One-third of the Serie A season is almost over and the league standings have already started to delineate the teams according to strengths and weaknesses.
There are some who are finding the going tough and already seem destined to be involved in a battle against the dreaded drop at the end of the season. Others are hovering in mid-table positions and a little higher, entertaining hopes of a place in Europe whereas the elite, possibly only three, will contend the scudetto.
The super favourites are already occupying the top three spots in the table.
Inter, under the charge of Jose Mourinho, are not playing particularly well but have been consistent and their leadership status comes as no surprise.
The Portuguese coach may look arrogant at times but he's very strict with his players and the bottom line should be positive.
Inter are first and in football, as in all things in the world, results count. Unlike opinion and theory, results are hard facts. It is useless having a team playing dazzling and entertaining football but dropping points all the way. Inter are completely the opposite. They are far from entertaining but their chief objective is the end result.
Since the pre-season, Mourinho has been moulding a team that many reckon resembles his own shrewd character.
Inter possess the best defensive record in the division, with only seven goals leaked in.
There were moments when Inter were superb, like when they thrashed Roma 4-0. However, there were times when the team was also boring and could not break down their opponents. Indeed, there were games in which Inter did not play well but still emerged victorious (vs Catania and Lecce).
It is a good sign for any team to get the desired results without playing up to their best. It augurs well because once Inter start functioning as a unit, then the fans can only witness good quality football and even better results on the field of play. It is a matter of time.
Milan were off to a horrendous start this season but recovered admirably under tactician Carlo Ancelotti.
He has an awesome squad and the fact that Milan are not participating in the Champions League makes them strong favourites in the title race. It all depends on consistency, however.
In past seasons, the Rossoneri dropped several points against the so-called small clubs. To win a domestic championship, the key for success is consistency.
Winning direct clashes alone becomes useless if a team fails to string together a series of positive results. So far, Milan have been quite consistent, albeit not as much as one would have expected.
Juventus started promisingly but a dark patch followed. Lately, it is all good for Juve as they have won all their last five league fixtures and have twice beaten Real Madrid in the Champions League.
This winning streak came at a time when coach Claudio Ranieri had to do without a significant number of injured players. It follows, therefore, that Juve can only get stronger once Ranieri can count on his entire squad. Saturday's titanic clash with Inter at the San Siro should prove as a yardstick to measure Juve's real progress.
According to Italy coach Marcello Lippi, Udinese and Napoli are not to be excluded from the race. One could also add Fiorentina to the list of outsiders.
Roma look out of contention but what about Lazio?
Napoli are currently four points behind Inter. They have been outstanding this term but their squad is not equipped enough to challenge for the scudetto. The same applies for sixth-placed Udinese, who are two points adrift of Napoli.
Lazio were jolted by the upset in the derby to Roma on Sunday but so far the fans should be satisfied with what Delio Rossi has managed to achieve with a modest squad.
Fiorentina are still in the Champions League but are unlikely to survive the double challenge of the Serie A and European club matches.
The early indications from the opening 12 days are that Inter, Milan and Juve will battle it out for the top honours whereas Lazio, Udinese, Napoli, Fiorentina and, perhaps, Roma will compete to fill in the last-remaining Champions League berth.
Serie A statistics
2nd successive home win (following the 2-1 victory over Cagliari) for Catania as they overcame Torino 3-2. Catania's sixth win from their opening seven home fixtures coincided with Torino's fourth away defeat of the term. Prior to Sunday, Catania had last beaten Torino at home on February 13, 2005 (1-0 in Serie B). Milan remained within sight of Inter thanks to a narrow win over Chievo. This was Milan's sixth straight home win and their fourth in a row vs Chievo at the San Siro. Chievo's only point from their opening six away fixtures came on Day Three (vs Sampdoria 1-1).
3rd straight home win for Sampdoria as they edged Lecce in a five-goal thriller. Samp were set for a comfortable win as they led 2-0 at the halfway stage. However, Lecce never threw in the towel and came within a whisker from salvaging a draw. Lecce, together with Catania, Genoa, Siena, Sampdoria, Torino, Roma and Chievo, are still seeking their first away win of the term. Reggina caused the biggest upset of the weekend though as they overcame Udinese up north. Reggina's first away win after six defeats interrupted Udinese's unbeaten home run. In 2004/05 and 2005/06 Reggina had also conquered the Friuli Stadium.
4 wins, a draw and two defeats is Cagliari's record of late after five losses in a row at the start of the season. On Sunday, Cagliari handed Fiorentina their second straight away defeat to move in a mid-table position. Siena continue to show signs of improvement as they shared the spoils with Bologna at home. Together with Inter, Napoli, Genoa, Fiorentina, Sampdoria and Lecce, Siena are still undefeated at home.
5 victories in a row saw Juventus getting back in business in Serie A. Against Genoa, Juventus dominated from start to finish and their 4-1 win was never in jeopardy. Genoa's last positive result in Turin dates back to December 18, 1994 (1-1). This defeat interrupted their six-match unbeaten streak (four wins and two draws). Roma returned to winning ways after four defeats and a draw thanks to a 1-0 win over city neighbours Lazio. For Delio Rossi's side this was their first defeat after three wins in a row.
7 Penalties were taken last week. Diego Milito pulled one back for Genoa against Juve. Napoli's Marek Hamsik scored a temporary equaliser against Atalanta and Robert Aquafresca scored the all-important goal for Cagliari against Fiorentina. Torino veteran Nicola Amoruso scored his fourth goal of the season from a penalty while Kaka gave Milan three valuable points from a dubious spot-kick. Marco Di Vaio grabbed a precious equaliser for Bologna against Siena from the spot. Emanuele Calaio had a golden opportunity to put Siena back in front but his penalty went wide. Two coaches, Luigi Del Neri (Atalanta) and Pasquale Marino (Udinese), were ordered off their bench. Marcelo Zalayeta (Napoli), Simone Perrotta (Roma) and Christian Ledesma (Lazio) also saw red.
27 goals were scored on the 12th day with foreign players hitting 11 of them. Total number of goals scored so far is 276. Giuseppe Mascara notched a hat-trick for Catania against Torino. Two players, Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Inter) and Simone Tiribocchi (Lecce), grabbed a brace each. Genoa defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos committed the only own goal of the day. Vincenzo Iaquinta (Juventus) and Marius Stankevicius (Sampdoria) came on as substitutes and scored. Genoa hit-man Diego Milito still leads the scorers' list with 10 goals.