EURO BITES: Serie A - Roma go top of the table, AC Milan save Sinisa Mihajlovic's job and Carpi are forced to pay up

A round-up of the action in Serie A as Roma won the top-of-the-table clash with Fiorentina, AC Milan saved coach Sinisa Mihajlovic from the axe and Carpi ran into a spot of trouble.

STILL NO VICTORY FOR INTER

It seems that Inter have forgotten how to win. After five consecutive victories at the beginning of the season, Inter’s last 4 matches have produced 3 draws and a defeat. On Saturday night against Palermo, Roberto Mancini’s players created few opportunities to score. His 4-4-2 formation seemed a tactical error, and was helped only by the entrance of Jonathan Biabiany to replace Geoffrey Kondogbia in the second half. It was from a cross by Biabiany that Ivan Perisic scored Inter’s goal, but Palermo levelled soon after with a goal by Alberto Gilardino. Palermo’s intense, fast-paced game slowed after the equaliser, and it was in the last 15 minutes of the match that Inter produced their best play, despite the dismissal of Jeison Murillo. Mancini was optimistic, pointing to the return and performance of Biabiany but problems in attack remain. Striker Mauro Icardi continues to search for a goal and his partnership with Stevan Jovetic is virtually non-existent.

ROMA REPLACE FIORENTINA AT THE TOP

After winning 2-1 in Florence on Sunday afternoon, Roma moved to the top of the Serie A table alone for the first time in almost two years. In a clash between the top two, Roma took an early lead thanks to a spectacular goal by Mohamed Salah in the sixth minute and Fiorentina, despite having the best defense in the league, conceded another Roma goal on counterattack as Gervinho struck. Fiorentina’s coach Paulo Sousa decision to play with only one striker, Nikola Kalinic, proved costly and, after changing the formation in the last ten minutes and bringing on Giuseppe Rossi and Khouma el Babacar, his side earned a lifeline through the latter - although it proved to be a consolation in the end. Roma coach Rudi Garcia took a swipe at critics: “We were all bad: players, coach, manager. We need to believe in ourselves, but with humility.”

MAURIZIO SARRI’S NAPOLI CONTINUES TO SPIN GOLD

It seems that the more Napoli play in coach Maurizio Sarri’s 4-3-3 formation the better they get. Having found a system that has led Napoli to win eight of the last nine matches, the understanding between players is improving with each game. In Verona on Sunday night, although Chievo Verona demonstrated impressive organisation and a strong defence, Napoli dominated the match. Fast, aggressive and determined, Napoli players like Allan in midfield and Kalidou Koulibaly in defence were impressive along with striker Gonzalo Higuain. After several near-misses, Higuain gave Napoli the lead with a masterful left-footer, as they moved up to second spot in the Serie A table along with Lazio, Fiorentina and Inter.

LAZIO’S HOME SWEET HOME

Lazio continued the run of victories at home with a 3-0 win against Torino on Sunday. The match marked Lazio’s eighth consecutive victory on home turf across Serie A and European matches. Despite missing four important players, Lazio dominated and most encouraging for coach Stefano Pioli was the performance (including two goals) of Felipe Anderson. Last year, the Brazilian was disappointing in the first half of the season before coming good after the turn of the year to help Lazio finish in third place in the Serie A. This year, like last, he started out poorly but has now found his stride. Torino, on the other hand, continued the tendency to lose away games - this being the Toro’s third consecutive defeat on the road. Torino coach Giampiero Ventura should be most concerned about his team’s capitulation after Lazio’s first goal.

AC MILAN’S VICTORY SAVES COACH AND MANAGEMENT…FOR NOW

Before Sunday’s match in Milan, AC Milan fans demonstrated against Rossoneri players, coach Sinisa Mihajlovic and the team’s CEO Adriano Galliani. Fortunately for all of them, Milan managed to pull off a 2-1 victory against a strong, gutsy Sassuolo side. The match was balanced until Sassuolo goalkeeper Andrea Consigli was dismissed for a 29th minute foul and Carlos Bacca converted the penalty. Despite playing in 10 men, Sassuolo levelled the score with a goal from a free-kick by Domenico Berardi. Desperate for the win, Mihajlovic changed to a 4-2-4 formation and put Luiz Adriano in attack, a move that saved the match and possibly his job. Adriano secured a vital win with a header.

CARPI FORCED TO PAY UP

When Carpi made it to the Serie A this year, the small city’s stadium was not large enough for the major league. With only 4,000 seats, it fell far short of the 20,000-seat minimum for a Serie A stadium. The only logistical solution was to play in Modena, 20km away and a city that has been a rival of Carpi since time immemorial. Although in the beginning Carpi fans threatened to stay away, the lure of seeing their team play in the Serie A was too great and the first Carpi “home” games in Modena were well-attended and uneventful. It seemed that the situation was resolved…until last week. When Carpi players arrived in Modena to train on Thursday (a training session at the stadium 48 hours before home games is procedure), they were blocked from entering the stadium. Why? Because the President of Modena FC claimed that Carpi hadn’t paid the stadium rent that had been established at the beginning of the season. Although they didn’t train, the situation was resolved by Saturday, when the team played in Modena against Bologna. It ended in defeat, however, as Bologna won 2-1.