The most enthralling game of the day came during the evening kick-off as Leonardo’s Milan comprehensively defeated Genoa 5-2 at the San Siro with goals from Ronaldinho, Thiago Silva, Marco Borriello and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar. David Beckham returned to the Milan line-up for the first game of his second spell with the Rossoneri and enjoyed an effective 75 minutes in front of the watching Fabio Capello before being replaced by Marek Jankulovski. The highlight of the match came after 55 minutes when Luca Antonini beat the Genoa offside trap with a sublime chipped pass which was emphatically finished by a Marco Borriello overhead kick to make it 4-1 to il Diavolo. Leonardo will doubtless be encouraged that his side’s good form has not dissipated over the Christmas break as Milan continue to keep a modicum of pressure on Inter at the top of the table.

In what was perhaps the most significant game of the day, Juventus scraped a 1-2 victory away at Parma to give Ciro Ferrara a stay of execution in the Bianconeri hot seat. An early strike by Hasan Salihamidzic had been negated by a Nicola Amoruso equaliser for the home side before a disastrous own goal by Parma’s Paolo Castellini proved the decisive intervention. Juve held off some late Parma pressure after the dismissal of Martin Caceres and saw the game out to claim a priceless away victory, alleviating some of the pressure on Ferrara and keeping the Old Lady of Turin in touch with Milan.

José Mourinho’s Internazionale kept up their relentless pace at the top of the league with a 0-1 away to Chievo. In the game which saw Goran Pandev’s debut for Inter, it was Mario Balotelli’s strike which proved the difference between the two sides at the Stadio Bentegodi. Although Chievo enjoyed periods of dominance in the game, ultimately it was Inter’s superior speed and strength that won out and saw the reigning champions maintain their eight point lead at the top of Serie A.

The only club in the top four to slip up on Wednesday was Roma, who could only draw with Cagliari who scored two goals in injury time to leave the game all square at 2-2. Goals from David Pizarro (a penalty) and Simone Perrotta looked to have sealed the win for the Giallorossi, but Diego López pulled one back for the Rossoblu on the stroke of ninety minutes, setting the stage for Daniele Conti to equalise for the Sardinians deep into extra time. Roma drop down to fifth as a consequence of the result, Cagliari moving up one place to eleventh.

In Wednesday’s other results, Lazio continued the upturn in its fortunes by convincingly beating Livorno 4-1 at the Olimpico, Napoli won 0-2 away at Atalanta to move into fourth above Roma, Bari continued to impress with a 2-0 victory over a struggling Udinese side, Catania beat Bologna 1-0 in the relegation six-pointer at the Stadio Massimino, Sampdoria tied 1-1 with Palermo and Fiorentina thrashed Tuscan rivals Siena 1-5 to stay within three points of the Champions League places.                      

The highlight of the weekend, the Derby d’Italia between Juventus and Internazionale at Turin’s Stadio Olimpico was a game to re-ignite the season and pile the pressure on Inter at the summit of the table. Felipe Melo was credited with the goal that gave Juve the lead after twenty-one minutes (although it was difficult to see who got the last touch amidst the goalmouth scramble), reward for the home side’s bright start to such a crucial game. So incensed was Jose Mourinho at the awarding of the free-kick that led to the goal that he was sent to the stands for his protestations in dramatic scenes in Turin. However, Samuel Eto’o equalised for the Portuguese’s’ team just five minutes later, heading powerfully beyond Gigi Buffon after being left unmarked in the six yard box. The bitter rivals continued to exchange chances whilst a flurry of yellow cards were dished out by the referee throughout the game. As the game approached the hour mark, however, it was Juventus who seized the initiative with Claudio Marchisio restoring the Bianconeri’s lead with an excellent piece of close control followed by a delightful chipped finish over Julio Cesar. It was Marchisio’s goal that proved the decisive strike, dramatically closing the gap at the top of Serie A and potentially saving Ciro Ferrara’s job in the process.     

The other big derby of the weekend saw Roman rivals Roma and the struggling Lazio go head-to-head in the cauldron-like atmosphere of the capital’s Stadio Olimpico. After a first-half marred by a ten minute delay when home-made bombs were thrown onto the playing surface, the Derby della Capitale sprung into life after half-time. Although Davide Ballardini’s Biancocelesti were enjoying a lot of possession, they couldn’t turn their control into goals despite a handful of chances. The best chance of the game fell to Mauri after the ball rebounded to him after Zarate had struck the post. With the goal at his mercy it seemed that Mauri could not miss, but the Italian’s effort was spectacularly saved by Julio Sergio who somehow turned the ball over the bar in what was undoubtedly the save of the season so far. The deadlock was finally broken after seventy-seven minutes when substitute Marco Cassetti turned the ball past Fernando Muslera after an excellent team move. It proved to be the only goal of the derby and one which sees Roma rise to sixth whilst Lazio’s crisis deepens, the Biancocelesti now sitting just one point off the relegation zone with Ballardini almost certain to be sacked in the very near future.

Milan also enjoyed a positive result at the weekend, Leonardo’s side beating a lacklustre Sampdoria at the San Siro on Saturday. First-half goals from Marco Borriello, Clarence Seedorf and Alexandre Pato were enough to overcome the Blucerchiati, a team who appear to have lost their defensive organisation of late and are slipping down the table at an alarming rate. Milan, on the other hand, look like a reinvigorated side and are starting to play some of their best football under their increasingly popular Brazilian coach.

In the weekend’s other games Palermo beat Cagliari 2-1 in the Derby delle Isole, Bologna also secured an impressive 2-1 win over Udinese, Fiorentina continued to improve their form with a 2-0 victory over Atalanta, Genoa and Parma drew 2-2 at the Stadio Ferraris, Chievo piled more misery upon the struggling Livorno with a 0-2 away win, Napoli scraped past Bari in a 3-2 thriller and Siena beat relegation rivals Catania by the same score line.

Week 15 results in full:

Bologna 2-1 Udinese

Fiorentina 2-0 Atalanta

Genoa 2-2 Parma

Juventus 2-1 Internazionale

Livorno 0-2 Chievo

Milan 3-0 Sampdoria

Napoli 3-2 Bari

Palermo 2-1 Cagliari

Roma 1-0 Lazio

Siena 3-2 Catania

Struggling Napoli have fired coach Roberto Donadoni and immediately replaced him with Walter Mazzarri following their poor start to the Serie A season.

Donadoni only took the reins in March of this year, and spent big in the summer with the addition of international striker Fabio Quagliarella.

However, the team has struggled so far this season and is currently languishing in 15th place in the table having failed to pick up any points away from home so far.

“Napoli announce they have released Roberto Donadoni from the role of head coach and appointed in his place Walter Mazzarri,” the club said in a statement.

“The club want to thank Donadoni for the work done in these months and wish him the best of luck for the future.”

Mazzarri was at Sampdoria last season and guided them to a 13th place finish.

“It was a decision that had to be taken in order to give a new spark to the azzurri season and for the future of the team,” said Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis.