EURO BITES: Serie A - Inter move to the top, Napoli defeat blamed on the pitch, and Paul Pogba solves superstition problem

A round-up of the latest news from the weekend action in Serie A, including a bizarre story involved Paul Pogba and the number 10 shirt at Juventus.

Inter Milan joined Fiorentina at the top of Serie A, while there was an important win for AC Milan at the weekend. Meanwhile, Paul Pogba was in the news for his goals and bizarre goings on with his Juventus shirt.

JUVENTUS WIN THE TURIN DERBY AS TORINO CONCEDE MORE LATE GOALS

The last time Torino sat above Juventus in the Serie A table at the time of the Turin derby was 22 years ago. On Saturday, the two teams battled it out in a match that ended with a crucial victory for Juventus and a frustrating injury time defeat for Torino. An injury to Sami Khedira after just 11 minutes prompted coach Massimiliano Allegri to put on Juan Cuadrado and switch to 4-3-3, a move that brought results. The Colombian player set up the first goal for Paul Pogba and scored the second one himself. In truth, Torino didn’t deserve to lose. After levelling the score with a goal by Cesare Bovo, there were two miraculous saves by Gigi Buffon. Just as they did in the Turin derby last year, Juventus scored well into added on time to win the game. Torino has now lost three critical points in the last two matches because of late goals following last Wednesday when Genoa claimed a late draw.

INTER LEAPFROG ROMA TO TOP THE TABLE WITH FIORENTINA

In the most important game of Serie A’s 11th matchday, Roma lost 1-0 to Inter, allowing the team from Milan to regain the league’s top spot alongside Fiorentina. Inter coach Roberto Mancini presented a controversial 4-3-3 formation, with Mauro Icardi on the bench, and Ivan Perisic and Adem Ljajic on the wings. But it was midfielder Gary Medel who decided the match with a shot from outside the box after 31 minutes. Though Roma came close to levelling, Inter’s goalkeeper Samir Handanovic let nothing pass - making four consecutive saves in as many seconds in the second-half. The match was dominated by Roma, both in terms of possession and chances, but they failed to take them. Roma coach Rudi Garcia said: “We did not deserve to lose. The numbers show that Roma played a good match, though we were missing some antagonism.”

FIORENTINA CONTINUES TO SHINE

Fiorentina regained their place as leaders of the Serie A along with Inter thanks to a 4-1 victory at home against Frosinone, which left little doubt that coach Paulo Sousa’s team is a serious contender for the championship. Sousa opted to leave Giuseppe Rossi, Nikola Kalinic, Josip Ilicic and Federico Bernardeschi on the bench but it didn’t matter as there was no contest. Fiorentina secured their victory with four first-half goals. Fiorentina now have the third best defence in Serie A and score an average of two goals per game. Frosinone will need to change their approach if they are to avoid relegation from Serie A.

NAPOLI WINNING RUN ENDS IN GENOA AS THE PITCH IS BLAMED

After five consecutive victories, Napoli saw the winning streak come to an end in Genoa on Sunday. In a goalless draw against Genoa, Napoli players Dries Mertens, Marek Hamsik and Jose Callejon all missed clear-cut chances to score, wasting opportunities to take Napoli to the top of the Serie A table. While Napoli put Genoa’s impressive goalkeeper Mattia Perin to the test time and again, Genoa didn’t create problems for Napoli’s defence. Napoli’s superstar Gonzalo Higuain had an off day, while his fellow striker Lorenzo Insigne was put on the bench for a good part of the match. Coach Maurizio Sarri blamed the state of the pitch, but said: “I complimented my players. The only thing missing was a goal.”

AC MILAN PRODUCE THEIR BEST PERFORMANCE OF THE SEASON

AC Milan trounced Lazio 3-1 on Sunday evening in what was arguably their best performance of the season. The pillars of Sinisa Mihajlovic’s philosophy – aggressive pressing, intensity and strong recovery – were showcased everywhere during the match. Lazio, meanwhile, lost in Rome for the first time this season after a string of 8 home victories between Serie A and Europa League, showing that they continue to have problems in defence. In fact, the first two goals conceded were errors by goalkeeper Federico Marchetti. Lazio coach Stefano Pioli said: “I’m disappointed. It was our worst game at the Olympic Stadium. Milan played better and deserved to win.”

1+0+5 IS BETTER THAN 10

Superstition is prevalent in the world of football, and the idea that certain numbers can bring good luck or bad has existed since the beginning of the sport. When Juventus number 10 Carlos Tevez left the team last summer, Paul Pogba requested the magical number. Juventus was happy to give it to him, and hoped that the number would auger well for Pogba this season. But the French midfielder has disappointed this year. Pogba met with a motivational coach who traced part of the problem to the great responsibility of carrying the number 10. The idea arose of adding a “+5” sign to the back of his jersey: the sum of 1+0+5 is Pogba’s number 6 shirt which he used to play in for Juve as well as France in the past. The symbols, added in pen, seem to be working. Pogba played well against Torino on Saturday and got on the scoresheet. It looks like the +5 is working.