Gazzetta

The Campiomatto (Crazy Championship) is over. Normal service has been resumed. Inter are six points ahead of their main rivals, Juventus and Milan, and of the teams in the top eight at the start of the 14th round of matches, only i nerazzurri and la vecchia signora were able to register a win.

Roma, one of the pre-season favourites, did win but they are so far behind after their dreadful start to the season that a Champions League place must be their main objective.

So first to Inter v Napoli, the stand-out match of the round. Inter dominated the first 30 minutes and deservedly took a 2-0 lead with goals from Ivan Cordoba and a great flowing move finished off by a back-heel by Sulley Muntari.

Napoli looked like they were suffering from stage fright, something which manager Edy Reja had already accused them of in their previous visit to the San Siro against Milan. But just as you thought it was like an early Christmas present, all wrapped up, El Pocho/Ezequiel Lavezzi scored a fantastic goal, after latching on to a backheel pass from Zalayeta to calmly chip Julio Cesar in Inter's goal.

The second half though wasn't as exciting as the first - few chances were created as Inter contained Napoli's probing and won without too much difficulty. The main talking point came after the match as José Mourinho responded to questions about why Mario Balotelli wasn't playing or even on the bench.

"A young lad like him can't afford to let himself work less than people like Figo, Cordoba or Zanetti. I can't accept that from someone who is still nothing, who isn't the finished article, who is still only a prospect. Because if he only trains at only 50% compared to the others, he'd still be among the best players in the world but instead he only trains at 25%."

Juventus meanwhile, had already chalked up another victory the evening before as Alex Del Piero scored his 250th goal for Juventus in a 4-0 win over Reggina in a snow-covered Olympic Stadium. Juventus must hope that he can continue his form into the new year in order to keep pace with Inter in Serie A and with Juve's Champions League commitments.

Vincenzo Iaquinta has already expressed a wish to play Chelsea in the quarter-finals - let's see if it comes true. Of course Chelsea still need to qualify after being overtaken by Roma in their group.

I giallorossi continued to catch up slowly on the teams above them with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Fiorentina, who have problems picking up points away from home. Francesco Totti's return to fitness seems key to their revival and he struck in the 59th minute to take all three points.

Afterwards, Luciano Spaletti was overjoyed saying: "What a game! It was an advert for football. Totti isn't normal; when he shoots he's different to everyone else. The points we have picked up recently were needed to get us out of trouble and to help us find some peace of mind. Now we can start moving up the table."

Someone who definitely hasn't got peace of mind is Carlo Ancelotti,after his Milan side dropped valuable points again on their travels. They were beaten 3-1 in an end-to-end match at Palermo. Ronaldinho had a penalty saved in the first half by Marco Amelia and then Palermo upped the tempo in the second to take a 3-0 lead with goals from Miccoli, Cavani and Simplicio. Ronaldinho did eventually find the net from the penalty spot to give some respectability to the scoreline.

Ancelotti said: "A heavy defeat, I'm not saying it's beneficial but it's come in a period where we've lost some attention. The gap to Inter has increased? It's not so much that we can't make it up in the future. Anyway I'm not thinking about that now."

He should have told vice-president, Adriano Galliani that. "We missed people like Kakà and Gattuso," he said, "we need to be worried for the table: Six points to Inter are a lot."

Contradictions in Casa Milan. Let's see if the match with Catania at the San Siro brings them home comforts, whereas Inter face a Zarate-inspired Lazio in Rome. As you hear in the London Underground, Carlo, 'Mind the Gap!'

Brendan Allen