Matchday 5: Results

Fiorentina 2 vs AC Milan 0
(Stadio Artemio Franchi)

Rob's Review: Fiorentina hosted Milan on Monday night to finish off the first round of games. Fiorentina expected nothing less than three points, anything less would have been a disappointment for the home crowd. Fiorentina came out strong and pinned the Milan defence back in the first 10 minutes. Milan found a way to calm the storm and eventually settle in. As Fiorentina kept pressuring they had difficulty finding the back of the net until Gamberini rose above the Milan defender off a corner to make it 1-0. Fiorentina kept pressuring but Milan was composed in the back and made some strong defensive plays. Just before the end of the half, Pato had a tremendous chance to tie the game at one but he shot wide summing up Milan's evening.

In the second half, Milan made some changes to try and find an offensive spark however the league leaders were motivated and organized on this night. Later on in the half Fiorentina won another corner and Vargas scored to make it 2-0. That would be the final as Milan shut out Fiorentina's explosive offence but ironically had difficulty defending set pieces and stopping the Fiorentina defence. Fiorentina finish the first half of the season in first place and look to hold the top of the table into the spring while Milan will need to start finding results to win that last playoff spot which is still up for grabs. Garnet Exelby is terrible!!


Internazionale 1 vs Manchester United 2
(Stadio Giuseppe Meazza)

Manchester United picked up their first win of the season in a surprise victory away from Old Trafford by beating the second place holders Inter. The visitors have struggled this season to keep balls out of their net but have shown improvement from week to week. It seems United manager Sir Alex Sirianni's rigorous practice sessions have finally payed dividends as goals from Rooney buoyed the Red Devils to a shocking 2 - 1 win.

Inter, on the other hand, failed to finish the first half unbeaten by losing just their first fixture of the year. As the Italian side drop to third behind Roma's victory, it remains to be seen whether this loss will be a mere bump on the road to success or the beginning of the end for the Nerazzurri.


AS Roma 4 vs Juventus 1

(Stadio Olimpico)

Roma reasserted their position as a top MFL team by trouncing a fledgling Juventus squad 4-1 on Monday night. Francesco Totti continued his stellar play this season by opening the scoring just two minutes in and Simone Perrotta made it 2 - 0 before the clock struck 10 minutes. Juve's Mauro Camoranesi cut Roma's lead to one just 8 minutes later but the night was clearly Roma's from the get go. The home side continued to swarm the Juve box in the second half and were rewarded with well-taken goals by Toni and Totti in the 57th and 63rd minutes respectively. The Giallorossi attack seems to have been trying to send a message to the rest of the league by relentlessly firing 22 shots at the Juve net, while the Bianconeri managed only 4 at Doni. The win puts Roma in second place heading into the break with Fiorentina the only team left to catch.

Following the loss, Juventus is clearly in need of a shake up. Coach Marco Sirianni called this his team's worst performance ever and it was clear he was not happy with their play. Following Roma's 4th goal in the 63rd minute, the Juve manager signaled his disapproval by making a rare triple switch where not even superstar goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon was safe from substitution. But perhaps the most revealing measure of Juve's frustration came by their six yellow cards - two of which went to Georgio Chiellini - and 10 fouls in total. It is clear that something needs to be done to spark the Bianconeri and with word that Ross Tona is Torino, Sirianni better hope he finds the solution sooner rather than later.