Scissors Kick

“Real Sociedad opened up a five-point gap in the race for fourth place. Philippe Montanier brought in Alberto de la Bella for the injured Liassine Cadamuro at left-back, Asier Illarramendi returned after suspension, but Antoine Griezmann was banned so Gonzalo Castro played on the left. From the side that thrashed Malaga 5-1, Ernesto Valverde brought Ricardo Costa back into the centre of his defence, while Sofiane Feghouli started on the right, as Canales was injured again. Jonas switched to the left. The key feature of this game was not about formations, individual positioning or possession dominance – but instead about Real Sociedad’s brilliant quick counter-attacks that repeatedly carved Valencia open.” Zonal Marking

“A wet evening at the Vicente Calderón stadium, Atlético Madrid failed to capitalize on the opportunity to go 2nd following Real Madrid’s draw with Real Zaragoza on Saturday. Valencia had the chance to leapfrog Málaga and go level on points with La Real, but both teams had to settle for a point each – a game full of overloads provided a stalemate.” Outside of the Boot

“It was a surprise appointment. He was a forgotten offensive guru when Pescara appointed him before 2011/12 Serie B season. Roma wanted him because of his background, because of the footballing culture and attractive offensive philosophy that comes from his Foggia days during the early ‘90s. Now, Roma admitted sacking the him was an option. That would be the sign of a failed revolution. History teaches us a lot about failed revolutions. When Roma appointed Czech manager Zdenek Zeman for his second stint with Giallorossi, they hope to bring on a new football idea in the mouldy Italian football. The idea was to run the succesfull Zeman’s 4-3-3 in the Catenaccio land. An attacking football based on speed, quickness and veticality. Not all worked during this first half of the season as Roma had up and downs.” Think Football

“A match that started strongly before fading in the second half. Zdenek Zeman didn’t feel Miralem Pjanic was 100% fit, so went for Alessandro Florenzi in the centre of midfield. Inter coach Andrea Stramaccioni was without both Antonio Cassano and Diego Milito, so selected youngster Marko Livaja upfront. Juan Jesus, Yuto Nagatomo and Walter Gargano also returned to the side. The game was all about tempo – Roma looked very good in a frantic first 20 minutes, but as the game calmed down, it became more balanced.” Zonal Marking

“A disappointing game between two sides that have regressed over the past couple of seasons. Ernesto Valverde named an unchanged side from the XI that won at Granada last time out, which meant Andres Guardado continued at left-back. Michel also selected an unchanged side, from the 1-0 win over Osasuna. Valencia dominated the ball and eventually broke through – but really, this was a good demonstration of why the two sides have underachieved this season.” Zonal Marking

“Attack, Attack, Attack. As the tireless cliché goes: football is an art form – creative and elegant. That’s what we want it to be, anyway. Never have football teams been so heavily criticised if they didn’t exhibit The Beautiful Game in its glorious entirety. It seems passes are being praised more than goals. And as for the appreciation for a solid tackle? – You may just earn yourself a yellow card for applauding it. Football is a changed sport. A more frantic, frenzied game. Complete reverence to forward play, along with, what seems almost like, a disregard to the defensive side. In 2009 only two, of the thirty two teams in the Champions League group stages, managed to keep their average number of shots conceded per game below 10. Disregard.” Think Football

“An extraordinarily open game at the Stadio Olimpico. Zdenek Zeman named an unchanged side from the XI which defeated Siena 3-1, which meant Daniele De Rossi was only on the bench after his return from suspension. Vincenzo Montella was without two key players – Stevan Jovetic and David Pizarro. Adem Ljajic was also out, so Montella surprisingly named Juan Cuadrado as a support striker behind Luca Toni, bringing in Mattia Cassano on the right. Ruben Oliveira replaced Pizarro at the bottom of the midfield. 4-2 wasn’t unfair, but a better reflection of the match would have been 7-4…” Zonal Marking

