 points have been collected by Juventus in their last four games. This barren run of four straight draws has cut Juve's lead at the top to only five points above Milan. On Saturday, Juve were within a whisker of coming out of Sardinia empty-handed as they needed a Fabio Cannavaro 95th minute header to salvage a point against a determined Cagliari side. On a positive note, Saturday's draw meant that the Bianconeri have extended their unbeaten league run to 24 games. Cagliari are undefeated in their last three (all draws). Milan made a step towards retaining second place as they defeated city neighbours Inter by a solitary Kakha Kaladze goal midway through the second half. Inter have not prevailed in a Milan derby hosted by their bitter rivals since their 1-0 success in March 2002.

5 players - Carlos Paredes (Reggina), Antonio Langella, Nelson Abeijon (both Cagliari), Jorge Vargas (Livorno) and Davide Mandelli (Chievo) - received marching orders. Meanwhile, of the six penalties awarded by referees in the past weekend only one went off-target. Treviso are still the only top division side with no penalties in their favour. By stark contrast, Roma have had the highest number of penalties in favour - 10 (all scored).

7th defeat on the trot for Livorno as they were floored by Lazio at the Olympic Stadium for the second season running. It was a must-win game for Lazio to stay in the hunt for a UEFA Cup spot. Thanks to Saturday's win, Lazio have now extended their positive run to four games (three wins and a draw). For the record, Lazio-Livorno have never shared the spoils in 17 league meetings in the capital. Chievo remained within sight of Lazio as they beat relegation-threatened Messina 2-0 at their Bentegodi Stadium. This was Chievo's second win in as many home league games with the southerners. Chievo's third successive home win coincided with third-from-bottom Messina's fifth straight away defeat.

8th defeat for Sampdoria in their last nine outings. Last weekend, they crashed to Parma for only the third time in 13 league meetings at their Luigi Ferraris Stadium. Sampdoria were the better team early on and deservedly took the lead after 39 minutes through Francesco Flachi. After the break, Samp simply sat back as if waiting for the inevitable to happen. Parma did not take too long to equalise before striking deep into stoppage time to record their sixth win in their last seven outings. Udinese, like Parma, continued to show signs of recovery and improvement as they conquered Lecce's Via del Mare Stadium for the second season running. This was Udinese's third win in their last four unbeaten games, all under the charge of new coach Giovanni Galeone. For the interest of statistics, it is worth mentioning that Lecce-Udinese have shared the spoils only once - 2-2 on November 6, 1994 (in Serie B) - in 16 meetings in Puglia.

30 goals were scored on the 34th day: 17 coming from the hosts and the remaining 13 from the visitors, who managed three wins. Foreigners contributed 12 goals while there were 15 first-half nettings. Total number of goals scored so far amounts to 884. Luca Toni's 28th goal (two from penalties) of the term was the tonic Fiorentina needed to beat bottom-of-the-class Treviso. The former Brescia and Palermo hit-man is followed by Juve's David Trezeguet on the 20-goal mark (no penalties). No hat-tricks were recorded. Three players - Goran Pandev (Lazio), Simone Barone (Palermo) and Mancini (Roma) - grabbed a brace each. Duccio Innocenti (Messina) and Vincenzo Sicignano (Lecce) committed the only two own goals of the weekend. Chievo's up-and-coming Nigerian striker Victor Obinna and Fiorentina's utility midfielder Riccardo Montolivo came on as substitutes and found the net.

33 years had to pass for Palermo-Roma to draw a match at the Renzo Barbera Stadium as the visitors threw away a 3-0 half-time lead to drop two precious points in their chase of fourth place. Luciano Spalletti's side built what seemed to be an unassailable advantage but Palermo's strong reaction after the break coupled with Roma's evident dip in physical form earned a valuable point for the Sicilians. Had Roma maintained their lead, then it would have been their first win in Palermo since their 3-0 success in May 1969 (in Serie A). Palermo have now extended their positive streak to six games (three wins and three draws) whereas Roma are undefeated in their last five outings (two wins and three draws). Fiorentina profited from Roma's slip-up as they leapfrogged the Giallorossi in fourth place after beating already-doomed Treviso for the very first time in two visits. This win enabled Cesare Prandelli's Fiorentina to stop their four-match winless run (one defeat and three draws).