Inter thumps Roma, Milan grabs a last-gasp win over Lazio
The 2021-22 Serie A title race saw Nerazzurri and Rossoneri shuffling their positions at the top once again as Inter beat Roma 3-1 to reach the summit momentarily. It looked like Milan would surrender their authority by dropping points to Lazio, but Sandro Tonali’s last-gasp goal reclaimed their pole position at the end of Matchday 34.
Torino 2-1 Spezia
Torino was awarded a penalty in the 4th minute and Sasa Lukic held on to his nerves to hand his side the lead from 12 yards out. Torino was all over Spezia and scored the second goal in the 69th minute after the ball dropped kindly for Lukic at the edge of the box and the Serbian made no mistake in completing his brace.
Torino was on their way to bag a clean sheet but Rey Manaj spoiled their plans after thumping the ball into the top corner from a penalty in the last kick of the game.
Venezia 1-3 Atalanta
Atalanta snapped their five-game winless run across all competitions by beating bottom-placed Venezia 3-1. Mario Pasalic broke the deadlock just before half-time after pouncing on a rebound off the crossbar. Following the break, it took Duvan Zapata only two minutes to double Atalanta’s lead after tapping in Luis Muriel’s pass from a point-blank range.
Muriel himself struck the woodwork later and got his due reward by nodding home Davide Zappacosta’s cross from the left flank. A through ball from Jean-Pierre Nsame found Domen Crnigoj inside the box and the latter fired the ball into the top corner to salvage a consolation for Venezia.
Inter 3-1 Roma
Roma’s 12-match unbeaten run came to an end as Inter bagged their fifth consecutive victory in Serie A. Hakan Calhanoglu’s piercing pass from the halfway mark found Denzel Dumfries through on goal and the latter galloped through the centre to draw first blood in the 30th minute.
It took Inter only ten minutes to double their lead after Marcelo Brozovic made space for himself between three defenders inside the box to power his shot into the top corner. Calhanoglu was amidst the assist providers once again after Lautaro Martinez towered above his marker to connect his corner kick.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan pulled one back for Roma in the 85th minute after a smart dummy from Rick Karsdorp allowed the Armenian to bulge the net but it proved to be a mere consolation. With the next five encounters against teams from the bottom half of the table, Inter needs to maintain their form to win the title.
Verona 1-1 Sampdoria
Verona’s keeper saved Francesco Caputo’s penalty in the 44th minute but the recoil went straight back to Caputo whose effort crossed the goal-line this time. Gianluca Caprari, on loan from Sampdoria, scored against his parent club after rounding off the defenders and the ‘keeper with some smart footwork to restore parity in the 78th minute.
Salernitana 2-1 Fiorentina
After winning just three matches the entire season, 18th placed Salernitana grabbed their third consecutive Serie A victory by getting the better of sixth-placed Fiorentina. The Garnets took the lead in the 9th minute through Milan Duric after the Bosnian headed home Emil Bohinen’s corner-kick.
Riccardo Saponara trapped a cross from the right flank and rocketed a shot with his second touch to equalise for Fiorentina in the 64th minute. A feeble clearance from Fiorentina’s Igor Julio resulted in Federico Bonazzoli lunging on the follow-through to score the winning goal in the 79th minute.
Bologna 2-2 Udinese
Bologna got their noses upfront early in the game after Aaron Hickey’s shot ricocheted off the crossbar to go past the goal-line, but Destiny Udogie equalised for Udinese in the 25th minute after extending his legs to tap in a no-look back pass from Isaac Success.
The assist provider turned into the goalscorer one minute into the second half by chesting a lobbed pass from Gerard Deulofeu and burying his shot into the net with his second touch. However, Udinese’s lead lasted only thirteen minutes as Nicola Sansone poked home Ricardo Orsolini’s crossfield grounded pass into the empty net.
Empoli 3-2 Napoli
Empoli players celebrate their comeback win after being two goals behind till the 80th minute
Empoli earned a shock win over third-placed Napoli in the Serie A to bolster their chances of survival. Dries Mertens opened the floodgates for Napoli after his rip-roaring shot whistled through the hands of the rival keeper Guglielmo Vicario just before half-time.
Napoli captain Lorenzo Insigne doubled his side’s lead by timing his shot perfectly into the far corner. However, the narrative of the game started to change in the 80th minute after Liam Henderson made the most of a napping Napoli defence to smack the ball home.
Three minutes later, Andrea Pinamonti closed down Napoli’s keeper Alex Meret and slapped his mistimed kick into the net. The final blow was dealt by Pinamonti in the 87th minute by flicking Nedim Bajrami’s cross from the right flank as Empoli walked away with all three points for the first time in 2022.
Genoa 1-0 Cagliari
The 19th placed Genoa earned a vital victory over 17th placed Cagliari in a relegation battle, courtesy of Milan Badelj’s 89th-minute strike from inside the box. Genoa is now just three points below the dropzone but time is running out for them.
Lazio 1-2 Milan
Sandro Tonali takes his shirt off after scoring the late winner for Milan
An in-form Lazio side took the lead in the fourth minute after Ciro Immobile prodded home Milinkovic-Savic’s cross from a hand-shaking distance. However, Oliver Giroud levelled things up for Milan in the 50th minute by sliding in Rafael Leao’s cutback pass from the byline.
Just when it seemed Milan would share the spoils against Lazio, Zlatan Ibrahimovic headed the ball towards Sandro Tonali’s path, who made no error in crossing it past the goal-line. Although Milan occupies the top spot, things are not in their control as Inter have a game in hand.
Sassuolo 1-2 Juventus
The hosts attacked with full vigour in the first half and took the lead in the 38th minute after Giacomo Raspadori finished Domenico Berardi’s back-flick pass from inside the box. Juventus weren’t going to go down with a fight and made it even at the end of the first half when Paulo Dybala clobbered the ball into the roof of the net.
Moise Kean completed Juventus’ comeback with a deft turn to go past the defender and smothered the ball home in the 88th minute to snatch a win for his side.