Serie A Power Rankings: Round 18

A great derby in Milan, a couple of shocking upsets and a whole bunch of opportunities missed.

That about sums up Round 18 in Serie A as the biggest headline from the weekend was Inter's derby upset, causing unfortunate Milan to fall a point behind in the title race.

Other than a couple of small jumps, there wasn't really much movement in the table this weekend, as things stayed basically the same and none of the three front-runners were able to distinguish themselves.

So who jumps and who falls in this week's power rankings?

Round 18: Lost 3-1 vs. Cesena (A)

Novara were bested away from home by a Cesena side that played one of its best matches of the campaign.

Cesena got their work done early as they were up 2-0 late in the first half, only to have Novara's Leandro Rinaudo help them out by putting a third into his own net.

Novara had the better of the possession but were caught offside six times and couldn't make the most of their opportunities. They took six shots on goal, but only Takayuki Morimoto could connect with his third of the year in the 88th minute.

Now Novara must meet AC Milan at the weekend. Though it will be the first Serie A match between the two in 56 years, they will be fairly acquainted already. Milan, playing a weaker lineup, were able to oust Novara from the Coppa Italia in extra time on Wednesday.

Round 19: 1/22 vs. Milan (H)

Round 18: Won 3-1 vs. Novara (H)

It's not often that Cesena get the three points, but they were able to beat a fellow struggling side this past weekend.

Adrian Mutu found the net for the 100th time in his Serie A career and Cesena were able to handle Novara.

The former Fiorentina front-man, shunned by Italian football for nine months after a failed drug test which ruined his career at the Viola, finally picked up the century goal during a career that over the past 12 years has seen him play with several Italian sides: including Inter Milan, Hellas Verona, Parma, Juventus, Fiorentina, and now Cesena.

A nice win for Cesena, but the chances of them moving out of the drop zone, despite being three points from safety, are slim to none.

Round 19: 1/21 vs. Roma (A)

Round 18: Won 1-0 vs. Fiorentina (A)

Serse Cosmi hasn't had much reason to celebrate this year, but Sunday was an exception as Lecce pulled off a shock victory at Fiorentina.

Luis Muriel was fouled in the box midway through the second half and Davide Di Michele had no problem blasting the ball right down the middle on the spot kick to give Lecce the goal they needed.

They were dominated in every aspect of the game, but Fiorentina could not put away their chances and Lecce were fortunate to get the victory.

Still, it was a third win from 18 for Lecce, all three on the road. They likely won't be in Serie A next year so they will savor this win.

Round 19: 1/22 vs. Chievo Verona (H)

Round 18: Lost 3-1 vs. Parma (A)

Siena's woes continued as they remain 17th in the standings after a 3-1 loss to Parma.

Paolo Grossi struck in the 79th minute, but by that point it was already 2-0 and Parma would add a third in stoppage time.

Siena are probably one of the two teams outside the drop zone that still has a chance to be relegated, but it isn't extremely likely.

Round 19: 1/22 vs. Napoli (H)

Round 18: Drew 1-1 vs. Napoli (H)

If not for a Diego Perez handball, Bologna would be celebrating a famous victory at the San Paolo.

Robert Acquafresca put the visitors ahead 14 minutes in, but Napoli controlled the game, despite being unable to find the net.

When Perez handled the ball in the box late in the match, Napoli found their time to strike and Edinson Cavani smashed home the equalizer.

An unfortunate result for Bologna, but only in the sense that they blew it. They never were expected to get the three points, let alone one.

Along with Siena, this is the only team that should keep looking over its shoulder.

Round 19: 1/22 vs. Parma (H)

Round 18: Lost 1-0 vs. Lecce (H)

Time to stop giving Fiorentina the benefit of the doubt.

They are way too inconsistent this season. Sometimes, they'll pull off a big win. At other times, like Sunday against Lecce, they are unable to get the three points that are normally guaranteed.

Fiorentina had the better of possession and completely out-shot the visitors, but a penalty with 25 minutes to play doomed the Viola.

If Fiorentina don't screw up in these next three matches before Udinese, they have a chance at nine basic points.

Round 19: 1/22 vs. Cagliari (A)

Round 18: Lost 1-0 vs. Chievo Verona (A)

Palermo have been miserable this season and their woes continued against Chievo as they lost 1-0.

It's been a tough run for Palermo, who now have nine losses and a -5 goal difference. They have gotten little offensive production without Javier Pastore as they only have 19 goals in the first 18 games. They're going to need to step it up in the second half of the season if they want to get back into the top half.

Round 19: 1/22 vs. Genoa (H)

Round 18: Won 3-1 vs. Siena (H)

Parma had no problem disposing of Siena in their last match.

Jonathan Biabiany started the scoring just before the half hour mark before Francesco Vallani and Sebastian Giovinco put the game out of reach late in the second half.

With the stoppage time goal, Giovinco now sits seventh in the race of the top goalscorer in Serie A, as he now has eight goals.

Parma have a couple interesting matches ahead before the Juventus clash. They have a chance to grab six solid points.

Round 19: 1/22 vs. Bologna (A)

Round 18: Won 1-0 vs. Palermo (H)

Chievo picked up their sixth win of the season at the hands of Palermo and it was enough to leapfrog Cagliari into the top half of the table.

Paolo Sammarco's second goal of the season was the difference in the 50th minute and that was enough for Chievo on the night.

Scoring goals hasn't been the club's forte this season as they have only 14, the second-fewest in the league.

Can Chievo stay in the upper half? They have a huge challenge to do so and with such dreadful goal production, it isn't likely.

