“Football has had some difficult and distressing issues to deal with recently, from Villa Park to Somalia to White Hart Lane, but there was at least some encouraging news this week after it emerged that AC Milan striker and everyone’s favourite croissant eater Antonio Cassano has been given the all-clear to resume playing football. There were fears Cassano might never play again last October when the 29-year-old fell ill on the plane home from Milan’s 3-2 win against Roma. The Italian striker was hospitalised with ’stroke-like symptoms’ which ultimately required heart surgery to repair a small cardiac malfunction.” Just Football (YouTube)

“Juventus were by far the better side – they move two points behind leaders Milan. Antonio Conte, as expected, moved to 3-5-2 with Paolo De Ceglie the left wing-back. There was a surprise upfront, where Alessandro Matri was left out, and Marco Borriello partnered Mirko Vucinic. Walter Mazzarri’s first XI is always easy to predict, and there were no surprises in the usual 3-4-3 shape. The reverse fixture was goal-crazy (although a fascinating tactical battle too) – this was much tighter, and less interesting than it should have been. It’s rare to get a formation battle like this – although Conte has generally played a three-man defence against a three-man defence – having done so twice against Udinese, and now twice against Napoli.” Zonal Marking

“1st v 2nd in Serie A – Milan remain a point ahead, but Juve have a game in hand. Max Allegri still has big selection problems – Kevin-Prince Boateng joined the injury list, while Zlatan Ibrahimovic was suspended. Antonio Conte’s first nine names on the teamsheet were as expected – but Marco Borriello and Fabio Quagliarella upfront was a big surprise. The game finished level, but Milan were the better side here – Conte made mistakes, and Milan played well. The Juve coach seemed to accept this, saying, ‘First of all we must praise Milan, as they played for an hour at the highest level and put us under pressure with our own weapons. Where I see that we went wrong, it’s also because they made us go wrong.’ Accordingly, the majority of the report will be looking at how Milan outwitted Juve.” Zonal Marking

Milan’s ‘ghost goal’ against Juventus leaves Serie A on a knife-edge
“The Milan supporters behind the press box in the Tribuna Rossa craned their necks, trying to catch a replay on the journalists’ TV screens. Others reached for their phones to demand answers from friends sat watching at home. But most of the 50,000 in attendance at San Siro didn’t bother. They needed no confirmation of what they had already seen: Sulley Muntari’s header entering the Juventus goal before being pushed back out by Gigi Buffon.” Guardian

AC Milan 1-1 Juventus: Serie A Highlights
Caught Offside (Video)

“Alessandro Matri scored a classic centre-forward’s goal to strengthen Juve’s position at the top. Antonio Conte switched to three at the back, as he did in the previous meeting between the sides. Simone Pepe and Claudio Marchisio were only fit enough for the bench. Udinese lined up largely as expected – Francesco Guidolin was without various players because of the Africa Cup of Nations, plus Giampiero Pinzi through injury. The sides played in a similar fashion but Juve were clearly the better side, able to offer a threat after long spells of possession, whereas Udinese were too reliant upon counter-attacking.” Zonal Marking

“A draw between 3rd and 2nd means Milan will end 2011 top of Serie A. Francesco Guidolin was without the suspended Mehdi Benatia at the back, so played Damiano Ferronetti, while Almen Abdi played behind Antonio Di Natale. Antonio Conte played his expected line-up. There were rumours before the game that he would switch to 3-5-2, although the line-up suggested that it would be more of a 4-5-1.” Zonal Marking

“One of the good things about a very tactical match is that the coaches are pressed for the reasons they made particular decisions at the post-match press conference. Antonio Conte’s approach away to Napoli was very surprising. Having started the season with a 4-4-2 often called a 4-2-4 and more recently moved to a 4-1-4-1, he switched to a 3-5-2 system. Giorgio Chiellini tucked in, Marcelo Estigarribia played on the left, and Simone Pepe moved inside to the centre of midfield, with Claudio Marchisio suspended.” Zonal Marking

“Another important, impressive victory for Juventus over a fellow title challenger. Here are eight observations on the game. 1. In the first half, much of the action came down Juventus’ right, the area of the pitch with more energetic, forward-thinking players. Like against Inter, Stephane Lichsteiner was a huge attacking threat, and his surges forward often led to Senad Lulic coming out to meet him – in turn leaving Arturo Vidal free. Lichsteiner, Vidal and Simone Pepe often overloaded Lulic and Stephan Radu down that flank, and there were four very good Juventus chances before Pepe’s goal that came from working the ball down that side. On the other flank, Giorgio Chiellini was more cautious and Juve’s left was more static.” Zonal Marking

