The form book was ripped up at the Stadio San Paolo on Sunday evening as Gennaro Gattuso proved the doubters wrong by outsmarting Maurizio Sarri, sending his stale Juventus home empty handed. With Napoli struggling in the bottom half of the Serie A table and a mighty 27 points behind Juve prior to kick-off, a Bianconeri victory appeared the likely outcome. However, Gattuso’s players executed a simple but effective game plan to claim a morale boosting win.

The highways and byways of Italian football are littered with the form books which pundits reckon we are best to throw out of the window ahead of every derby. However, we students of Calcio history know exactly which one the big four cross-city clashes in Serie A produces the highest percentage of draws. In Rome - more than Turin, Genoa or Milan - we have learned down the years that our post-match analysis will often be in assessing who the moral victors were when the honours on the field of play have ended up even.

Antonio Conte has his opinions and they often are immovable and steadfast. It is this part of him that makes him so successful, he simply believes in himself. It is hard to argue with the Inter coach and his CEO Beppe Marotta, as the decision to oust Mauro Icardi and Ivan Perisic has been completely justified. The dressing room seems unified and they now are in a title race. However, could the Nerazzurri possibly have made a mistake with Radja Nainggolan?

Once upon a time there was Naples, a city whose people were so in love with football that the God of the sport himself decided to descend from the heavens to join their team. He took them to heights they'd never even fathomed and brought the most beautiful trophies the city had ever seen. But one day, sadly, he had to leave.

The Lazio motto in recent years has been La Prima Squadra della Capitale – the first team in the Capital. This refers to the fact they were founded before rivals AS Roma, but have historically always been considered the smaller club, in terms of fanbase, success and influence. However, things are changing in the Eternal City.

The Coppa Italia clash at the Stadio San Paolo could have been very different, if some crucial moments could have gone the other way. While Napoli did run out victors who will go through to the semi-finals of the competition against either Inter Milan or Fiorentina, they barely deserved to win the game by a tight 1-0 margin. They had to ride their luck big time and beat the team that has been adept at scoring late goals this season.

“We are talking about players who, apart from Diego Godin, have never won anything. Who do we turn to? Nicolò Barella, who has come from Cagliari? Or Stefano Sensi, who came from Sassuolo?”

These are perhaps Antonio Conte’s most infamous words of the season. Bellowed in the aftermath of Inter’s 3-2 defeat to Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League in November, it was Conte at his crabbiest: bemoaning a lack of alternatives in his squad.

It’s hard not to feel nostalgic, sometimes, for the old Sundays of Serie A. Every game kicked off in the afternoon and across a couple of hours of intense emotions, the league table shuffled around before reaching its final conclusion. Nowadays, we count ourselves lucky if the fixtures are spread over only two days and drag on from just lunchtime to bedtime on its showcase day. And, in the end, Juventus end up on top just the same.

Gheorghe Hagi once stated that the way to win was not all about having talent. He claimed that being organised and possessing the will to succeed was just as important as quality. Having a little bit of stardust on top of that obviously helps, but the basics done correctly are essential. Milan have been through a tumultuous time in recent years and tried many innovative ideas to get them out of it. Stefano Pioli has now come in to ‘steady the ship’ and after a stormy start, he perhaps can claim success by going back to the simplest of strategies.

SAMIR HANDANOVIC (Inter) - Goalkeeper

Now at his eighth season at the club, Inter's captain is once again among the top-performing goalkeepers in Italy. At 35 years of age, he has already managed to keep seven clean sheets, earning his team the title of best defence in the league. His best saves so far must be the fingertips on Joaquin Correa's finesse shot in a tight 1-0 win over Lazio and the crucial penalty save in last week's Inter 1-1 Atalanta.

ROBIN GOSENS (Atalanta) - Right-back