Every week, FloFC’s 10 Things column highlights the stories or moments you might have missed over the past seven days in Serie A. Let’s get you caught up with the latest edition!

1. Frosinone Continue To Surprise

As some of the teams who seemed certain to go down made important changes, the relegation battle has begun to look more interesting over the past few rounds. Bologna’s appointment of Siniša Mihajlović has seen the Rossoblu arrest their slide to record a win over Inter and earn a 1-1 draw with Genoa. Simultaneously, Cagliari and Udinese have begun to plummet, while Empoli have not won any of their last eight matches.

Those results have seen the bottom half of the table become much more congested, making Frosinone’s sudden upturn look perfectly timed. With two wins in their last three outings, Marco Baroni’s men are now just three points from safety and they deserve immense credit for claiming a hard-fought victory away at Sampdoria on Sunday afternoon.

“I congratulate the players, we approached the game in the right way and we need these performances,” the coach told Radio RAI. “We have to continue to work like that and for now we take these three points and the energy that comes with it.”

2. Cagliari Held Hostage

The latest installment of our recurring “only in Italy” series comes from Sardinia this week where disgruntled dairy farmers blockaded the Cagliari squad into their training ground. Part of an ongoing protest against milk prices on the island—no, seriously—around 100 locals helped bar the exits and ensured that the team missed their scheduled flight to Milan. 

Anche #Barella e #Deiola partecipano a modo loro alla protesta dei pastori sardi. #Cagliari pic.twitter.com/0FebrEJEp8

— Mauro Cossu (@maurocossu90) February 9, 2019

The police were forced to negotiate a truce between the protestors and club representatives. Eventually a compromise was reached and the team was allowed to leave for their trip to San Siro, but only after several players were filmed kicking over pails of milk in a gesture of solidarity.

3. Luciano Spalletti’s Blame Game

While the positivity of a side like Frosinone is to be lauded, then the opposite is true of Inter. Win or lose, Luciano Spalletti seems determined to find a scapegoat, bizarrely turning on the management of his own club in his most recent outburst despite the fact that he had steered the Nerazzurri to a vital win over Parma on Saturday night.

While it was Spalletti’s decision to introduce Lautaro Martinez that swung the game, the coach opted not to revel in his inspired substitution but instead bemoan the contract dispute between Inter and Mauro Icardi as the striker’s goal drought continued.

“I have not created any problems for Icardi,” the coach told DAZN shortly after the final whistle. “Issues need to be clarified, because when you leave things half-cocked, they become open to interpretation.” Not done there, he then continued in the same vein during his post-match press conference, telling reporters there that “our directors agreed to start talking about the contract, so now they need to go there and conclude it!”

Perhaps, given that this result came after three consecutive defeats that saw questions about his future began to surface, complaining about the work of CEO Beppe Marotta—the man who directly holds the power to sack Spalletti—wasn’t the wisest move?

4. The Stadio Ennio Tardini

Parma’s absence from Serie A over the last few years meant that the Stadio Ennio Tardini was taken away from supporters, with their return serving to underline just how great a venue it is for football matches.

Parma v Inter from the Tardini Love That Stadio Great viewing wherever you sit/stand pic.twitter.com/WkKuDlEvf1

— Peter E (@PEFIORENTINA) February 9, 2019

Tight, compact and without the running track that ruins many stadiums in Italy, it can be a real cauldron for visiting teams and Parma supporters ensured it was exactly that this past weekend. The noise they made in backing their team might not have made a difference against Inter, but it certainly has been noticeable this season and is well worth attending if the chance should ever arise.

5. Aaron Ramsey’s Wages Cause Outrage

On Monday afternoon, Juventus issued a statement to say they had agreed to sign Aaron Ramsey this summer. Out of contract at Arsenal on July 1, the Welsh midfielder was free to put pen to paper with the club of his choice, and the Bianconeri had long been touted as a possible destination.

pic.twitter.com/9EawtxBl49

— Aaron Ramsey (@aaronramsey) February 11, 2019

Due to one subsequent erroneous report that was then aggregated by countless other media outlets, rumours of £400,000 per week wages became widespread, causing instant outrage on social media. After speaking to a number of well-placed sources, that has proven to be wholly untrue, with the actual figure closer to €200,000 before tax, putting Ramsey in line with Juve’s second tier of earners. Everybody just relax!

