The weekend just gone in Serie A was all about the Derby della Capitale, that's Derby of the Capital to you and me, which is battled out between Lazio and Roma in the magnificent Stadio Olimpico.
Lazio coach Vladimir Petkovic said before the clash that "this match is different" and it didn't fail to deliver. Inside ten minutes Erik Lamela headed Roma in front from a corner, that been his eighth goal of the season. Roma have dropped 14 points from winning positions this season however and Lazio hit-back in the first-half in bizarre fashion. Antonio Cadreva's powerful costless-kick from all of 30 yards was struck straight at Mauro Goicoechea in the Roma goal, only for him to punch it straight into his own net. That gave Lazio momentum and before the break Hernanes' cross-shot got stuck in one of the pools that were now forming on the pitch and was pounced upon by Miroslav Klose; 2-1 Lazio.
It would get worse for Roma before the half-time whistle as De Rossi decided that Stefano Mauri was getting too close for comfort inside the box and so gave him a friendly whack round the chops; red card and omission from the Italy squad for Wednesday's friendly with France as a consequence.
Another mistake at the start of the second led to Lazio's third, this time derby debutant Ivan Piris headed a long ball straight into the path of captain Stefano Mauri who dispatched his shot past Goicoechea; Mauri would later follow the same suit as De Rossi and go for an early bath. Miralem Pjanic's 40-yard costless-kick that lobbed delightfully over Federico Marchetti was not enough to ignite a dramatic comeback as the Derby della Capitale ended Lazio 3-2 Roma.
Last week Inter ended Juventus' 49-game unbeaten run in Serie A but of course this week the Nerazzuri couldn't build on that against Atalanta. A brace from German Denis was enough to give the hosts a 3-2 victory and condemn Inter to their first defeat on the road this season, whilst also ending their ten-match unbeaten run in all competitions. After Juventus demolished Pescara the day before, Inter have now fallen four points behind the Old Lady but remain in second place, whilst Atalanta move up to sixth.
Rumours suggest that AC Milan are targeting Fiorentina's Vincenzo Montella as their next manager, with chief executive Adriano Galliani saying on the eve of the Viola's visit that "he makes teams play like the president wants". Galliani, speaking about Massimiliano Allegri recently, stated "we have faith in him."
Why would Montella leave the much healthier Fiorentina though? His side now sit in fourth in Serie A after coming away from the San Siro with a 3-1 victory; Milan currently lie 13th. First-half goals from Alberto Aquilani and Borja Valero, helped by Philippe Mexes' display of possibly the worst defending I've ever seen from a professional footballer, and a missed penalty from Alexandre Pato gave the Viola a two-goal lead at half-time. Giampaolo Pazzini, who had replaced Pato at half-time, pulled one back for Milan but a late goal from Mounir El Hamdaoui sunk the Rossoneri to their fourth home defeat of the season.
In other news Napoli came from behind twice away at Genoa to eventually walk away with all three points. Genoa led for most of the second-half until Edinson Cavani rounded the keeper for his eighth goal of the season with ten minutes remaining. In the 90th minute, Giandomenico Mesto's cross was met by the diving head of Marek Hamsik to give the visitors a 3-2 lead, before Lorenzo Insigne made it four in stoppage time. Napoli sit third, a point behind Inter, whilst Genoa fall into the bottom three after five defeats on the bounce.
To end with, Sampdoria's bright start to the season is now a distant memory as they lost for the seventh successive time, this weekend going down 2-0 away to Palermo. Angry fans attempted to block the team bus upon their arrival back home, demanding answers from the players; not surprisingly nothing resulted from their efforts.
Cagliari 0-0 Catania; Pescara 1-6 Juventus; Atalanta 3-2 Inter; AC Milan 1-3 Fiorentina; Chievo 2-2 Udinese; Genoa 2-4 Napoli; Lazio 3-2 Roma; Parma 0-0 Siena; Torino 1-0 Bologna; Palermo 2-0 Sampdoria