Serie A Round 16 Power Rankings: Inter Pulling Away, Milan Struggles Against Bottom

Inter is asserting itself at the top of the race for the Scudetto.

With the draw between Roma and Napoli, as well as Fiorentina's loss to Juventus, the Nerazzurri pulled four points in front at the top of the Serie A table. Inter thrashed Udinese 4-0.

Juventus' victory suddenly has the Bianconeri two points adrift of the top three. Such a position seems improbable in late October, when Massimiliano Allegri's side was struggling to reach the top half of the table.

Then, there is Milan. The Rossoneri should be level with Roma for a European spot right now, but draws against Carpi and Verona, the two worst teams in the league, cost Milan dearly.

Unfortunately, we were not able to publish the Round 15 rankings. Here is how the teams stacked up after last weekend's matches.

1) Inter, 2) Napoli, 3) Juventus, 4) Fiorentina, 5) Sassuolo, 6) Roma, 7) Torino, 8) Milan, 9) Empoli, 10) Atalanta, 11) Chievo, 12) Lazio, 13) Bologna, 14) Udinese, 15) Genoa, 16) Sampdoria, 17) Frosinone, 18) Palermo, 19) Carpi, 20) Verona

Below are the rankings through 16 rounds.

Serie A Power Rankings, Round 16

	Club	Round 16	Round 17	Thoughts
1st	Inter Milan (Round 15: 1st)	Defeated Udinese, 4-0	vs. Lazio, Sunday, Dec. 20	Inter had this match pretty much wrapped up after a half hour, but two late goals let the visitors stamp their authority as they begin to extend their lead at the top of the table. Mauro Icardi netted two goals in his return to the lineup.
2nd	Juventus (3)	Defeated Fiorentina, 3-1	at Carpi, Sunday, Dec. 20	Fiorentina did not lead for long in Sunday's matchup. After the visitors took the lead three minutes in, Juventus struck three minutes later. Two more goals in the final 10 minutes helped Max Allegri's close the gap on the clubs in Champions League positions.
3rd	Napoli (2)	Drew 0-0 vs. Roma	at Atalanta, Sunday, Dec. 20	Napoli and Roma finished scoreless at the San Paolo, but the point put the Partenopei on level terms with Fiorentina in second place.
4th	Fiorentina (4)	Lost to Juventus, 3-1	vs. Chievo, Sunday, Dec. 20	Josip Ilicic scored three minutes in, but that was as good as things would get for Fiorentina. Former Viola star Juan Cuadrado scored three minutes later got Juventus back on level terms. Two late goals from Juventus helped sink Fiorentina. The Viola remain in second place, but Napoli got level on points with its draw against Roma.
5th	AS Roma (6)	Drew 0-0 at Napoli	vs. Genoa, Sunday, Dec. 20	Roma were dominated at the San Paolo, with Napoli claiming 60 percent of the possession. Roma was outshot 12-5 and only completed 312 passes to Roma's 503. The visitors still managed a point. Hard to complain about that.
6th	Sassuolo (5)	Match vs. Torino postponed	at Verona, Sunday, Dec. 20	it was impossible to see at the Mapei Stadium Saturday. The goalposts were hardly visible from midfield. There was no way Sassuolo and Torino could play their match, so it has been postponed. Had the match been played, Sassuolo could have gone level with Roma for fifth place.
7th	Torino (7)	Match at Sassuolo postponed	vs. Udinese, Sunday, Dec. 20	Unfortunately, the Sassuolo-Torino match was postponed. The Bull returns to action against Udinese Sunday.
8th	Empoli (9)	Defeated Carpi, 3-0	at Bologna, Saturday, Dec. 19	Riccardo Saponara does it again. The former Milan man now has five goals after scoring against Carpi Sunday. Massimo Maccarone scored twice, drawing level with Saponara on five goals for the season.
9th	AC Milan (8)	Drew 1-1 vs. Verona	at Frosinone, Sunday, Dec. 20	This is getting awfully embarrassing for Milan. Through the first three matches of a stretch against the bottom three in Serie A, Milan has earned two points. Nigel De Jong, who probably should not have played in the first place, conceded a penalty five minutes after Carlos Bacca gave Milan hope against Verona.
10th	Chievo Verona (10)	Defeated Atalanta, 1-0	at Fiorentina, Sunday, Dec. 20	Valter Birsa could be in the "former Milan players currently killing it" best XI this season. The Slovenian scored the lone goal in Chievo's win over Atalanta.
11th	Atalanta (10)	Lost to Chievo, 1-0	vs. Napoli, Sunday, Dec. 20	Despite the loss, Atalanta sits in eighth place in Serie A, five points adrift of the European zone at the moment.
12th	Lazio (12)	Drew 1-1 vs. Sampdoria	at Inter, Sunday, Dec. 20	Of course it was Alessandro Matri to score for Lazio. This weekend was all about former Milan players scoring goals. But Lazio missed a big chance, as Sampdoria scored at the death.
13th	Bologna (13)	Defeated Genoa, 1-0	vs. Empoli, Saturday, Dec. 19	Luca Rossettini was the hero for Bologna Saturday. The Italian defender buried the winning goal in stoppage time as Bologna earned a 1-0 victory at Genoa. Bologna won despite only completing 171 passes and having 34 percent of the possession. Amazing.
14th	Sampdoria (16)	Drew 1-1 at Lazio	vs. Palermo, Sunday, Dec. 20	What a way to end the weekend in Serie A. Lazio scored late, but Sampdoria scored as late as possible. Ervin Zukanovic got forward and buried the late equalizer to earn a point for Sampdoria.
15th	Genoa (15)	Lost to Bologna, 1-0	at Roma, Sunday, Dec. 20	Genoa dominated play, but the hosts failed to find the net, and Rossettini's stoppage-time goal left Genoa on the wrong end of a 1-0 result. Genoa cannot afford to drop points like that, as the Griffins remain two points out of the drop zone.
16th	Udinese (14)	Lost to Inter, 4-0	at Torino, Sunday, Dec. 20	Udinese had more possession, corner kicks, shots and completed passes, but Inter was still the only team in the match. Poor Udinese got trounced on its home pitch.
17th	Palermo (18)	Defeated Frosinone, 4-1	at Sampdoria, Sunday, Dec. 20	It was a great weekend to be a former Milan player. Alberto Gilardino was one of four players to score for Palermo, as the Eagles dominated Frosinone at the Renzo Barbera. Palermo was one point ahead of Frosinone entering the match and is now four points off the bottom three.
18th	Frosinone (17)	Lost to Palermo, 4-1	vs. Milan, Sunday, Dec. 20	The match was close statistically, but Frosinone was still pounded by Palermo. On the bright side, Paolo Sammarco scored his second goal of the season.
19th	Hellas Verona (20)	Drew 1-1 at Milan	vs. Sassuolo, Sunday, Dec. 20	Nigel De Jong gifted Verona a penalty, but the winless wonders probably deserved more than the draw they earned at the San Siro. Milan was woeful, and Verona nearly made the hosts pay multiple times.
20th	Carpi (19)	Lost to Empoli, 3-0	vs. Juventus, Sunday, Dec. 20	After drawing against Milan last weekend, Carpi was dominated by a red-hot Empoli side.