Results from round 14:
Serie A table:
There are no winners as Cagliari and Salernitana remain last
Friday night was an important occasion for the teams coached by Walter Mazzarri and Stefano Colantuono.
Cagliari and Salernitana both seem unable to pick up form this season and the latter will likely be more satisfied, given they scored an equaliser at the 90th minute.
Leonardo Pavoletti put the Sardinians in front on his birthday, but, despite having some occasions to seal the game, Cagliari didn’t take their chance and were tied by Federico Bonazzoli.
Sampdoria catch a break, Verona’s run stops
With their second consecutive win, Sampdoria finally move to a safer place, ahead of tougher fixtures against Fiorentina, Lazio and city rivals Genoa.
It’s a somewhat surprising win, against a Hellas Verona side who were on the run and moved in front with Adrien Tameze.
Sampdoria resisted before the break and in the second-half they were able to strike with the ever-present Antonio Candreva, who also assisted Albin Ekdal to put his side in front.
At the 90th minute, it was finally joy for Nicola Murru. The left-back scored his first Serie A goal after 174 games, giving up the record for most Serie A appearances without scoring to Davide Santon (143).
Crazy derby ending sees Empoli overturn Fiorentina
An incredible outcome in the Tuscan derby surprised many, as Fiorentina threw away a likely win after dominating for most of the game.
Both sides put up an assertive display, which saw Fiorentina’s technical advantage giving them the lead with Dusan Vlahovic, after a series of missed chances.
It could have been enough, but Empoli made good use of a mistake by the goalkeeper, who left the goal empty when coming out to catch a ball and gifted an equaliser at the 87th minute.
It was already harsh on Fiorentina, who conceded another one two minutes later, with Andrea Pinamonti’s fifth of the season.
Atalanta win at Juventus after 22 years
Even if, in recent years, Atalanta have become a top side and won against the Bianconeri a few times, winning at the Allianz Stadium seemed like a taboo.
This time it was the chance, with Juventus remaining overwhelmed by problems, as Duvan Zapata scored for the seventh game in a row.
Atalanta settled after the goal and offered an organised performance, defending well and limiting the dangers, pushing Juventus seven points off the top four.
Venezia are defeated by Inter, but their sportsmanship is admirable
Inter’s 2-0 win against Venezia is important to keep the form running, with Hakan Calhanoglu scoring for the third consecutive Serie A game and finally looking perfectly settled in the side.
Sergio Romero repeatedly denied the Nerazzurri, up until Lautaro Martinez ensured the game was in the bag with a penalty in stoppage time.
Venezia left with their head up and perhaps offered one of the very few glimpses of sportsmanship that still exist in world football.
After the game, the Lagunari congratulated to the Italian champions on social media, stating: “Inter’s game is stunning: we have to give credit where credit’s due”.
Andriy Shevchenko gets his first point
Genoa remain in the relegation zone, closing up to within a point of Spezia.
The Sunday lunchtime game didn’t offer many chances, as Udinese and the Grifoni did little to harm each other.
Even if only five teams lost less games than Udinese (five), the Friulani’s streak of draws prevents them from being any higher than joint-14th.
Spezia might have to get ready to a struggling season
After living a little miracle in 2020/21, Spezia only have 11 points and sit in 17th, four behind their closest rival in front.
Bologna claim all three points, with Marko Arnautovic coming to the rescue at the 83rd minute thanks to a penalty, after the Rossoblu hit the woodwork a whopping three times.
It’s happy times for Bologna, with their best start in 19 years and a relegation threat that will likely not show up should they continue their form.
Milan’s Serie A form takes another halt
Sassuolo shock Milan to win 3-1 at the San Siro, as the Rossoneri are coming off a single point in their last three matches, after gaining 31 in 11 games.
Captain Alessio Romagnoli took Milan in front, but Gianluca Scamacca’s two thunderbolts overturned the situation.
What was worrying was that Sassuolo appeared like the better side, with Domenico Berardi going for his 10th career goal against Milan and Romagnoli later being sent off with a straight red card.
Roma settle in fifth
A goal by Tammy Abraham is enough to see Roma move past Torino, despite registering 31% possession and just two shots on target.
The build-up to the goal was fabulous and saw Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Nicolo Zaniolo involved, as Roma now put four points between them and their closest challengers.
Torino have goalscoring issues. Despite being the second best defence, they sit in 13th, with the typical lack of goals that affects Ivan Juric’s sides.
Statement win for Napoli, who thrash Lazio
After losing Victor Osimhen to injury and coming off yet another disappointment in the Europa League, Napoli’s sumptuous 4-0 win over Lazio shows they mean business.
It was the toughest period yet for Luciano Spalletti’s side, but they ended the contest against former coach Maurizio Sarri’s side in less than half an hour.
Dries Mertens was on fire, putting two past Pepe Reina on the night Napoli remembered Diego Maradona, who sadly passed a year ago.
Napoli’s numbers are impressive, conceding just seven goals. Torino, the closest rivals, follow at 14. Lazio’s instead, are close to abysmal, with the Biancocelesti only having won one away game so far this campaign.
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