Just like Allegri's AC Milan, last weekend's Lazio was also surrounded by a joyful atmosphere. Hernanes, Mauri, Floccari, and an explosive Zarate left Catania almost defenseless. Among them, Zarate, who had been heavily penalized by Edy Reja for being an hour late to practice the previous week, contributed one goal and two assists after coming on as a substitute. This match became a one-sided show for Lazio. After this game, Catania returned to the danger zone again, while Lazio currently trails Inter Milan by 3 points and leads Udinese by 1 point. The team's big win made Lotito very happy, and he praised his team as fully deserving of their current position. He also mocked the Americans' €40 million financing in Roma, saying, "This money is only enough to cover the debt gap. If they want to rebuild Roma, they need to come up with at least this much more." In Lotito's view, the real hope for Italian clubs is to own their own stadiums, but they are not getting cooperation from the government. On Monday, Allegri also commented on Inter Milan and Napoli's defeats. In Super Max's view, Udinese performed exceptionally well, and Guidolin achieved a perfect victory despite the absence of Sanchez and Di Natale. However, his AC Milan has yet to secure the final victory; the road to winning the Serie A title is still long, but leading Napoli by 6 points and Inter Milan by 8 points is indeed quite good. "Therefore, if we cannot win the final Serie A championship, it would almost be an act of self-mutilation." Unexpectedly, Allegri also talked about next season's transfer market. "I really like Napoli's Hamsik. He is the kind of midfielder I hope to have, and he is still young with a lot of room for improvement." Finally, Allegri mentioned the conflict he had with Mazzari during the Mediaset live program after the Sunday match. "Mazzari said that before the game, he wanted an excellent referee (Mazzari was extremely dissatisfied with the officiating of Taibavenento in last Sunday's game). I jokingly said that Mazzari could actually designate a suitable referee himself. So Mazzari got angry and walked out, while I was just making a joke... I don't think there was any reason for him to get angry."
Back to the game itself. Juventus visited Fiorentina's home ground after a three-game winning streak against their old rival. Surprisingly, Fiorentina attacked for the entire 90 minutes, while Juventus seemed very deflated. After the game, the 1 point each side earned was useless for both teams. Fiorentina was far from the Europa League zone, and Juventus's points gap with the current fourth-place Lazio widened to 8 points. Sky TV commented that Juventus' chances of entering the Champions League next season were even smaller than Inter Milan's chances of winning the title.
On one hand, their own performance was commendable, and on the other hand, Inter Milan and Napoli's "help" brought AC Milan closer to the Serie A championship after this round. Inter Milan needs to seriously consider the "third place" issue. Meanwhile, in the competition for the fourth place in Serie A, which is the last Champions League spot, Lazio encountered a similar situation. As Rea's team easily defeated Catania, Roma suffered a defeat, and Juventus was held to a draw away at Fiorentina.
We have already mentioned that the poor performances of the main competitors also helped Lazio. This included Roma's defeat and Fiorentina's draw with Juventus. This round was the first game after American Dibenedetto took over Roma, and Roma lost 2-3 to Palermo. Two questionable penalties in the first half temporarily set the score at 1-1. Both sides delivered outstanding football in the second half, but Vucinic's poor shot, unfavorable refereeing decisions against Roma (including a clear penalty not awarded to Roma), and Hernandez seizing the opportunity decided everything. Ultimately, Roma lost at home. Interestingly, the day before the game, Dibenedetto said, "I want to win as much as Berlusconi." After the game, the national television criticized the referee's officiating and also criticized Roma for wasting those opportunities in the second half. Bojinov was also criticized after the game. Because he came on as a substitute and played loosely on the field. Just as the local media in Rome was spreading rumors that Bojinov would return to AC Milan at the end of the season, De Rossi denied his departure, "Because I am Roman, a Roma fan, so no matter what, I will always stay in Roma."
Dibenedetto and one of Roma's new shareholders, Pallotta, expressed sadness over Roma's loss while also mentioning the reconstruction plan that Roma fans care most about. The new Roma plan will start in mid-May. The practical operator chosen by Dibenedetto is a familiar figure in Italian football and in the city of Rome—on one side is Sabatini, the former sports manager of Lazio and former Palermo, joining, and on the other side is Bartolini's possible return. Pallotta emphasized that Totti is the cornerstone of Roma's future. His promise is to bring Roma, which has not seen any important trophies for 10 years, to the pinnacle of Italian football within five years. Meanwhile, Juventus's reconstruction has also begun. Last weekend, Raiola had a very important meeting with Juventus' upper management. But this has nothing to do with Ibrahimovic, Balotelli, or Pato. In fact, Raiola recommended Maxwell, who can be bought at a discount, and the young Van der Wiel to Juventus. What Juventus asked Raiola about was Van Gaal's situation. Having been fired by Bayern Munich, according to Sky TV, the Dutchman might become Juventus' coach for next season. As for this season, Del Neri had to admit after the team was held to a draw by Fiorentina, "I don't know about my own future. We need to see what the situation is like at the end of May." Declaring that he does not abandon the hope of securing a Champions League spot next season, the results on the pitch completely do not favor Del Neri.
As AC Milan achieved a great victory and Inter Milan suffered a heavy defeat against Parma, Mazzari's team was the last to play this round, against Udinese, who lacked Di Natale and Sanchez. Unfortunately, Napoli playing at home in San Paolo Stadium could not continue the miracle. Inler's and Napoli rejectee Denis' goals helped Udinese achieve a 2-0 victory away, leaving more than 60,000 Napoli fans heartbroken. Unlucky Napoli was certainly unlucky due to bad luck; Maggio hit the crossbar once, Cavani's penalty was saved by Udinese's goalkeeper, and Mascula's goal in the 96th minute was meaningless. After the game, the national television analyzed that Lavezzi's knee injury, Hamsik's exhaustion, and Cavani's poor performance were the main reasons for Napoli's defeat. Udinese's excellent performance made people forget about Di Natale and Sanchez. Udinese coach Guidolin commented after the game that it was a very wonderful game, and this victory let Udinese see the hope of entering the Champions League next season again. Regarding his own future, Guidolin confirmed that his contract expires in the summer of 2015. He hopes to stay now, but he doesn't know how he would ultimately decide if invited by a major club. Mazzari then somewhat angrily said that there was no such thing as disappointment in his mind because no one in Naples had ever formally mentioned winning the championship.
In the relegation zone, Chievo achieved an important victory, defeating Bologna 2-0, who had almost secured safety and thus lost fighting spirit. During the game, Marco Rini scored a world-class goal, and Chievo completed the task while playing with 10 men against 11 in the second half. After the game, Viviano frankly admitted, "Our team has turned off its own power supply, but I am always a bit worried because we are still lacking something to reach 100% safety." Meanwhile, Cesena also got a breather as Bogdani's goal helped Ficcadenti's team beat Bari, officially surpassing Sampdoria in the standings. Despite trying various methods, Bari was unable to break through the goal guarded by veteran Antonio Li, further sliding toward relegation. It was a pure black weekend for Brescia. Before the game, gambling companies all predicted that Genoa would let them off. In the end, Brescia was defeated 2-0 at home by Genoa. Barraldi's team indeed defended their dignity and fulfilled their duty, but their seriousness put Brescia in an extremely dangerous situation. Facing Cagliari, who had nothing to strive for this season, Lecce only managed to get 1 point at home. In this game, Lecque fell behind twice but leveled the score twice. Corvia's goal in the 93rd minute finally fixed the score at 3-3. The national television commented that Cagliari needs to remember that games don't just last 90 minutes, there's also stoppage time.