What did you miss in Serie A over the last seven days? Let’s get you caught up with our recurring 10 Things column. 

1. Maurizio Stirpe Won’t Be Bullied

In a recent interview with the New York Times, Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis pulled no punches, suggesting that teams should be punished for finishing bottom of the table at the end of a league season.

Going on to single out Frosinone—who returned to Serie A last summer following their relegation 12 months earlier—the film producer said, “If they cannot compete, if they finish last, they should have to pay a fine. They shouldn’t be given money for failing.”

Unsurprisingly, the club in question were not happy. 

“These statements appear to be made by someone who has Napoleon-like delusions of grandeur,” Frosinone President Maurizio Stirpe told TMW. “In life and before football, respect is needed and I didn’t see any from him. I’ve always invested in football and I built our new stadium with the TV rights money—something De Laurentiis doesn’t seem to have done yet.

“I don’t know why he made such an outburst. All I see is a lack of respect from a peasant. I’d also like to say that I won’t accept advice from someone who’s won practically nothing in recent years.”

2. Medhi Benatia Quits Juventus

If any high-level club in Europe needed to sign a central defender this month (Arsenal and Manchester United spring immediately to mind), they could’ve done much worse than signing Medhi Benatia from Juventus. 

Thanks for everything, @MedhiBenatia!https://t.co/yvbfbYHZ6Q pic.twitter.com/5KZ6pVCTsQ

— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) January 28, 2019

Last term, the Moroccan international was arguably the best defender in Max Allegri’s squad, but has found himself relegated to a place on the bench behind Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci.

“In this difficult time, many of you leave me messages of support, and I thank you for it,” Benatia wrote in a social media post last month, adding that “a lion never dies, he sleeps.” Rather than catching up on his rest however, Benatia has joined Al Duhail in Qatar and, while that is entirely his choice, it feels as if some top sides have seriously missed out.

3. Marko Pjaca Stays At Fiorentina

While the merits of Benatia’s decision to leave are between him and his accountant, there is arguably even less sense behind Marko Pjaca rejecting a move to Genoa last week. The Croatian winger is on loan at Fiorentina after two injury-hit campaigns, but he is finding playing time hard to come by with the Viola who have far better attacking options to choose from. 

With Krzysztof Piątek getting a big money transfer to AC Milan, there is clearly space for a player to step into the same Genoa frontline that has not only catapulted the Polish striker into the spotlight, but which also did the same for Giovanni Simeone and a number of other strikers before him. Yet Pjaca said no to resurrecting his career with the Grifone because he’d rather sit on the bench in Florence. Nonsensical.

4. Milan Fans Restore San Siro Reputation

The last time Kalidou Koulibaly visited San Siro, he was subjected to disgusting racist abuse from Inter fans, an awful series of incidents which led to the Nerazzurri playing two games behind closed doors. The Napoli defender returned on Saturday evening for a clash with A.C. Milan, and thankfully the supporters in the Curva Sud showed just what a fantastic venue this can be for a high profile football match. 

Milan choreography last night v napoli.train to brescia today for game with la spezia in serie b...and you cant beat strong italian coffee after 15 bottles of birra moretti night before?? pic.twitter.com/0ApJnTxrsL

— Ben Jennings (@BenJenn84) January 27, 2019

Putting on a wonderful display of choreography, they supported their team superbly throughout, looking on as a tough encounter ended in a 0-0 draw. There is little doubt that the reputation of the Rossoneri, their city and the reputation of Serie A in general was the real winner. 

5. Fiorentina Saved From Themselves

The Sunday lunchtime games in Italy are often dour affairs, but not this week. Fiorentina and Chievo put on a show that was crazy from start to finish, with seven goals, two penalties and a red card. 

Unfortunately for Fiorentina, many of those incidents went against them, the Viola once again guilty of ill-discipline as they committed far too many senseless fouls. That has plagued them in recent weeks and is something Stefano Pioli must address if he is to guide his team to the league finish his talented squad deserves. 

However, luckily for the coach, the team were saved by Luis Muriel and Federico Chiesa, who scored some simply stunning goals to ensure that Fiorentina’s self-inflicted damage did not prevent them running out 4-3 winners.

6. Fabio Paratici’s List

This week’s “only in Italy” story emerged on Saturday, with Juventus sporting director Fabio Paratici supposedly leaving his transfer plans in a Milan hotel. According to the newspaper Il Tempo, the club official had been discussing potential targets and scribbled them down on a piece of paper, which he then tore up and left in a rubbish bin.

