Inter Profit From Juventus's Slip as the Title Race Tightens
A 3-0 defeat in Turin and a shock in Empoli cost Juventus top spot, and FC Internazionale Milano took it with a win at Cosenza.
Eleven games in, the champions lead Serie A by a point. That is what was at stake when this cycle began, and by the end of it FC Internazionale Milano had the advantage back: 26 points, one clear of Juventus. The margin is slender, but the manner of the swing is instructive. Juventus did the hard part first, beating Inter 3-0 in Turin, a result that seemed to promise a firm hand on the table. Three days later they went to Empoli and lost 3-2. Control is not something you switch on and off, and Juventus, with the best goal difference in the division at +22, will know they gave away more than a point.
Inter did what leaders must. They went to Cosenza, the bottom club, and won 3-1. It was not a performance to frame, but it was a professional one, and with it they returned to the summit after the 1-1 derby against Roma earlier in the autumn had hinted at the frailty that can creep into a title defence. Giovanni Orlando, who ran the show in Molde in the Champions League, was not needed to be spectacular here; the points were the point.
Fiorentina are level with Juventus on 25 after their 1-0 win over Udinese Calcio, which pushed Udinese down from 14th to 17th. Lazio sit fourth on 22, Frosinone fifth on 19. At the other end, Perugia's 1-3 home defeat by Napoli leaves them 18th on seven points; Cittadella have six; Cosenza four. Bari fell from 11th to 15th. Brescia's 4-3 win over Roma was the week's entertainment, but it is Inter, quietly, who have the table.