After weeks of speculation regarding Rafa Benítez’s job security at Napoli, on Saturday the clearest indication yet that the old Napoli are back was on full display. A 2-0 win against Roma at the San Paolo has put the Azzurri firmly back in the hunt for a European spot. Their success has a lot to do with the form of José Callejón - Serie A’s top scorer with eight goals - three of which have been assisted by Gonzalo Higuaín. That special combination sees Napoli aiming for third place when they take on Fiorentina this Sunday.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Lazio | 10 | 9 | 19 |
| 4 | Sampdoria | 10 | 6 | 19 |
| 5 | Napoli | 10 | 7 | 18 |
| 6 | Genoa | 10 | 4 | 18 |
| 7 | AC Milan | 10 | 4 | 16 |
The tragic floods in Genoa are still fresh in the locals’ minds but somehow, together with Sampdoria, the pair are combining for their highest positions after ten games since 1990-91. The last time Genoa took 18 points at this stage was back in 1932/33, while Sampdoria’s coach Siniša Mihajlović is establishing himself as one of Europe’s brightest innovators. The two clubs can be proud of what they are achieving following the flash flooding that engulfed the city.
37 - Together @GenoaCFC and @sampdoria have collected 37 points so far: an all-time record in Serie A after the first 10 fixtures. Superba.
— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) November 2, 2014
Sampdoria have only lost once this season and their next opponents are AC Milan, a struggling outfit with just two points from their last three games. Despite scoring on his debut for the Rossoneri, Fernando Torres has failed to find the net since and it seems a change of scenery from Stamford Bridge to San Siro has done little to alter his fortunes. El Niño said he left Chelsea because he didn’t feel wanted enough, but this graphic suggests he isn’t doing enough in Italy to be wanted there either. Torres is going up against a defence this weekend that has let in just six goals in 10 games thus far.
Adriano Galliani defends Fernando @Torres despite struggles in front of goal: http://t.co/oVB2CgyUhQ pic.twitter.com/srPXz1WBn9
— Goal (@goal_intl) October 31, 2014
When delving deeper into the day-to-day routine of Andrea Pirlo, one would assume you would find him mastering the art of the free-kick. The Juventus playmaker made it 26 goals from free-kicks in his Serie A career against Empoli last weekend, then celebrated his 100th appearance in the Champions League in style with yet another against Olympiacos. Scoring on the century places Pirlo in the company of Thierry Henry, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Cristiano Ronaldo as the only players to do so, and that’s now 20 goals from direct free-kicks since 2004/05 for the charismatic Italian.
Pirlo has not scored from a ball in open play in almost 3 years (17.03.2012 vs. Fiore). Since then 16 free kicks and 1 penalty
— MisterChip (English) (@MisterChiping) November 4, 2014
Not a good week for Inter, who for the ninth time failed to win three games in a row under Walter Mazzarri. While that feat is hard to fathom and even harder to replicate, the fact that the defeat came at the hands of then-bottom Parma was even more concerning for Mazzarri, who is under serious pressure from fans to be replaced by Roberto Mancini. Inter face Verona on Sunday and a loss could be fatal for the manager, but why are the fans so hasty? Unless Milan supporters want their training ground to become a playground for churlish behaviour, they may wish for their fortunes to turn around and current boss to keep his job.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Juventus | 10 | 14 | 25 |
| 2 | Roma | 10 | 10 | 22 |
| 3 | Lazio | 10 | 9 | 19 |
| 4 | Sampdoria | 10 | 6 | 19 |
| 5 | Napoli | 10 | 7 | 18 |
| 6 | Genoa | 10 | 4 | 18 |
| 7 | AC Milan | 10 | 4 | 16 |
| 8 | Udinese | 10 | 0 | 16 |
| 9 | Inter Milan | 10 | 3 | 15 |
| 10 | Fiorentina | 10 | 1 | 13 |
| 11 | Verona | 10 | -5 | 13 |
| 12 | Torino | 10 | -2 | 12 |
| 13 | Palermo | 10 | -6 | 12 |
| 14 | Sassuolo | 10 | -5 | 11 |
| 15 | Atalanta | 10 | -7 | 9 |
| 16 | Cagliari | 10 | 0 | 9 |
| 17 | Empoli | 10 | -8 | 7 |
| 18 | Cesena | 10 | -9 | 7 |
| 19 | Parma | 10 | -9 | 6 |
| 20 | Chievo | 10 | -9 | 5 |
