The European competitions for clubs resumed after the winter break last week.
With Inter playing Chelsea today, Milan and Fiorentina represented Italy in the Champions League and Juventus and Roma were the Serie A teams figuring in the last 32 round of the Europa League.
The overall result was three defeats and a single win, a scant outcome for what the teams from Italy really deserved at the end of the first legs.
Against Man. United, last year's beaten finalists, Milan could have easily been 2-0 up or more by the end of the first half had they profited from the open scoring chances they had.
Instead, the English champions rode their luck and were allowed to get back in contention, going on to secure a morale-boosting 3-2 first leg lead.
Milan won the competition seven times but a mammoth task awaits them at Old Trafford next month because they will have to beat United by at least two clear goals to qualify.
If the Rossoneri, who beat Bari away 2-0 on Sunday, play like they did last week or when they conquered Real Madrid's Bernabeu in the group stages, they stand an outside chance of reaching the quarter-finals.
However, the odds are heavily staked against Milan as many reckon it will be difficult for United to forfeit their advantage at this crucial stage of the competition.
Against United, Milan played a blinder in the first part of the game but eventually faded after conceding a second goal. The fans expected a stronger reaction from Leonardo's team but in the end there was no fight left in his players.
Paul Scholes's equaliser at the San Siro was all down to sheer luck but United's second and third goals had class written all over them as Milan allowed Wayne Rooney too much space to manoeuvre.
A deadly striker like Rooney should have never been given so much room in front of goal.
Fiorentina entered last Wednesday's game against Bayern Munich as underdogs despite the fact that the Viola had topped their group and the Bundesliga giants could only finish second in Group A behind Bordeaux.
However, these two sides experienced a change in fortunes since the group stages were completed in December.
Cesare Prandelli's team slipped to mid-table in Serie A and now they are almost out of contention for a top-four finish.
Bayern, on the other hand, stuttered badly in the beginning but shot to the top of the standings after embarking on a scorching run of impressive victories.
Few gave Fiorentina a chance at the Allianz Arena but they produced a battling display and were literally robbed (by a blatant goal from offside one minute from time) of what would have been a priceless 1-1 draw on German soil.
True, the 1-2 reverse is not an insurmountable hurdle for Fiorentina. However, this result will completely change the pattern of the return leg because the onus to attack will all be on the Italian team now.
This could be risky as Bayern have players of the calibre of Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery who excel in developing fast breaks.
In the Europa League, Juventus came from behind to beat Ajax 2-1 at the Amsterdam Arena.
Not that Juve played a particularly brilliant game, but, at least, they showed cohesion in defence and looked incisive in front of goal.
The victory in Holland, apart from edging Juve closer to qualification, also served as a perfect lift for their quest to play Champions League football again next season. Juve are currently fourth in the Serie A thanks to their 2-1 win at Bologna on Sunday.
In Greece, in-form Roma led Panathinaikos 2-1 up to the 84th minute. However, in the closing stages of the game, Claudio Ranieri's men let their guard down and lost 3-2.
Roma are still the punters' favourites to reach the last 16 even though Ranieri could now be tempted to focus more on the Serie A with leaders Inter within sight.
Serie A statistics
1st away win for Milan since trouncing Juventus 3-0 on the 19th day as the Rossoneri scored a goal in each half to hand Bari their second home upset of the term - the first since going down to Cagliari 0-1 on the fifth day. For Milan, this was their fourth positive result on the trot (two wins and two draws).
2 penalties were scored last weekend. Robert Acquafresca completed his double as he ably converted a 53rd-minute penalty for Genoa. Elsewhere, Fabrizio Miccoli scored his eighth goal of the term from a penalty in Palermo's 3-1 win over Lazio but Christian Abbiati ably blocked Paulo Barreto spot-kick to deny Bari a late consolation goal.
3 goalless draws (vs Genoa, Inter and Siena) collected by Napoli in their last four outings. The Southerners are joint-fifth with Palermo and Sampdoria, one point below fourth-placed Juventus. Siena are seven points away from safety.
5th away success - the first since overcoming Livorno on the 15th day - for Chievo as the Verona-based outfit handed Atalanta their sixth home upset of the term. Genoa underlined their ambitions to claim a berth in Europe for the second season running as they extended their positive home run to nine games (seven wins and two draws). Genoa's latest victims at the Marassi were Udinese, the only side still without an away victory this season.
7th straight win for Roma as an early Mirko Vucinic goal was enough for them to see off minnows Catania. This was Roma's 15th unbeaten game on the trot (12 wins and three draws). Claudio Ranieri's men have now cut Inter's lead at the top to only five points.
10th positive result on the trot (five wins and five draws) for long-time leaders Inter as the Nerazzurri held on to a goalless draw with Sampdoria despite being reduced to nine men. This was Samp's first draw after four straight wins and overall their sixth successive unbeaten game.
19 goals were scored on the 25th day. Foreign players contributed with eight goals while there were 10 first-half goals. Total number of goals scored so far amount to 622. Juve's Antonio Candreva was the only player who came on as a substitute and scored. Udinese's Antonio Di Natale tops the scorers' list with 17 goals.