Napoli's hopes of a record points total take a huge blow, Romelu Lukaku is being held back for the Champions League, and is it time for Juventus to replace Wojciech Szczesny? TEN THINGS WE LEARNED from Serie A

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It was another action-packed weekend in Italy as Serie A saw plenty more twists and turns.

Napoli lost just their second league match of the season against Lazio on Friday night, while Roma replaced AC Milan in the top four places after Jose Mourinho's side defeated Juventus.

Sportsmail delves deeper into Serie A's weekend action and brings you ten things we learned.


Vecino is Sarri's man

Matias Vecino has always been a Maurizio Sarri favourite but the former Chelsea boss - who had known the midfielder since his days at Empoli - was unable to recruit him when he was coach at Napoli.

In an ironic twist, Vecino punished Napoli and condemned them to their second Serie A defeat of the season, with a ferocious shot from distance giving Lazio all three points.

Matias Vecino has been a favourite of Lazio boss Maurizio Sarri since their days at Empoli

Matias Vecino has been a favourite of Lazio boss Maurizio Sarri since their days at Empoli

Matias Vecino has been a favourite of Lazio boss Maurizio Sarri since their days at Empoli

The Uruguayan is a key cog in the Lazio midfield and formed a formidable partnership with Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.

It was a complete performance from Vecino who was strong defensively and burst forward and in behind the Napoli defence.

After arriving on a free transfer when his deal with Inter Milan expired, he has begun to gain more and more trust from Sarri.

This was a major performance from him and - after previously being a regular substitute - he continues to go from strength-to-strength for this Lazio side. 

The Uruguayan scored the winner against Napoli with a superb strike from outside the box

The Uruguayan scored the winner against Napoli with a superb strike from outside the box

Napoli's hopes of a record points total take a blow

The defeat to Lazio is likely to halt Napoli's attempts to reach Juventus' record points total of 102 from 2012-13 under Antonio Conte.

10 years ago, the Old Lady won all 19 home matches and finished the season with 33 wins, three draws and just two defeats. During that year Juventus also scored in each of their 38 league games. 

There should be no worries for Luciano Spalletti's team however, with Napoli still 15 points clear of second place Inter and on 65 points with just 13 games remaining.

The defeat to Lazio is just a reminder that no team is ever invincible and Spalletti will just have to make sure that there is no late season collapse with the club on verge of winning the Scudetto.

Napoli's second defeat of the season means they are unlikely to achieve a record points haul

Napoli's second defeat of the season means they are unlikely to achieve a record points haul

A remarkable rise for Patrick Ciurria 

The story of Patrick Ciurria has several parallels with former Juventus star Moreno Torricelli, who - like Cirurria - rose from amateur football to the top echelons of Serie A.

Ciurria is a left-back, who until recently had been playing in Serie C and Serie B, and would never had imagined becoming a regular in the Italian top flight.

Goals against Inter and Juventus were followed with another key one against Empoli, and Ciurria is significantly talented.

Patrick Ciurria has enjoyed a superb rise from the lower levels of the Italian game to Serie A

Patrick Ciurria has enjoyed a superb rise from the lower levels of the Italian game to Serie A

Aged 28, he now has four goals and four assists from 23 Serie A appearances which is an exceptional record and one that is superior to many top players such as Juan Cuadrado at Juventus. 

Every young Italian dreams of playing for the national team and Ciurria's performances will surely lead to a call-up by Roberto Mancini over the coming months.

The left-back wears No. 84 on his shirt which is dedicated to the story of his cousin who tragically died in a serious accident when Ciurria was just 12-years-old.

His only aim since then has to be become a professional footballer and play for the national team - he will most likely achieve the second goal very soon.  

The left-back wears the No. 84 shirt in honour of his cousin who died in a serious accident

The left-back wears the No. 84 shirt in honour of his cousin who died in a serious accident

Lukaku is being held back by Inter for the Champions League

Four shots against Leece and two goals - Inter once again showed their clinicality and took advantage of another blip from AC Milan to jump to second.

Simone Inzaghi showed in his team selection about what the future of the club in attack is going to look like.

At the behest of the club's hierarchy, Romelu Lukaku was left on the bench with CEO Beppe Marotta announcing the Belgian will return to Chelsea at the end of the season.

Inzaghi has made a conscious decision to keep him fresh for the Champions League, with Lukaku's fitness struggles meaning he won't be able to play too many matches close together.

He came on after 70 minutes with Inter already 2-0 up to allow him to build up some much-needed fitness ahead of their Champions League second leg against FC Porto next week. 

There is a feeling he is being preserved for the biggest matches of the season, with Lukaku's injury problems and lack of form, particularly at the World Cup, denting his confidence. 

Simone Inzaghi appears to be keeping Romelu Lukaku back for their Champions League game

Simone Inzaghi appears to be keeping Romelu Lukaku back for their Champions League game

Vlahovic looks ineffective without Milik 

Dusan Vlahovic's performance against Roma was probably his worst since joining Juventus.

