Milan on the road to glory

It was hard to believe that a team that seemed to have thrown away the scudetto rediscovers their best form in arguably the most daunting and delicate fixture of the season.

But that’s what happened exactly late Saturday at the Derby della Madonnina as long-time leaders Milan underlined their Italian league ambitions with a flawless display in an emphatic 3-0 win over Inter to move five points clear of their bitter city neighbours.

Although it is still too premature to declare winners and losers in this season’s title race, one still expects last weekend’s result to have a strong bearing on who will be crowned champions come next month.

Not only because Milan have completed the double over Inter, but Saturday’s morale-boosting win came at the most decisive point of the campaign. Surely, the margin of victory was too emphatic for Inter to have any qualms.

All in all, this win should pave the way for Milan’s first scudetto in seven years and thus break Inter’s five-year dominance.

Indeed, the Rossoneri defied all odds and proved that they are still a force to reckon with even without Sweden’s star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

The race is not over though as Napoli and Inter are still very much in contention.

For sure, both challengers will not throw in the towel and Milan’s remaining seven fixtures are anything but plain sailing. In fact, they still have three tricky away fixtures against Fiorentina, Roma and Udinese.

But if Milan stay focused and play like they did in the derby, then they should not meet any particular problems to strengthen their leadership in the standings and go on to claim their 18th scudetto.

Inter are still playing in the Champions League and Napoli, despite being Milan’s nearest pursuers, are not considered to be equipped enough to make a creditable quest for the coveted crown.

Napoli’s next three outings will shed more light on their true credentials as they visit Bologna, host Udinese and travel to troubled Palermo in succession.

If they succeed in not dropping any points in these three games, Napoli could give Milan a good run for their money.

But if Walter Mazzarri’s team falter and the gap with respect to Milan grows wider, then Napoli’s slim hopes to land their first scudetto in 21 years will vanish in thin air.

At this stage, there is a fine line between success and an upset.

To Napoli’s credit is the fact that if they manage a top-four finish, they would have already exceeded their expectations because at the start of the season, few would have expected them to book a Champions League berth at the expense of more-quoted sides like Roma and Juventus.

Financially, a place in the Champions League will be a huge boost for Napoli’s coffers. They must now keep their feet firmly to the ground and stay on the alert just in case Milan drop vital points along the way.

The Rossoneri are only seven games away from glory and destiny is in their own hands. If they lower their guard, Napoli and Inter will be ready to pounce.

Otherwise, it is game over.

Serie A statistics...

1st win for bottom side Bari since beating Lecce on the 18th day as Bortolo Mutti’s side left it late to beat Parma 2-1 away on Sunday. Shortly after the game was over, Parma coach Pasquale Marino was fired.

3 penalties were taken last weekend. Antonio Cassano ably converted a last-minute penalty for Milan in the derby and Andrea Caracciolo scored from the spot to make Brescia’s home win against Bologna more convincing. In Naples, Edinson Cavani scored a penalty on the day he grabbed a hat-trick in a 4-3 win over Lazio.

4th home win on the trot for Catania, who scored four second-half goals to trounce rivals Palermo in a highly-contested Sicily derby. Defeat brought about the sacking of coach Serse Cosmi. In a slow burning en-counter in Verona, Chievo-Sampdoria shared the spoils in the only goalless draw of the day. For Samp this was their first positive result after four straight defeats.

5 points now separate long-time leaders Milan from third-placed Inter in the Serie A standings. On Saturday, Milan played like true champions as they completed a double over their bitter city neighbours to make a giant’s step towards winning their first scudetto in seven years. Milan’s first win in the league after a home draw against lowly Bari and an away defeat to Palermo coincided with Inter’s first defeat after a five-match positive run (four wins and a draw).

13 successive games without defeat in the league came to an abrupt end for high-flying Udinese who were surprisingly beaten by relegation-threatened Lecce 0-2 on Sunday afternoon. This was Lecce’s first win after a draw and three straight defeats. Mid-table Genoa succumbed to their sixth home upset of the season as they were beaten by Cagliari 1-0, Robert Acquafresca scoring the winning goal. For the Sardinia team this was their fourth away win of the term.

30 goals were scored on the 31st day: 19 coming from the hosts. There were five home wins and two draws. Foreigners contributed with 12 goals. Total number of goals scored so far is 751. Napoli’s Edinson Cavani struck a hat-trick to reach Udinese’s Antonio Di Natale at the summit of the scorers’ list with 25 goals. Five players – Alvarez (Bari), Cassano (Milan), Pesce, Ledesma (both Catania) and Caserta (Cesena) – came on as substitutes and scored.