6. Stefano Pioli’s Tactical Masterclass

You’re facing a Napoli side renowned for their attacking prowess, a match that puts your young, inexperienced side up against Dries Mertens, Lorenzo Insigne and the genius of Carlo Ancelotti. If that wasn’t a daunting enough prospect for Fiorentina, they went into Saturday’s encounter with right-back Nikola Milenkovic suspended, while back up Vincent Laurini was carrying an injury and central defender Vitor Hugo failed a late fitness test.

Rather than force square pegs into round holes to find an answer, Viola boss Stefano Pioli simply changed the question, shifting to a three-man defense that allowed Bryan Dabo to fill in as a wing-back and covered for the lack of options in the middle. His players worked tirelessly to pull off the surprise, emerging with a 0-0 draw against their second-placed opponents, a result that deserves no end of applause. 

7. Atalanta Turn On The Style

Just as Fiorentina nullified Napoli, Sunday’s games saw SPAL trying to do the same to Atalanta. It almost worked too, as the Minnows went 1-0 ahead, but Gian Piero Gasperini’s men aren’t Serie A’s leading scorers by accident and they roared back into the match, taking the lead with a wonderfully worked opening for Duvan Zapata that was simply a joy to watch. 

Everything was perfectly timed, starting with Josip Ilicic’s delightful ball over the top for Hans Hateboer, the Dutch wing-back’s first-time cross and the run from Zapata as he slammed home what was his 19th goal in the last 15 games in all competitions. 

8. Salvatore Sirigu: Penalty King

If Duvan Zapata wants to keep his streak alive, he should probably avoid taking a penalty against Salvatore Sirigu. The Torino goalkeeper denied a Rodrigo De Paul spot kick that would’ve seen Udinese grab a precious equalizer against the Granata, and in doing so made the fifth penalty save in the last seven efforts against him.

5 - Salvatore Sirigu has saved five of his last seven penalties faced in Serie A. Cat.

— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) February 10, 2019

Erick Pulgar of Bologna, Fiorentina’s Jordan Veretout, Lazio midfielder Luis Alberto and Sampdoria star Fabio Quagliarella have all seen their efforts repelled by the 32-year-old, while Cyril Thereau (Fiorentina) and Aleksandar Kolarov (Roma) are the two men with successful attempts. 

9. Juventus Become Entertaining

Let’s get the caveats out of the way; yes, they were only playing Sassuolo, yes, they were already 2-0 ahead and yes, the game was basically over. Having said all that—particularly after the complaints of this previous column—it was good to see some free-flowing, intricate football from a Juventus side much more readily associated with dull pragmatism. 

Ronaldo-Dybala-Ronaldo-Can...GOLAZO DELLA JUVEEEEEEE! 3 a 0! #SassuoloJuve pic.twitter.com/0VqsFb7QG7

— VecchiaSignora.com (@forumJuventus) February 10, 2019

Sami Khedira and Cristiano Ronaldo had already secured three points for the Bianconeri, but this passage of play between the Portuguese star, Paulo Dybala and Emre Can was superb and definitely worth rewatching. More please!

10. Daniele De Rossi Defending Aleksandar Kolarov

After featuring in last week’s column, the spat between A.S. Roma ultras and Aleksandar Kolarov has continued apace, the supporters booing the Serbian defender during last weekend’s match with Chievo. Then, when the left-back scored, he turned and bowed in the direction of the Curva Sud, a gesture some took as an apology but pundit Antonio Felici told Centro Suono Sport, “It seemed far more like he was making fun of the fans.”

From one end to the other like ⚡️!
#ASRoma #Kolarov
pic.twitter.com/0iqEhGMrY9

— AS Roma English (@ASRomaEN) February 11, 2019

With the Giallorossi are preparing for a Champions League clash with Porto, Daniele De Rossi used his appearance at the pre-match to defend his teammate and urge the Ultras to draw a line under the entire affair.

“I would be the happiest person in the world if the friction between Kolarov and the fans came to an end,” the club captain told reporters. “I feel caught in the middle of it a bit: I love the Giallorossi fans, who have always protected me, and Alex is like a brother to me.

"All I can ask the fans to do is to continue to trust me: Kolarov is a great professional who loves what he does. I’m not saying he’s been a Roma fan all his life—but I am saying that he always gives what he needs to give, he never misses a training session and he plays even when he’s not fully fit. I prefer people like that to people who say nice things, kiss the badge and then go off when they feel the first bit of pain or make a face when they’re asked to play out of position. He’s one of the best professionals I’ve ever met.”

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.