Italy’s Serie A will be determined in the next few weeks with Milan and Juventus fighting hard to win the distinguished league title. Milan’s players might be distracted by their Champions League commitment with Barcelona as their next target in the quarter-final stage. As for Juventus, the Bianconeri have yet to lose this season in an official match despite facing difficulties scoring against weaker sides.

This weekend, the Rossoneri came away with a precious 2-0 in Parma after a challenging game during which Zlatan Ibrahimovic was again the difference maker. The Swedish star converted a penalty to give Milan the lead after a shaky spell during which the hosts tried to control the match. Ibrahimovic will be one of the main reasons behind Milan’s success if they do win the league competition. His goals have been crucial while on the other side his former team Juventus has struggled to find the back of the net on a consistent basis.

Even the 5-0 triumph in Fiorentina, which is Juve’s biggest win at the Stadio Artemio Franchi, is not enough to hide the Turin club’s attacking deficiencies. The Bianconeri ought to be thankful for Mirko Vucinic’s performance against La Viola as he managed to open the scoring after hitting the post earlier in the match. He also had a hand in all of Juve’s other goals during his time on the pitch. He key role in the goals scored by Arturo Vidal, Claudio Marchisio and Andrea Pirlo.

Despite the emphatic win, Juve remain four points behind Milan who appear to have the easier run-in while the Bianconeri must still host Inter, Napoli, Lazio and Roma. The Rossoneri might have a tricky fixture or two when they host Roma and play in Milan as the visitors against city rivals Inter. However, Inter’s players have struggled in the league and failed to overcome Marseille in the Champions League.

Milan will have the experience, Ibrahimovic and a predatory instinct which seem to help the side overcome opponents during tricky spells. As for the Bianconeri, they remain undefeated in Serie A as previously mentioned and they do not have the distraction of European matches to worry about. Juve will be hoping the Rossoneri will be physically and psychologically spent following the mammoth tie against Barcelona and Lionel Messi.

Juve must continue to address the scoring difficulty facing the striker since Vucinic was the only attacker on the scoresheet in Florence. The other four goals were scored by midfielders. The one positive is the fact Marchisio has once again found the back of the net and this could motivate him ahead of the crucial fixtures in the upcoming weeks.

Juve and Milan will turn their attention to the Coppa Italia return leg before they can focus once again on league play. It remains to be seen whether the Rossoneri will push hard on March 20th in Turin in order to get back into the tie or if they will field a weakened side in order to prepare better for future Serie A matches and the battle against Barca in Europe.

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