Giornata 22 Review

Match of the Week:

Fiorentina-Roma 0-1: Vucinic 82

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwVb90i-Wo0&feature=youtube_gdata

--Considering how many chances Fiorentina had, they deserved to walk away with nothing. Roma, on the other hand, took care of one of their few opportunities and now sit alone in 2^nd.

(My Prediction: 2-3… If two of the best keepers in Serie A weren’t in action today, my prediction would look a bit more relevant.)

(http://www.soccerway.com/national/italy/serie-a/2009-2010/regular-season/tables/)

Goals and Highlights

Palermo – Parma 2-1: Cavani 62 (Pal), Biabiany 73 (Par), Simplicio 86 (Pal)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAuuOLqMd0c

--Three quality goals, and a great game. Business as usual for both Palermo and Parma in this second half of the season.

(My Prediction: 3-0 Palermo… Parma was too good to let 3 in but a 2 goal deficit was not out of reach. Their only goal looked to come via counter anyway.)

Livorno – Juventus 1-1: Filippini 26 (L), Legrottaglie 41

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9NiK5sU0AA

--Juve just isn’t one of the powerhouses you would expect them to be. Livorno quietly stringing together respectable results and making a run away from the bottom 3.

(My Prediction: 0-2… A 0-2 Juve win would be expect any other season, and I even warned myself in the preview that Livorno was more than likely to take something from this.)

Genoa – Chievo 1-0: Rossi 64 (G)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycBQeVar5dE&feature=youtube_gdata

--Not a whole lot in this game. Genoa in control for the majority and looked to take all 3. Just more ups and down for Chievo.

(My Prediction: 1-1... The score may not have been accurate but the way they played was about a 1-1 game.)

Siena – Sampdoria 1-2: Gastaldello 3 (Sa), Pozzi 77 (Sa), Maccarone 82 (Si)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCSwSlWDtTs&feature=youtube_gdata

--9 straight points from a possible 9 with Cassano on the bench for Sampdoria. Siena might only be weeks away from relegation.

(My Prediction: 2-3 Sampdoria… My scoreline definitely hadn’t bought into Cassano-less Samp but I might be convinced after this one.)

Milan – Bologna 0-0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3C3NH682RtI&feature=sub

-- +1 for Bologna, -2 for Milan. Their Scudetto run is over and they simply do not deserve to be champions for in inability to win games late. Bologna continuing to pester Milan as well.

(My Prediction: 1-1... I didn’t think Milan was going to win no matter who they played and it didn’t help that it was Bologna who’s been a bit of a thorn in their side since being promoted.)

Udinese – Napoli 3-1: Di Natale 7, 91, 93 (U), Maggio 21 (N)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5zbD9XIbUs&feature=youtube_gdata

--You have to love Antonio DiNatale, he has to be the most underrated player in all of Italy. A hell of a way to end Napoli’s impressive unbeaten run.

(My Prediction: 1-3 Napoli… maybe is Maggio stayed on the field longer Napoli may have at least pulled out a tie but as mentioned above and in many previews, Toto is walking game-changer.)

Lazio – Catania 0-1: Maxi Lopez 63 (C)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9uNGjVIoCE&feature=youtube_gdata

--Catania not submitting to relegation yet. Lazio looked more like the more relegation bound club.

(My Prediction: 4-2 Lazio... Catania had been scoring and Lazio have been winning so I figured a high score.)

Atalanta – Bari 1-0: Tiribocchi 82 (A)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJ_UIOtV4Gw&feature=youtube_gdata

--Second half was all Atalanta’s and deservedly got their 3 points by a beautiful goal. Surprise slump from Bari after a massive win last week.

(My Prediction: 2-3 Bari… I expect Bari to fly out of the gates and maybe if they had converted their early chances they might have scored 2 or 3 but they left it late and got punished.)

Inter – Cagliari 3-0: Pandev 6 (I), Samuel 19 (I), Milito 47 (I)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLDrExnbzIU&feature=youtube_gdata

--If Inter doesn’t make it to at least the semis of the CL, what a disgrace they would be. This team is playing so incredibly well with absolutely no challenges coming out of Serie A.

(My Prediction: 1-0 Inter… As far as an actual game went, I expected a more exciting match lasting a full 90. However Inter took care of business in half that time.)