He looked completely out of his depth and was marshalled with ease by Chris Smalling and Gianluca Mancini. 

The Serbian forward was isolated and ineffective and Max Allegri must work out how to best use him.

He is much more effective alongside Arek Milik, but the Polish forward is still injured until at least the end of March.

When Paul Pogba and Federico Chiesa are fully fit, it will no doubt benefit Vlahovic, but until then he needs to be better all over the pitch.

Compared to when he was at Fiorentina, he is having to do more work off the ball and this is significantly impacting his ability to perform in attack. 

Dusan Vlahovic's performance against Roma was probably his worst since joining Juventus

Dusan Vlahovic's performance against Roma was probably his worst since joining Juventus

It might be time for Juventus to move on Szczesny

Gianluca Mancini's second half winner was just the second shot Roma had during their 1-0 win over Juventus.

Over the past two years, Wojciech Szczesny's physical and technical decline has been extremely evident.

This has led to some real soul-searching having to take place over whether Juventus need to bring in a replacement.

The Pole's mistakes and indecision has cost Juventus about five or six points in recent years - a very high amount given how fine the margins are in Serie A currently.

Mancini's goal wasn't a huge mistake but it wasn't unstoppable either and the decline of Szczesny is something which is beginning to frustrate fans. 

He lacks concentration and this means that one moment he makes a superb save, before suddenly making a huge error and he must improve.  

Wojciech Szczesny's physical and technical decline is becoming more and more evident

Wojciech Szczesny's physical and technical decline is becoming more and more evident

Gianluca Mancini's goal wasn't an error but Szczesny continues to make costly mistakes

Gianluca Mancini's goal wasn't an error but Szczesny continues to make costly mistakes

Tottenham task looks scarier for Stefano Pioli now

After four wins in a row, it was an extremely disappointing defeat for AC Milan against Fiorentina on Saturday.

In the game, while a draw would have perhaps been a fair result, AC's defence looked worryingly shaky, highlighting several problems.

Despite the returns of Mike Maignan and Malick Thiaw, they were still cut open by an intense Fiorentina side. 

Their defensive fragility is something that Antonio Conte and Tottenham will look to exploit in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie this week. 

Stefano Pioli's side struggled to deal with the dynamism of Fiorentina and this is something that Conte will seek to do too when the teams face off in north London on Wednesday. 

Stefano Pioli's side suffered an extremely disappointing defeat against Fiorentina on Saturday

Stefano Pioli's side suffered an extremely disappointing defeat against Fiorentina on Saturday

Napoli aren't the same team without Mario Rui 

Mario Rui has been revitalised under Spalletti this year and Napoli badly missed him during Friday's 1-0 defeat to Lazio.

Despite Napoli losing four times across all competitions this season, Rui has been absent on each occasion, highlighting his importance to the side.

After flattering to deceive when Carlo Ancelotti and Gennaro Gattuso were in charge, he has gone from strength-to-strength this year.

He is reportedly settled with his family in Naples and with a contract until 2025, is likely to remain a key member of the club over the coming years.

Although a major sale is expected over the summer of one of Napoli's key assets, the presence of Rui in the changing room will make the transition into next season much easier. 

Every game that Napoli have lost this season has been when Mario Rui was unavailable

Every game that Napoli have lost this season has been when Mario Rui was unavailable

Morocco World Cup hero Abdelhamid Sabiri enduring a torrid spell

With Abdelhamid Sabiri agreeing a move to Fiorentina in January, before seeing out the season on loan at Sampdoria, he would have hoped to end his career with 'La Samp' in fine fashion.

However, the Morocco striker is struggling for form and confidence and was hooked by Dejan Stankovic after just 30 minutes in their 0-0 draw with Salernitana on Sunday.

He was booed onto the bench by fans in what was his first start in more than a month.

Following the game Stankovic let rip at Sabiri when he told Dazn: 'I didn't like the first twenty minutes of football. No player reacts the same way, some do it well, others are very stressed. I can't help it. 

'Coming to the stadium I saw people from seven to 77-years-old who were applauding us, encouraging us. I saw the choreography of our fans, I've seen people sing - I feel a lot of emotion. 

'I don't know what more our fans can do for us. The point is that there are those who can handle tension and those who can't.'

Abdelhamid Sabiri (L) was booed off after he was hooked 30 minutes into Sampdoria's game

Abdelhamid Sabiri (L) was booed off after he was hooked 30 minutes into Sampdoria's game

Simone Perilli shines on debut

Simone Perilli was surprisingly handed a rare start for Hellas Verona in their crunch Serie A clash with Spezia.

Having been the club's third choice keeper this season, he was preferred to No. 2 Allessandro Berardi with first choice stopper Lorenzo Montipo unavailable.

Perilli - who made his name with several superb performances as Serie C side Pordenone's keeper in a memorable run to the last-16 of the Italian Cup six years ago - put in a fantastic display.

He made four exceptional saves to secure a crucial point for Verona in their battle to avoid relegation to Serie B.

Perilli will now have to battle with Montipo to earn the No. 1 shirt full time.

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