AC Milan extended their lead to six points in Serie A despite a 4-4 home draw with Udinese, though SSC Napoli will be hoping to close in on the Rossoneri when they host Juventus later.

Fans at San Siro were treated to an eight-goal thriller as Milan came from behind three times to force a 4-4 draw. Pato cancelled out Antonio Di Natale’s 35th-minute opener on the stroke of half-time only for Alexis Sánchez (53) and Di Natale (66) to put the visitors 3-1 up, but the hosts rallied through a Medhi Benatia own goal (78) and a second Pato strike (82). Germán Denis (89) then grabbed what looked to be the winner with a minute remaining, yet the league leaders salvaged a point via Zlatan Ibrahimović in added time.

It proved a crucial draw as second-placed Lazio lost 2-1 at home against lowly Lecce to slip further adrift of the summit. Fourth-placed Roma also tasted defeat, losing 2-1 at nine-man Sampdoria after losing Júlio Sérgio to a 55th-minute red card, though their hosts finished with nine men following the late dismissals of centre-backs Daniele Gastaldello and Stefano Lucchini.

Inter came from behind to triumph 2-1 at Catania and lift themselves to seventh, while an even more dramatic comeback ended with Fiorentina turning a 2-0 deficit at home to Brescia into a 3-2 win.

Elsewhere, there were victories for Bologna and Cagliari at Bari and Parma respectively, while Palermo and Genoa were held to 0-0 draws at Chievo and Cesena.

photo credit: Jan S0L0

Nickname(s): The Maroons, The Bulls

All-Time Ranking: 7th

2007/2008 Finish: 15th

2008/2009 Position (as of 04/07): 18th

Coach: Giancarlo Camolese

Key Players: Rolando Bianchi, Alessandro Rosina, Roberto Stellone

History:

Torino was one of Italy‘s first strong squads and the club has a rich history. In fact, only three current Serie A sides made their first division debut before Torino did in 1909. During the 1940s, the team was nicknamed “The Great Torino” during a run when they won a record five straight Serie A titles and set several respected league records.

Since the 1940s, Torino hasn’t been as strong, though it has performed well in the Coppa Italia. Recent results have been very poor and the squad is currently mired in the relegation zone with only eight games left to play. They have only scored a single goal since February too, so they may be headed down to Serie B in the not-so-distant future.

American Sports Doppleganger:

Torino was the most dominant Serie A team in the 1940s and the titles it accumulated during those years make it one of Italy’s most decorated squads. But, the glory years are long gone, and now they simply look bad. So, I will compare them to MLB’s Pittsburgh Pirates, who won many titles a long time ago but have been pretty poor for three decades.