Round 19: 1/22 vs. Lecce (A)

Round 18: Match with Roma abandoned in 2nd half

Catania and Roma were level at 1-1 halfway through the second half when the torrential downpour became too much for the pitch to handle and the match must now be replayed.

The match has been rescheduled and will be played on February 7th.

Round 19: 1/22 vs. Udinese (A)

Round 18: Drew 1-1 vs. Juventus (A)

Andrea Cossu's first goal of the season was enough to get Cagliari a draw at Juventus.

The Juventus Arena has been the toughest place to play this season, other than the Friuli, but Cagliari didn't back off from the fight, even after taking a big blow in the seventh minute when Juventus went up 1-0.

Cagliari never gave in and got the very big point.

Now they go to take on a struggling Fiorentina side as they try to retake their spot in the top half.

Round 19: 1/22 vs. Fiorentina (H)

Round 18: Won 3-2 vs. Udinese (H)

Genoa went on a second half tear to beat Udnese in a big upset this past weekend.

Andreas Grangvist and Bosko Jankovic scored within a minute of each other and then Rodrigo Palacio put home the winner to seal off a huge win for Genoa.

With the win, the Rossoblu are eighth in the table, but they must now move on without young German midfielder Alexander Merkel, who has returned to AC Milan.

Coming off a loss in the Coppa Italia at the hands of Inter, can Genoa keep climbing?

Round 19: 1/22 vs. Palermo (A)

Round 18: Lost 2-0 vs. Lazio (A)

Atalanta once again failed to get the result against one of the big dogs as they were blanked by Lazio at the Olimpico.

They don't drop, however, because they are still one of the best teams in the league and have proven such with their great performances this season.

Don't be fooled by their spot in the table, which is currently 15th. Remember that La Dea were docked six points prior to the season for a match-fixing scandal involving Cristiano Doni. With those six points, Atalanta would be eighth in the table.

A huge game awaits Atalanta on Saturday. Can they pull off a famous home win?

Round 19: 1/21 vs. Juventus (H)

Round 18: Drew 1-1 vs. Bologna (H)

Napoli didn't even deserve a point in their home match with Bologna, but a handball gave them their chance to level and they did.

Edinson Cavani was the hero (shock, right?) as he struck the ball into the net from the 12-yard-spot.

Despite making some serious noise at times last year, Napoli have not been consistent in fighting for the Scudetto. They now sit seven points out of a Champions League spot and are 10 points behind the leaders.

Round 19: 1/22 vs. Siena (A)

Round 18: Match with Catania abandoned in the second half

The match between Roma and Catania was abandoned halfway through the second half. Roma had gone up 1-0 early, but Catania leveled. The field was completely unplayable, however, and the match had to be stopped. The game will be played on February 7th.

Round 19: 1/21 vs. Cesena (H)

Round 18: Won 2-0 vs. Atalanta (H)

Lazio handled Atalanta with ease in last weekend's clash of two of Italy's top teams.

Hernanes struck from the penalty spot 20 minutes in and from that point on, Lazio were able to shut Atalanta down defensively, allowing only four shots, each of which was simple for Federico Marchetti.

Miroslav Klose scored in stoppage time to seal off the win and Lazio remain within striking distance of the top three.

Round 19: 1/22 vs. Inter Milan (A)

Round 18: Won 1-0 vs. AC Milan (A)

Milan had the better of possession and the most chances, but Inter took advantage of a big mistake in the back to win their first Milan Derby since the 2009-10 season.

Diego Milito got on the end of a ball that was horribly read by the Milan defense and slotted into the corner of the net for his seventh goal of the year and to collect an important three points.

What an unbelievable story Inter are. As low as 17th place a couple weeks ago, Inter are now the fourth team to reach 10 wins this season.

The Nerazzurri face a tough test this weekend as well and get the San Siro with Milan on the road. Can they beat another top team?

Round 19: 1/22 vs. Lazio (H)

Round 18: Lost 3-2 vs. Genoa (A)

Udinese suffered a loss at the weekend, but were luckily kept from much trouble when Milan and Juventus screwed up.

Damiano Ferronetti scored his first of the season. However, Udinese couldn't capitalize after that and Genoa ripped off three unanswered goals. They did get awarded a penalty 15 minutes from time, allowing Antonio Di Natale to take the lead in the Capocannoniere race with his 13th goal of the season.

In the end, this isn't a detrimental loss, especially with slip-ups by the rest of the big three. The title race is still as heated as ever.

Round 19: 1/22 vs. Catania (H)

Round 18: Lost 1-0 vs. Inter Milan (H)

They couldn't capitalize on their chances because of that, all it took was one mistake from Ignazio Abate (that doesn't happen very often) in the back to allow Inter through the defense and walk away with bragging rights from the Derby.

The one bit of fortune for Milan is Juventus' draw, which puts them only one point behind their provincial rival.

Of 16 shots, only three went on frame and with 66 percent of possession and 10 corner kicks, they still weren't able to capitalize.

The top rated attack in the league will need to bounce back and forget about this loss, however, with the losses of Alexandre Pato, Kevin-Prince Boateng, Christian Abbiati, Alberto Aquilani and six other players, times could get tough for Milan.

Round 19: 1/22 vs. Novara (A)

Round 18: Drew 1-1 vs. Cagliari (H)

Mirko Vucinic scored seven minutes in, but Juventus were unable to hold the lead and drew with Cagliari.

However, with Udinese and Milan losing, the Old Lady jumps into control of first in the power rankings and the actual table.

It's going to be very tight down the stretch with a lot of jockeying back and forth likely ahead, but Juventus are looking prety good in the race for the Scudetto.

Round 19: 1/21 vs. Atalanta (A)