Same outcome, different modes

Last week, Italy lost two representatives in the Champions League as Fiorentina and Milan were knocked out by Bayern Munich and Manchester United respectively.

Although there was a common outcome to these ties for Fiorentina and Milan, the manner by which they were eliminated contrasted starkly.

The Viola were undeservedly ousted on 'away goals' rule whereas seven-times European champions Milan were comprehensively beaten by Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United 7-2 on aggregate.

Fiorentina were robbed of what would have been a thoroughly deserved 1-1 draw in Munich last month as Louis van Gaal's side scored a late winner through Miroslav Klose, who was offside.

Even though a 1-2 away reverse was not a bad result for Cesare Prandelli's side, this changed the pattern of the second leg.

The German club, who in Arjen Robben and Frank Ribery possess two deadly wingers on counter attacks, could play a containing game in Tuscany, leaving Fiorentina to do the attacking. And that is precisely what happened at the Artemio Franchi Stadium as Prandelli's men produced one of their best performances this season.

Fiorentina put behind them their erratic domestic form and were 2-0 and 3-1 ahead but for some reason or another, they could not hold on to their two-goal advantage.

Fiorentina's lack of experience at this level and Bayern's superior tactical nous were determining factors that shifted the balance of the tie in favour of the Germans. Although Prandelli's men played well, they could never really kill off the game.

Following this elimination, Fiorentina have only the Coppa Italia as their only realistic chance to lift silverware this season. Next month, they need to overturn a 0-1 deficit against reigning champions Inter if they are to reach the final.

In the Serie A, as things stand at present, Fiorentina lie in a disappointing 10th place and are eight points adrift of fourth spot.

Milan mauling

At Old Trafford, things were completely different for Milan who apart from an early Ronaldinho header which went very close to give Milan a head start in the second leg, the Rossoneri were simply non-starters against last season's Champions League runners-up.

Milan were outclassed in every aspect of the game as United cruised to the quarter-finals.

Leonardo's initial line-up increasingly exposed Milan's deficiencies in defence, where they were missing the likes of Alessandro Nesta and Gianluca Zambrotta. His decision to deploy two out-and-out strikers in Marco Borriello and Klaas Jan Huntelaar with Ronaldinho sitting just behind them enhanced Milan's options in attack but made the side more vulnerable in defence.

The half-time substitution of schemer Clarence Seedorf for defender Daniele Bonera, which meant that team captain and holding midfielder Massimo Ambrosini had to deputise in central defence, made Milan's rearguard all the more suspect. United took full advantage and cruised to the last eight.

Leonardo is doing a great job at Milan and deserves to stay put. One has to bear in mind that this time a year ago, current Chelsea coach Carlo Ancelotti was a long way behind Inter in the title race and failed to lead Milan beyond the Last 32 in the UEFA Cup.

Perhaps, the Milan coach's biggest mistake is to always field an attack-minded formation irrespective of the strength of their opponents. His 4-3-3 system has paid rich dividends when the Rossoneri played against modest opposition, but has been exposed against formidable opponents like Inter and Manchester United. Leonardo should be more pragmatic and flexible in his team selections.

On a general note, Milan's early exits from Euro competitions in the last three years are owed to club owner Silvio Berlusconi's reluctance to rejuvenate an ageing squad.

The 'old guard' of Nesta, Massimo Oddo, Andrea Pirlo, Gennaro Gattuso, Zambrotta, Filippo Inzaghi, Seedorf, Ambrosini and recent signing David Beckham are well past their best. If Berlusconi does not want to keep injecting personal money in the club, then he has two options - either he sells the club or makes his austerity policy public and set up new targets in line with the new transfer policy.

With respect to a year ago, Ronaldinho has improved by leaps and bounds but is still not enough to lift Milan's game against stern opponents. Even though Milan are only one point adrift of their city neighbours, Inter are still the favourites to win a fifth straight Scudetto.

Serie A statistics

1st defeat for Inter after a 12-match positive run (six wins and six draws) as the Nerazzurri conceded three goals inside the last 16 minutes to suffer their third upset. Inter's latest executioners were Sinisa Mihajlovic's in-form Catania. Since the ex-Bologna mentor took over, the Sicilians have amassed 22 points in 13 games and are now seven points clear of the drop zone. Lazio suffered their third defeat in their fourth game under new coach Edy Reja as they were floored by Bari. This was Bari's first away success since beating Chievo 2-1 on the eighth day.

2nd successive home win for Parma as Francesco Guidolin's side edged struggling Atalanta by a solitary Valeri Bojinov goal. The Bergamaschi have now gone five consecutive games without a win. Bologna-Sampdoria shared the spoils in a slow burning 1-1 draw. Bologna have lost only once (vs Juventus 1-2) in their last nine outings whereas two draws are all Samp have to show from their last three away games.

4 wins and three draws in their last seven outings have enabled Milan to remain in the hunt for their first Scudetto since 2004. The weekend's results were particularly favourable to Milan, who cut Inter's lead to just one point. Leonardo's side scored an injury-time winner to record their fourth win in their last five outings and handed Chievo their second straight defeat. Udinese interrupted Palermo's run of three successive wins thanks to a hard-fought, though deserved, 3-2 win.

5 penalties were scored and two went off-target. In Genoa-Cagliari, the two sides were given a penalty each from which Alberto Zapater and Alessandro Matri made no mistake. Giuseppe Mascara's 81st-minute strike from the spot propelled Catania to a rare home win over Inter. Abdelkader Ghezzal completed Siena's strong comeback against Juventus by converting a 74th-minute penalty. Roma's David Pizarro saw his effort hit the post against Livorno who had Cristiano Lucarelli completing his hat-trick from the spot. Lazio's Aleksandar Kolarov saw his effort ably blocked by Bari's Jean François Gillet. Meanwhile, two players - Sulley Muntari (Inter) and Cristiano Doni (Atalanta) - saw red last weekend.

6 points separate third-placed Roma from long-time leaders Inter. Roma could not go beyond a thrilling 3-3 away draw with third-from-bottom Livorno. This was Livorno's first positive result after four straight defeats. Roma are undefeated in their last 18 games (12 wins and six draws).

7 winless games in a row (four draws and three defeats) have seen Napoli falling down the pecking order and currently trail fourth-placed Palermo by five points. On Saturday, the southerners forfeited an early second half lead to suffer a 1-3 home defeat at the hands of Fiorentina. The Viola's first away win since beating bottom side Siena 5-1 on the 18th day coincided with Napoli's first home reverse of the term.

39 goals were scored on the 28th day: 21 coming from the hosts and the remaining 18 from the visitors, who managed two wins. Foreigners contributed with 17 goals while there were 16 first-half goals. Total number of goals scored so far amount to 719. Cristiano Lucarelli (Livorno) grabbed a hat-trick. Four players - Alberto Gilardino (Fiorentina), Antonio Floro Flores (Udinese), Alessandro Del Piero (Juventus) and Abdelkader Ghezzal (Siena) - grabbed a brace each. Fabio Simplicio (Palermo), Clarence Seedorf (Milan) and Valeri Bojinov (Parma) came on as substitutes and scored. Udinese striker Antonio Di Natale is still the top marksman with 19 goals.