Serie A Weekend Roundup: Inter Milan continues to slip, Milan and Napoli go head to head at the top
The race for the Scudetto heats up as Milan see off yet another challenge in the form of Cagliari. Likewise, Napoli continued to put the pressure on but the same could not be said for Inter who have now won only 1 out of their last 6 games.
Sassuolo 4-1 Spezia
Sassuolo and Spezia started the preceding for this weekend’s Serie A matches week. Four games unbeaten in a row, the home side had just the perfect opposition to make it five. Spezia, despite coming off a win, still found themselves just floating around the drop zone.
Domenico Berardi lashed his penalty in to open the scoring in the 17th minute but Daniele Verde equalised for Spezia completely against the run of play. Nevertheless, another goal from Berardi and one each from Kaan Ayhan and Gianluca Scammacca made it 4-1 for the hosts. Berardi’s brace helped him reach 100 Serie A goals.
Genoa 1-0 Torino
The home side continued to rack up points in their mission for league safety. Coming into the game with four (4) draws in their last four games, they hosted Torino. Manolo Portanova struck home and gave Genoa the lead after 14 minutes. The home side soon made it difficult for themselves as Leo Skiri Ostigard picked up two quick bookings and was sent off after just 24 minutes.
Just when everyone predicted Genoa to fall they dug deep and defended with all their lives. Alexander Blessin’s men managed to hold on to their early advantage and ground out their first win in almost six months.
Napoli 2-1 Udinese
As the race for the Scudetto reached its business end, Napoli needed the three points to put pressure on Milan. With a favourable record against Udinese, Napoli came out all guns blazing. However, they struggled to break the Udinese defence as Delufeu on the other hand gave the visitors a lead with a precise finish. The visitors went into the break with a goal advantage.
Napoli certainly upped a gear and started firing. Victor Osimhem brought them level in the 52 minutes and just ten minutes later scored the second goal which proved to be the winner. Pablo Mari was sent off late in the second half.
Inter Milan 1-1 Fiorentina
Another goal for Lucas Torreira as Fiorentina frustrate Inter
After a couple of slip-ups in their title challenge, Champions Inter were looking to get back on track with Fiorentina visiting. The game was evenly poised with both teams getting their fair share of chances in the first half. However, it was Lucas Torreira who broke the deadlock in the 60th minute.
Denzel Dumfries made an instant statement bringing Inter level within 5 minutes. The visitors held on and took the advantage of the fact that Inter needed to win for their title aspirations. The game ended all square at 1-1.
Cagliari 0-1 Milan
With Napoli getting their three points against Udinese it was up to Milan to beat Cagliari and reclaim their top spot. Hovering just a place above the bottom three, Cagliari came with a desperate need of points. The hosts frustrated Pioli’s men in the first half and managed a clean sheet at the break.
However, Milan created attack after attack in the second half and it was Ismael Bennacer who scored the valuable goal for his side. The evening could have been more comfortable for the visitors who failed to score the second. Nevertheless, three points saw them sit over Napoli, at the top of the league.
Venezia 0-2 Sampdoria
Another relegation six-pointer as a win for the 17th placed Venezia could lift them out and drag Sampdoria into the battle for survival. Venezia certainly gave in to the pressure and intensity for this occasion as Sampdoria did not even need to push into the 4th gear.
The home side looked shaky at the back from the get-go. Both goals were certainly a product of that, Maenpaa took too long distributing the ball and Francesco Caputo finished it into an empty net. For the second, Venezia got caught on the ball again and it was Caputo again to finish it off to make it three-nil. Apart from the sending off of Thomas Henry, the second half was a bit of a dull affair.
Juventus 2-0 Salernitana
After their disappointing exit from the UEFA Champions League, Juventus looked to get their domestic season back on track. The Old Lady hosted 20th placed Salernitana, whose chances of surviving are getting grim game by game.
Amid all the contract noise, it was Paulo Dybala who linked with Dusan Vlahovic to break the deadlock inside 5 minutes. After missing a couple of key chances, Vlahovic finally got on the scoresheet and made it two goals to nil inside the first thirty minutes.
Unlike in their European encounter against Villareal, Max Allegri’s men managed to see out the lead. With their unbeaten league form in 2022, Juventus have now given themselves an outside chance for the Scudetto.
Empoli 1-1 Verona
Verona’s outside chance of sneaking into the top 6 needed some vital points on the road. They travelled to Empoli who were winless in 2022 coming into this one. The home side started strongly and managed to break the deadlock in the 26th minute. Federico Di Francesco finished off a beautiful team move to give Empoli the lead. Verona had the chance for a quick reply but Giovanni Simeone missed the penalty.
The home side did well to hold on for a good part of an hour. However, it was the substitute Matteo Cancellieri who scored an absolute peach of a goal to bring Verona level.
Roma 3-0 Lazio
Abraham netted a brace breaking Batistuta & Montella’s record of 21 goals in their debut Roma season
A knackered Roma side as Jose Mourinho addressed came up to face Maurizio Sarri’s Lazio. The home side executed a vintage Mourinho performance as Roma smashed Lazio three goals to nil with just 35% overall possession. Tammy Abraham should and deservedly so will take most of the plaudits as the Englishman just could not stop scoring.
Abraham opened the scoring in the very first minute of the game. He followed it up with another goal in the 22nd minute. Lorenzo Pellegrini’s strike just before the half-time killed any hopes Lazio had. Roma managed the second half and maintained the 3-0 scoreline.
Bologna 0-1 Atalanta
With Jose Mourinho’s Roma constantly on their back, Atalanta needed to make a statement away against Bologna after a memorable UEFA Europa League win. Bologna kept the possession in their favor for most of the game but both teams struggled to break the deadlock.
The visitors finally struck gold in the 82nd minute when Moustapha Cisse finished off a beautiful passing move and the goal proved to be the winner as the game ended 0-1.