Just a few weeks ago Inter were the talk of the Serie A, for all the right reasons. Seven consecutive wins on the back of solid defending and a return to form of striker Diego Milito saw the Nerazzurri shoot up the league table and become serious contenders for a Champions League place. There were even whisperings of Inter being a legitimate threat to Juventus and Milan for the Scudetto.

As the old cliché goes, history repeats itself. And this could not be truer come every February for Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Whether at Barcelona or in the blue or red half of Milan, the ‘big' Swede's scoring record often leaves something to be desired at this time of the year. Goals, to be precise.

Juventus took an important step towards reaching the Coppa Italia final as a returning Martin Caceres scored a brace to ensure a 2-1 semi-final first leg win over Milan at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza. Antonio Conte made changes as noted in the pre-match press conference, with Marco Storari, Caceres, Simone Padoin, Alessandro Del Piero and Marco Borriello all starting in the 3-5-2 formation.

In the modern game of football, 600,000 Euros is an extremely insignificant price to pay for a player. It is a low risk, high reward situation for the club. If the player ends up as a failure then the loss was very minimal. However if the player goes on to be a success, than it looks like a genius move.

Palermo Swedish striker Agon Mehmeti was one of Palermo's marquee signings in this window. The striker has been hailed as both the new Cavani and Ibrahimovic before signing from Malmo. Mehmeti was quick to quash such hyperbole insisting he isn't Ibrahimovic and emphasised that his versatility by suggesting he could play anywhere along the front line.

Lazio Lazio's transfer window saw few arrivals. Sporting director Igli Tare was able to bring in a forward in Liverpool Montevideo's Emiliano Alfaro. The 23-year-old Uruguayan has played few games and rarely impressed, by all accounts. (-ve) Another controversial transfer saw Antonio Candreva arrive from Cesena (with Simone Del Nero going in the opposite direction).

Atalanta Guglielmo Stendardo joined Atalanta on loan from Lazio until the end of the season. The 30-year-old defender has spent most of past two seasons on the bench at the Rome club, and will be delighted to get the chance to feature for the first team in Bergamo. (+ve) Another experienced arrival is midfielder Alessandro Carrozza from Serie B outfit Varese.

None of the top five won at the weekend which meant Roma's impressive home win over Inter was all the more sweeter as they are moved to joint sixth with Napoli and just five points behind Inter with a game in hand. AC Milan were unable to overcome a plucky Napoli side in a match where Zlatan Ibrahimovic disgraced himself by earning a red card for fighting.

Diego Milito's quadruple known as a 'poker' against Palermo was a rare moment, in fact it was only the sixth time it's happened in ten years, but with Italy's final friendly before Euro 2012 looming it focused the eyes on the Azzurri's frontline. The Argentinian's four-step sent him into a comic book group that features ‘the little plane', Vincenzo Montella, twinkle-toes Christian.

The big freeze hit Italy during midweek as four games were called off, so only six games were played over Wednesday and Thursday. Inter's 4-4 home draw with Palermo was the pick of the action where Diego Milito and Fabrizio Miccoli shared seven out of the eight goals. AC Milan slipped away at Lazio. Here are the five top goals of the week 5.

guest writer Richard Hall Originally the Nerazzurri could not believe it, Zlatan Ibrahimovic had gone but in return they had 46 million Euros and even better they had Samuel Eto'o. Now, half a season since the Cameroonian left for Russia the question is being asked, ‘Did Moratti sell the wrong man?

Inter and Palermo shared eight goals in a 4-4 thriller where Diego Milito netted all four for Inter at the San Siro. Roma's defence needs to be looked at as they were humiliated away at Cagliari. Lazio overcame AC Milan at the Stadio Olimpico and the weather managed to play its part as four games were called off due to the big freeze.

Eight days ago, Inter were flying high off an extraordinary run of seven straight league wins, including victories against city rivals Milan and fourth place Lazio. The club had a midweek fixture in the Coppa Italia against Napoli, only to lose in controversial fashion once again to the Partenopei.

Lecce claimed only their fourth Serie A win of the season after a Guillermo Giacomazzi goal ended Inter Milan's seven-game winning streak on Sunday. Lining-up in a 3-5-2 formation with new signings Manuele Blasi and Leonardo Miglionico thrown straight into the XI, Lecce produced one of the shocks of the season so far.

Seven days ago, Inter were flying high off an extraordinary run of seven straight league wins, including victories against city rivals Milan and fourth place Lazio. The club had a midweek fixture in the Coppa Italia against Napoli, only to lose in controversial fashion once again to the Partenopei.