Italian newspaper @tempoweb claim #Juventus director Fabio Paratici left “his plans for the transfer market” in a Milan hotel. Names listed include Federico Chiesa, Nicolò Zaniolo, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic & Sandro Tonali. pic.twitter.com/0Y343ygcBn

— Adam Digby (@Adz77) January 27, 2019

The alleged notes are shown in the image above and contain a variety of names, but the fact they’re all intact, the values being way off and the use of both English and Italian words seem to indicate this is a complete fabrication.

7. Sergej Milinković-Savić

For much of Sunday’s game at the Stadio Olimpico, it seemed as if Lazio were about to become the first domestic opponent to beat Juventus. Already 1-0 ahead and thoroughly dominating, the home side had plenty of chances to kill off the Old Lady, but ultimately failed to take them and eventually succumbed to a 2-1 defeat.

While their collapse was unfortunate, there was little fault to be found in the performance of Lazio’s Sergej Milinković-Savić. From start to finish, the 23-year-old ran the show, toying with Juve and bullying their midfielders with a mixture of brute force, surprising speed and wonderful technique.

#LazioJuventus,#MilinkovicSavic dances around #Dybala and #Bentancur with lovely skill. Great to see his confidence back. pic.twitter.com/oHwNaqquey

— Steven K. Moore (@S_K_MOORE) January 27, 2019

It was the kind of display that showed exactly why he was such a wanted man back in the summer when a €100 million move to one of Europe’s top clubs seemed like a mere formality. No wonder he was on Fabio Paratici’s list…

8. Luciano Spalletti’s Tinkering

Torino have been a difficult opponent for many teams this season, but one thing they have not been is a surprise. With Walter Mazzarri at the helm, teams facing the Granata know exactly what to expect; they’ll line up in a 3-5-2 formation, sit deep, look to strike on the counter and be generally frustrating for 95 minutes. 

The only sides to have beaten them (Parma, Napoli, Juve, Fiorentina and Roma) have done so with pace, organization and width. So when Inter—who usually play 4-3-3 and sat third in the table—went head-to-head with them on Sunday, their chances of becoming the sixth team to record a win of Torino should’ve been high. 

Luciano Spalletti had other ideas. Sure, there were mitigating circumstances including Matteo Politano not being 100 percent fit and Ivan Perisic’s sudden transfer request, but mirroring Toro’s 3-5-2 was inexcusable. The Inter boss handed Mazzarri the initiative and it was no surprise to see his team collapse as a result, losing 1-0 largely thanks to their own coach’s baffling changes. 

9. Fabio Quagliarella Equals Gabriel Batistuta’s Record

Writing your name in Serie A history alongside Gabriel Batistuta is not something players do very often, but that is exactly what Fabio Quagliarella accomplished this past weekend. By scoring for the 11th consecutive match, the Sampdoria striker matched the league record set by none other than the Fiorentina legend himself back in 1994.

It's a Bird... It's a Plane... It's #QUAGLIARELLA! pic.twitter.com/YqjzL5vHRo

— Sampdoria English (@sampdoria_en) January 26, 2019

“It’s unthinkable,” Quagliarella told Sky Italia shortly after the final whistle. “I get emotional, because just to be able to imagine something like that. Just naming Batistuta gives me goosebumps.”

You can read more about the 35-year-old and his exploits here, but next weekend, in a clash with his hometown club Napoli at the Stadio San Paolo, he has a chance to break the record. Stay tuned!

10. Nicolò Zaniolo Gets Ridiculous

Very creative assist from Zaniolo ? pic.twitter.com/dJvx5vgk6U

— Josh (@Josh_LFC4life) January 27, 2019

There are players in Serie A who couldn’t play that pass to Edin Dzeko with their feet, yet here’s 19-year-old Nicolò Zaniolo doing it with his chest for no reason besides the fact he can. 

Watching him in action for A.S. Roma is, as we explained here, incredible given his age and lack of experience, but the most ridiculous fact of all is that Inter gave the youngster to the Giallorossi PLUS €24 million (and Davide Santon!) in order to sign Radja Nainggolan. 

Put everything else aside and consider this; Zaniolo has been a more effective player than Nainggolan this season and he’s routinely embarrassing defenders with touches like the one shown above. Just enjoy it!

Adam Digby is an Italian football writer for FourFourTwo, The Independent, and elsewhere. Author of "Juventus: A History In Black & White." Follow Adam on Twitter.