If the Serie A season ended tomorrow, Fiorentina would be satisfied with their league position ahead of giants like Lazio, Inter Milan and Roma. However, deep down they will know they should be higher than 4th.

If you watch a Viola game you will realise why. They play flowing football, with clever midfielders David Pizarro and Borja Valero providing the platform for the clinical Alberto Aquilani and Steven Jovetic. Add the talents of Juan Cuadrado and Adam Ljajic to that, and you have an attack that would cause any defence problems.

More often that not though it is their own defence who are suffering, as so far this season they have conceded 37 goals – only 6 fewer than second-bottom Palermo. Last weekend saw 3 points dropped at Cagliari and it is results like that which have allowed AC Milan to open up a 6 point gap in 3rd. Manager Vincenzo Montella must address the centre of his defence in the summer, as the poor performances of Gonzalo Rodriguez and Stefan Savic are hindering the team’s potential. The duo is full of mistakes and often dominated by opposition strikers. The likes of Mario Balotelli would have a field day – as he did against Chievo’s defenders on Saturday night.

Balotelli’s Milan side were hardly in top form, but some clever theatrics from the striker meant that he had the referee wrapped around his finger. Chievo’s Dario Dainelli ended being dismissed and although it was not pretty viewing, the ex-Manchester City man put in a very effective performance. So while he is still in the honeymoon period at the San Siro, the signs are saying the maverick could have found somewhere to settle.