Jean Lattre and Charles Francois Delamarche – 1800
“An interesting first half, and ultimately a convincing win for Walter Mazzarri’s side. Mazzarri was without Walter Gargano, so played Blerim Dzemaili alongside Gokhan Inler in the centre of midfield. Francesco Guidolin had Antonio Di Natale, Mauricio Isla and Maurizio Domizzi unavailable, meaning there were plenty of changes, resulting in a disjointed side. Antonio Floro Flores played upfront against his hometown club. This was tactically exciting and yet also very basic – Napoli were the clear winners.” Zonal Marking

“The 4-2-4 is a mythical formation, immediately bringing to mind the Brazil side of 1970, maybe the greatest international side in history. It is seldom used in modern football at the top level, and therefore the arrival of Antonio Conte at Juventus this summer excited many – he was set to play the system, and perhaps bring all-out-attack football to Turin. It’s surprising that so many thought this would bring about a revolution (in pure formation terms), for if there was any other manager in Europe that could vaguely be described as using a 4-2-4, it would be Juve’s manager from last year, Gigi Del Neri. He made his name with a similar system at Chievo, then re-established himself with the formation at Sampdoria, and last year tried to make it work with Juve.” Zonal Marking

“A game that turned on a red card and penalty decision – Luis Enrique won the early battle, but Eddy Reja’s side came through for him in stoppage time. Reja chose his usual shape, a cross between a 4-3-1-2 and a 4-2-3-1. Hernanes was the playmaker, Djibril Cisse a left-sided forward, and Alvaro Gonzalez deeper on the right. Enrique was without Francesco Totti and David Pizarro started on the bench, so Miralem Pjanic played as the number ten in, broadly, a 4-3-1-2. A victory for Lazio, then – they had the better of the game overall, but great credit should go to Enrique for his bravery throughout the fixture.” Zonal Marking

Cristian Ledesma
“Last season was a bittersweet symphony for Lazio, as they missed out on qualifying for the Champions League by the narrowest or margins. They finished up with the same points total as fourth placed Udinese, had the same record in the head-to-head against the team from Friuli, but lost out due to an inferior goal difference. Although this must have been disappointing, as Lazio occupied a Champions League place for most of the season, in the cold light of day it was still a notable achievement.” SwissRamble

“After a promising start to the 2010/11 season, when their exciting young team appeared to be mounting a serious challenge for a Champions League place, Palermo hit the buffers in February, suffering what their irascible president Maurizio Zamparini called a “black-out”, as they lost six matches in a row, including a devastating 7-0 home defeat to a rampant Udinese. The campaign had been going so well with the youthful talents of the Argentine playmaker Javier Pastore and Slovenian midfielder Josip Ilicic to the fore, ably supported by the attacking full-backs Federico Balzaretti and Mattia Cassani.” Swiss Ramble

Giampaolo Pozzo
“Following back-to-back victories against Lazio and Chievo Verona, Udinese stand on the brink of achieving the improbable dream of qualifying for the Champions League for only the second time in their history. They only need one more point to guarantee their entrance through the ‘gates of paradise’, as Europe’s flagship competition was described by their down-to-earth coach Francesco Guidolin, but the last game of the season is against this year’s champions Milan, so this objective is still far from a fait accompli.” Swiss Ramble

“Two fantastic goals gave Udinese an important win over Napoli. Francesco Guidolin had numerous absentees, most notably his two star forwards, Antonio Di Natale and Alexis Sanchez. He had to play Kwadwo Asamoah just off German Denis, the former Napoli player. Walter Mazzarri played his usual 3-4-2-1 system – Hassan Yebda continued over Walter Gargano in midfield, and Victor Ruiz started at the back.” Zonal Marking

Under-strength Udinese force Napoli to rewrite their Serie A script
“Giampaolo Pozzo has never been afraid to ask for a little divine intervention. For years the Udinese owner has been leading his players up into the hills to the east of their city, on an annual pilgrimage to the Blessed Virgin’s Sanctuary of Castelmonte. As they climb he might recount the sanctuary’s legend, telling of how the devil once challenged the Virgin Mary to a race to Castelmonte’s peak, with the winner taking possession of the local town of Cividale.” Guardian

“Over the years, there have been many reasons for football fans to admire Fiorentina, not least the myriad midfield talents of such creative stars as Giancarlo Antognoni, Roberto Baggio and Manuel Rui Costa and the goalscoring prowess of the prolific Gabriel Batistuta. Others have been attracted to the romance of following a club from Florence, one of the most beautiful cities in the world, while fashion gurus have simply appreciated the distinctive purple of the team’s shirts, which inspired the club’s Viola nickname.” The Swiss Ramble