EURO BITES: Serie A - AC Milan problems mount, Inter Milan commit armed robbery, Juventus are up and running and Napoli are playing inside a toilet

A round-up of the weekend action in Serie A as Juventus finally win at home, AC Milan’s problems get deeper and Napoli run into stadium problems.

AC MILAN PROBLEMS MOUNT AFTER ANOTHER BEATING

Napoli crushed Milan 4-0 on Sunday evening on the Rossoneri’s home turf, the San Siro stadium as problems continued to mount for Sinisa Mihajlovic’s side. They were no match for a Napoli that was on fire, continuing the magical stretch since coach Maurizio Sarri implemented his 4-3-3 formation. The match showcased a supernatural Lorenzo Insigne, who scored his first brace for Napoli and set up another goal for Allan, as well as star striker Gonzalo Higuain. Napoli’s defence, led by Raul Albiol and Kalidou Koulibaly, was no less impressive. Milan seemed to give up early, and many frustrated fans left the stadium 30 minutes into the second half after an own goal by Rodrigo Ely. The break from Serie A matches this week will not be an easy one for Milan’s coach, who is under fire with the season looking even worse than last year’s.

FIORENTINA ALONE AT THE TOP

Fiorentina’s home match against Atalanta on Sunday finished before it began. Five minutes into the first half, a penalty against Jakub Blaszczykowski determined the game as Atalanta’s Gabriel Paletta was sent off and Josip Ilicic scored. Table toppers Fiorentina didn’t let up, playing with the speed and determined pressing that has characterised the team this season. Midfield playmaker Borja Valero was on target, scoring the second goal and driving Fiorentina’s dynamism. After some initial scepticism about coach Paulo Sousa (not helped by the fact that he played for Fiorentina’s hated rival Juventus), fans and management are enthusiastic, and there is even talk of Fiorentina winning the national title. “There are teams better than ours,” Sousa commented. “But we can compete with them.” The next two challenging matches will put Fiorentina to the test - they are against Napoli in Naples and Roma in Florence.

INTER HELD BY SAMPDORIA, WHO CLAIM ARMED ROBBERY

The Sampdoria-Inter 1-1 draw in Genova on Sunday was exciting, fast-paced football - but was an unjust point for the team from Milan according to Sampdoria president Massimo Ferrero. “It was armed robbery,” he said. “We should have won 11-1.” On reflection, with Sampdoria dominating the first-half and Inter the second, the result was fair, although both teams surely regret the many missed occasions to score. Most scandalous was a fumbled kick by Sampdoria’s Joaquin Correa in front of an open goal. Inter demonstrated that despite losing their place at the top of the table, they are still in the title race - especially if newcomer Ivan Perisic continues to play as he did on Sunday. The Croatian not only scored Inter’s goal, but made the difference out wide when coach Mancini moved him there for three quarters in the second half.

JUVENTUS FINALLY VICTORIOUS AT HOME

After consolidating the leadership in the Champions League group stage with a victory over Sevilla FC on Wednesday, Juventus finally won a first home game in the Serie A this season. The match against Bologna on Sunday started out disastrously for the Bianconeri. After five minutes, Bologna’s Anthony Mounier scored following a defense error. While this is the fifth time in seven games that Juve has fallen behind, this time they managed to turn things around. This was thanks in large part to an impressive performance by Alvaro Morata and Paolo Dybala, who scored with a penalty kick. Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri was particularly encouraged by the Serie A debut of Sami Khedira, who cemented the victory with a header for 3-1. As the Bianconeri await playmaker Claudio Marchisio’s recovery, Allegri’s 3-5-2 formation seems to be the ticket. Bologna, meanwhile, learned that closing in to defend for 85 minutes at the Juventus Stadium is not a viable strategy.

FORTUNATE FATE FOR CARPI’S NEW COACH

The coach responsible for bringing Carpi to Serie A for the first time in history, Fabrizio Castori, was fired last Monday after his team suffered four losses and two draws in the first six matchdays. Even more incriminating were the fifteen goals Carpi conceded. However it is the new coach, Giuseppe Sannino, who will go down in history as leading Carpi to a first-ever victory in Serie A. On Saturday, his team beat the then-second ranked Torino 2-1. Sonnino didn’t perform miracles but continued to play with Castori’s 3-5-2 formation, putting Vid Belec in goal and moving captain Cristian Zaccardo to the center of defence. Courage and determination characterised Carpi, while Torino lacked the spirit they had shown thus far this season. Although the “Toro” had eight players missing, coach Giampiero Ventura insisted that “their absence cannot be an excuse. We played without the right approach.”

NAPOLI PRESIDENT CALLS STADIUM “A TOILET”

The San Paolo stadium in the centre of Naples is crumbling, and the Napoli soccer club would like to do something about it. Last touched in 1990 when Italy hosted the World Cup, the upper ring is now completely closed off because it is dangerous when the team scores and jumping fans rock the foundations. But the stadium, like all the major ones in Italy with the exception of the Juventus Stadium, is property of the city government and it is difficult to establish a plan for renovation. Frustrated, the President of Napoli Aurelio de Laurentiis made the mistake this week of calling his city’s stadium “a toilet”. Naples’ mayor Luigi de Magistris remarked that he should show more respect. “In the place that de Laurentiis calls a toilet, Diego Armando Maradona led Napoli to win two national championships. And when I go there I feel emotions that I don’t feel when I go to the bathroom.” Touche.