First of all the Good. Juventus joined Milan in the second stage of this season's Champions' League, Marco Di Vaio scoring twice to ensure a comfortable 2-0 win against Feyenoord. The loss to Newcastle was a blip, or at least Buffon will hope so. Milan reserves lost 2-1 in Lens, Shevchenko grabbing the goal. Not a great performance from Milan but Ancelotti isn't too concerned. What will bother him is Paolo Maldini's one match ban, a result of tv evidence and his incident with Bierhoff.
It will be galling for the Milan captain as Francesco Totti punched, well slapped, Stankovic on the head during the Rome derby. Maybe the league took pity on Totti after his poor World Cup. Inter and Roma play tonight (Wednesday), both teams looking to win, although it will be a tough task for Roma in Madrid. Rumour is that Ronaldo is too fat to play, no great loss for the Spaniards.
The Bad. Vittorio Cecchi Gori was arrested this week on charges of fraud. The law has at last caught up with the man who bankrupted Fiorentina. The team which rose from the ashes, Florentia Viola, are currently seventh in Serie C2B. The coach, the legendary Pietro Vierchowod, has much to do.
The Ugly. Well, the reaction will be ugly anyway. Roberto Baggio has added a chapter to his autobiography dealing with his omission form Italy's World Cup squad. Needlesss to say, the Divine Ponytail believes he would have made a difference and after watching Italy's games, who could disagree? For those wanting to read the book, it is called "Una Porta nel Cielo", "A Goal in the Sky".
It is a busy time in Serie A, the postponed first round of games will take place on the 6th of November, the second round scheduled for early in the New Year. Last weekend saw some dramatic action, especially the Olimpico:
Lazio 2 Roma 2. Dino Da Costa's record was equalled by Marco Delvecchio who scored his ninth derby goal. As he had just returned from injury, it speaks volumes for his ability to score in this fixture, strange as he isn't a prolific goalscorer. His goal cancelled the much-maligned Fiore's opener and minutes later, Batistuta made it 2-1 to the giallorossi.
Unfortunately for Capello's men, Stankovic equalised with 15 minutes left. This was an open derby with a lot of good football being played and the biancocelesti should have won it but Antonioli saved a late penalty from Sinisa Mihajlovic. The draw means Lazio stay a point ahead of their rivals.
Chievo 3 Milan 2. Defensive errors cost Milan in this game and with the loss in midweek they are in a mini-crisis, well, they will be if they lose this weekend. To add to the disappointment of this score, Pirlo was sent off for two bookable offences. On the plus side, Shevchenko returned but this score will probably result in more people calling for Luigi Del Neri to replace Trapattoni. Not a great move in my opinion and let's hope he stays at the Bentigodi.
Inter 2 Bologna 0. If Bologna had won this game they would have been Serie A leaders. Unfortunately for them, a goal each from Materazzi and Vieri meant that the nerazzuri now have 16 points form 6 games and lead the way.
To cap a disappointing night for the visitors, Thomas Locatelli, one of Italy's most under-rated players, had to limp off after eight minutes.
Hope he is back in action soon as he is a sublime player.
Juventus 1 Udinese 0. Minus Del Piero, amongst others, Juve ended a run of draws with this narrow victory. Salas scored the decisive goal and I think it it was his first goal from open play for the La Vecchia Signora. The home team were lacklustre but Lippi is happy with progress considering the number of games his team are playing just now. Still, if I was a Juve fan I would be expecting more.
Other scores:
Brescia 1 Como 1
Parma 2 Atalanta 1
Perugia 2 Modena 0
Piacenza 1 Empoli 2
Reggina 2 Torino 1
Standings after 6 games:
Inter 16
Milan 13
Juve 12
Lazio 11
Bologna 11
Roma 10