“Glance at the Serie A table, and you’d be forgiven for wondering what has changed at Fiorentina. From 13th place at the end of a difficult 2011/12, they’re now riding high in fourth position, having won five of their last six games. Inspect their squad list, and it’s obvious what has changed. Of the 21 players Vincenzo Montella has used in Serie A this season, 16 were signed in the summer. As a club that went bankrupt a decade ago, then had to continually evolve their side as they climbed from Serie C2 to the Champions League, Fiorentina are used to transformations – but a 75% playing staff turnover remains extraordinary.” ESPN – Michael Cox

“Fiorentina produced an excellent display, particularly in the first half, while Milan looked completely uncomfortable in their system. Max Allegri continued with the 4-2-3-1 system he’d successfully used in the 5-1 win over Cheivo, but brought back Philippe Mexes, Mattia De Sciglio and Kevin-Prince Boateng into the side. Vincenzo Montella was without Stevan Jovetic, so used Luca Toni as his primary striker. Fiorentina’s system seemed to cause Milan problems across the pitch – they were unable to win the ball quickly and didn’t exploit their numerical advantage on the flanks.” Zonal Marking

“Valencia won 2-0 in a disappointingly tame contest. Mauricio Pellegrino changed his two wide players, bringing in Andres Guardado and Sofiane Feghouli, and also introduced Jonas behind Roberto Soldado. Diego Simeone made a few changes, bringing back Tiago, Arda Turan and Adrian Lopez and moving to a different midfield format. Neither side played particularly sparkling football in this match – the only interesting tactical feature was in the centre of midfield.” Zonal Marking

“First versus second in Serie A – Juventus eventually got the breakthrough, and now lead Napoli by three points. Antonio Conte’s main decision was about which forward combination to select – he went with Fabio Quagliarella and Sebastian Giovinco, the same duo he selected at Fiorentina, last time ZM covered Juventus. Marco Storari played, as Gigi Buffon was injured. Walter Mazzarri rarely makes any surprise selection decisions, and his XI was as expected, with Alessandro Gamberini starting on the left of the back three. Tight, tense and tactical. These sides have played each other so frequently in the past twelve months – with Conte choosing a system that deliberately mirrors Napoli’s – that it rather felt like the sides knew each other too well, and both needed a surprise element.” Zonal Marking

“Europe’s title battles this season will be somewhat familiar — Real Madrid versus Barcelona, Manchester City versus Manchester United, Borussia Dortmund versus Bayern Munich. Though we’re only in October and there’s still time for outsiders to spoil the party, the lack of variety can be frustrating. Serie A is different. This weekend Juventus takes on Napoli: it’s first versus second with both teams having picked up 19 points from a possible 21 so far — but more intriguingly, it’s a genuinely new title rivalry.” ESPN – Michael Cox

“Edinson Cavani hit a hattrick – and missed a penalty – as Napoli stormed to victory. Walter Mazzarri started Alessandro Gamberini rather than Salvatore Aronica in defence and Valon Behrami ahead of Blerim Dzemaili in midfield. Vladimir Petkovic moved back to his 4-1-4-1 / 4-3-3 after an unsuccessful experimentation with 4-4-2 against Genoa, with Miroslav Klose returning upfront, Stefano Mauri moved inside and Senad Lulic out on the left. Despite Klose’s early disallowed goal (struck off because he admitted punching the ball into the net), this was a fairly simple game. Napoli were more forceful, energetic and direct than Lazio – they won the battle in the midfield and counter-attacked swiftly.” Zonal Marking

“3-5-2 versus 3-5-2, and one point apiece. Vincenzo Montella made three changes. The most significant involved him selecting the industry of Romulo over the creativity of Mati Fernandez. Adem Ljajic came in for Haris Seferovic, and Manuel Pasqual for Mattia Cassani. Antonio Conte and Massimo Carrera decided to rest Claudio Marchisio, with Emanuele Giaccherini starting instead. Fabio Quagliarella replaced Mirko Vucinic after his impressive impact in the last couple of games. Fiorentina were the better side but struggled in front of goal, with Juventus seemingly happy with a point.” In Bed With Maradina