Topics: AC Milan, Juventus, Inter, Napoli, Lazio, Roma, Serie A
Mauro Icardi & Ever Banega score hat-tricks as Inter destroy Atalanta, whilst Juventus edge out AC Milan under rather controversial circumstances. LiveSoccerTV.com takes a look at the happenings across Italy from this weekend.

Matchday 28 is nearly complete, with Lazio-Torino set to take place later today. However, the other nine games brought plenty of talking points as some teams got back on track, whilst other stumbled. As things stand, nothing appears to be able to stop Juventus from making it a sixth straight Scudetto, so it's now shaping up to be a battle for second and Champions League football.

Let's have a quick look at what happened in Italy this weekend.

1. Dzeko joins some elite company

Roma's Edin Dzeko is a man on fire. The big Bosnian striker is arguably having his best season since his Wolfsburg days, and after going through a mini-drought that saw him fail to score in his past couple of games, got back to scoring by netting Roma's second during a 3-0 rout of relegation candidates Palermo.

And in doing so, he now joins some elite company across Europe, alongside Barcelona's Lionel Messi and PSG's Edinson Cavani, among others:

2. It's raining goals for Inter and Icardi...on a miserable day for Atalanta

On Sunday, Inter took on Atalanta in an all-Nerazzurri derby. Besides the Juventus-AC Milan tie, this was the other big game of this round, especially considering how La Dea have been one of the season's surprise packages. Only one point divided the two sides, who are both vying for a European football spot.

Atalanta had beaten Napoli 2-0 on the road a few weeks back, so Gian Piero Gasperini's side were not to be underestimated as Serie A fans have seen this season. Unfortunately, Gasperini did not enjoy the result he had hoped for against one of his former sides.

By the time the dust had settled, the score-line read 7-1. Yes, that's right, 7-1. For Atalanta, it set a rather unwanted precedent:

On a positive note, Mauro Icardi continues to shine for the Nerazzurri, and with stats like these:

one can only wonder why he still continues to be snubbed by the Argentinian national team!

3. Doomsday for relegation-threatened sides

Empoli may have lost five in a row, and may have the worst performing attack in the division (15 goals), but the Azzurri look set to remain safe. Why? Because the bottom three - Palermo, Pescara, and Crotone - have done even worse. Empoli's 22 points see them sitting seven clear of the Rosanero, and the Sicilian side, along with the Delfini and the Squali, have set a discouraging record so far after 28 rounds:

4. Juventus's team effort

Juventus really are a collective effort, as opposed to some teams across Europe that heavily rely on a star player or a few star names (i.e. Barcelona and Real Madrid). They do have the in-form Gonzalo Higuain in their ranks, alongside with rising talent Paulo Dybala. But one of the biggest threats the Bianconeri pose is the fact that goals can actually come from anyone on the pitch:

On Friday, they beat AC Milan 2-1 (albeit under somewhat controversial circumstances). The first goal came from defender Mehdi Benatia before Dybala sealed all three points with a spot-kick in injury time.

Dybala's goal also just so happens to be the second-latest so far in Serie A, as it was netted in the 96th minute (23 seconds). 

5. Inter's growing Icard-ependency

Although Ever Banega also scored a hat-trick during Inter's 7-1 demolition of Atalanta, there's no denying that the Nerazzurri are still highly dependent on their skipper. Icardi so far has racked up 20 goals and eight assists. That means he has been directly involved in 28 out of Inter's 53 goals this season, which is a not just a record in this campaign but also is a higher percentage than any other striker across Europe's big 5 leagues.

How the race for the Capocannoniere is shaping up...

Torino's Andrea Belotti still sits on top of the heap thanks to his hat-trick against Palermo. And with the Granata in action against Lazio later today, the in-demand young striker could certainly pull further away from Inter's Mauro Icardi and Roma's Edin Dzeko in the battle for the coveted Capocannoniere prize:

Assist Kings

How the key assist-providers stack up:

Serie A Matchday 28 rankings: Juve cruise on, Milan & Atalanta stumble, and Lazio continue late push for Champions League berth

Here's how things are shaping up in Serie A after 28 rounds...will there be more changes after matchday 29 this coming weekend? 

Pos.TeamMPWDLGFGAGDPForm
1 Internazionale 36 29 5 2 86 19 +67 92 WLWWD
2 Milan 35 21 8 6 67 42 +25 71 DDLDW
3 Juventus 35 18 12 5 48 27 +21 66 DDDDW
4 Bologna 35 17 13 5 49 27 +22 64 DDWDD
5 Atalanta 34 18 6 10 63 38 +25 60 WWWDL
6 Roma 35 17 9 9 62 42 +20 60 DDWLW
7 Lazio 35 17 5 13 45 37 +8 56 DWWWL
8 Napoli 35 13 12 10 53 44 +9 51 DDLDW
9 Fiorentina 34 14 8 12 51 39 +12 50 LWWDL
10 Torino 35 11 14 10 31 31 0 47 DLDDL
11 Monza 35 11 12 12 38 46 -8 45 DDLDL
12 Genoa 35 10 13 12 41 43 -2 43 DWLDW
13 Lecce 35 8 13 14 32 50 -18 37 DDWWL
14 Hellas Verona 35 8 10 17 33 46 -13 34 WLWDL
15 Cagliari 35 7 12 16 37 60 -23 33 DLDDW
16 Frosinone 36 7 11 18 43 68 -25 32 LDWDD
17 Empoli 35 8 8 19 26 50 -24 32 DLWLW
18 Udinese 35 4 18 13 33 52 -19 30 DDLLL
19 Sassuolo 35 7 8 20 41 70 -29 29 WLLDD
20 Salernitana 35 2 9 24 27 75 -48 15 LLLLD

Champions League (Group Stage)
Europa League (Group Stage)
Promotion - Europa Conference League (Qualification: )
Relegation - Serie B