<div id="attachment_2135" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/feb/22/jose-mourinho-banned-internazionale"><div><figure class="external-image"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-2135" loading="lazy" class="size-medium wp-image-2135" src="/files/2010/02/jose-mourinho_1582815c-300x187.jpg" alt="Photograph: Alessandro Garofalo/Reuters" width="300" height="187"></figure></div></a>Photograph: Alessandro Garofalo/Reuters</div>
This weekend’s action has a wealth of subplots, controversy, and exciting soccer play.&nbsp; But the main story line out of this weekend is the standings.&nbsp; Right now, the top four spots in the Serie A standings are occupied by the clubs most thought would occupy them in some order: Inter Milan, AS Roma, AC Milan, and Juventus.&nbsp; And with fourteen weeks to go, the title race in again in doubt as the top clubs drew closer together.
AC Milan showed it is a championship club
Viewers of the AC Milan/Bari match saw a clinic put on by the Rossoneri.&nbsp; The 2-0 scoreline was deceiving; Milan dominated the action pretty much from beginning to end.&nbsp; Ronaldinho was once again magnificent with the ball, setting up both Milan goals.&nbsp; And Milan’s defense was good, with Abbiati denying some good scoring opportunities for the home club.&nbsp; This is the club Milan fans thought they would see all year, and a Wednesday win over Fiorentina will move Milan into second.
Inter goes shorthanded again – during and after the match
Much like the Milan derby this year, Inter again had players sent off in the course of their match against Sampdoria.&nbsp; But instead of pulling out a win like they did against Milan, Inter could only muster a scoreless draw.&nbsp; To describe the play as chippy would be an understatement; the match featured multiple fights and some overly aggressive tackles.&nbsp; Not only were two Inter players eventually sent off, but so was Sampdoria’s star Pazzini.&nbsp; And of course it would not be an Inter match without a Jose Mourinho subplot – the Inter manager was <a href="http://www.rs.goal.com/en/news/10/italy/2010/02/22/1802415/breaking-news-inter-boss-jose-mourinho-banned-for-three" target="_blank">suspended three Serie A matches</a> for the “disrespectful” gesture seen above.
AS Roma moves closer to Inter
Another weekend, another Roma victory.&nbsp; This weekend the victim was Catania, when Roma scored an early goal and held on for the victory.&nbsp; The goal was Mirko Vucinic’s fifth in Serie A this season.&nbsp; They now sit five points behind Inter Milan, and travel to Napoli next week before their major home match against Milan.
Napoli slips a little more while Siena shows progress
Napoli failed to score a goal against last place Siena and has now gone four matches without a victory.&nbsp; The match leaves them in fifth place, one point behind Juventus for the final Champions League spot.&nbsp; The problem seems to be their offense – this was their third goalless draw in the current winless streak.&nbsp; On the flip side, Siena has now gone two games without a loss.&nbsp; A bit of momentum, but it may be too little too late as they sit seven points from seventeenth place.
Seven words you can’t say on a soccer pitch
Basketball officials call them “the magic words” – those obscenities that are grounds for an automatic technical foul.&nbsp; Udinese defender Christian Zapata said his own magic words on the pitch in Saturday’s and was immediately given a yellow card under FIGC’s new anti-swearing rules.&nbsp; It was yellow card number two, and Udinese had to play ten men down the rest of the match.&nbsp; A warning to all footballers – watch your tongue.

Lessons Learned from Giornata 25

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Lessons Learned from Giornata 25