Results from round 36:
Serie A table:
“Pazza Inter” avoid a massive scare
For years, Pazza (crazy) was and still is a folkloristic definition for Inter, who notably gifted their fans a rollercoaster of emotions through the years. In a vital game to keep in the hunt for the Scudetto, Inter were down 2-0 within half an hour, at home against Empoli.
The first goal was by loanee Andrea Pinamonti, now on 13 this campaign, which perhaps showed that Inter’s attacking problems could be solved from inside their club.
However, an epic reaction saw Lautaro Martinez lead the way, striking twice in a 4-2 and handing Inter three points, with just that bit of hope for the coming games, and huge pressure on their city rivals.
Criscito’s glorious redemption saves Genoa’s fate
A massive, yet so unpredictable win, ensured Genoa’s day was still yet to come. Down 1-0 against Juventus, the Grifoni overturned the result to win 2-1 in the last minutes.
Juventus could only blame themselves, with a series of inexplicable errors that aided Genoa’s come-back. Adrien Rabiot’s backpass almost resulted in an own-goal. Moise Kean missed the target with an open net, and Mattia De Sciglio fouled Kelvin Yeboah inside the box during the last minute.
It was a series of mistakes that must have seen Genoa’s rivals fuming, as Domenico Criscito stepped up to take the penalty. This came after missing one in stoppage time the week before, in the derby.
This time, there was no mistake, and the Stadio Marassi could erupt in joy when the captain scored with the last kick of the game.
Napoli keep a clean sheet and consolidate third place
Thanks to Juventus’s defeat, Napoli put a four points margin on fourth place, as they look to finish in the top three for the eighth time in the last 12 years.
A 1-0 win at Torino arrived despite captain Lorenzo Insigne missing his fourth penalty of the season, with Fabian Ruiz striking late for his first goal inside the box since 2019. The Spaniard came from 12 consecutive goals from distance.
It was Napoli’s first clean sheet in 11 games, to end Torino’s six games unbeaten streak. The Partenopei have the same points they had last year at this stage, in which they just missed out on the top four.
Embed from Getty ImagesScamacca returns to goalscoring ways in entertaining draw
After five games without finding the net, Gianluca Scamacca netted his 14th of the season, but it wasn’t enough for Sassuolo to beat Udinese.
The Neroverdi went up inside six minutes, but failed to convert a series of chances, with Udinese doing the same, until Bram Nuytinck equalised.
Both Sassuolo and Udinese chase Torino for the last place in the top 10, with the former tied on points, and Udinese following three lengths behind.
Embed from Getty ImagesLazio close on European qualification, as Patric breaks his duck
After 123 starts, Spanish defender Patric scored his first Serie A goal, before Luis Alberto sealed the three points for Lazio with a beautiful solo goal.
Maurizio Sarri’s team are three points off a place in Europe, as Sampdoria were beaten 2-0. Marco Giampaolo’s side are not yet guaranteed permanence in Serie A and were denied an away result once more.
It was the seventh defeat in the last nine away games for the Blucerchiati.
Atalanta boost their top seven hopes, Spezia delay their verdict
Atalanta remained in contention for Conference and Europa League qualification, with a 3-1 win at the Stadio Picco in Spezia.
Spezia’s recent result crisis, with this being the fourth consecutive defeat, keeps delaying their permanence for next season.
Luis Muriel, Berat Djimsiti and Mario Pasalic (on his fourth consecutive goal), gave la Dea their second win in three games, a feat they failed to achieve for the entirety of the second-half of the season.
Venezia are still alive with a counter come-back
Venezia’s fate was so close to being decided, and arguably it still is, but a 4-3 win over Bologna gives them reason to believe they can still remain up.
The Lagunari went up 2-0, before suffering a 2-3 at the 68th minute. A penalty by Mattia Aramu and a wondergoal by Dennis Johnsen gave them a miraculous 4-3 win after 10 straight defeats.
Salernitana remain five points in front, and also have the head-to-head advantage, but Venezia, at least for another week, remain alive.
Cagliari’s last minute goal keeps the battle going
A sixth consecutive result for Salernitana, for the first time in their Serie A history, will still leave a meagre feeling.
Davide Nicola’s team were incredibly close to putting four points between themselves and Cagliari, but the Sardinians equalised at the 99th minute to give themselves some hope.
This leaves six teams involved in the relegation scrap, with just two games left. It’s been a long-time coming for Serie A to have such an intense battle at the bottom of the table.
Tonali and Leao combine, as Milan are four points away from the title
Sandro Tonali stroke twice, both from initiatives by Rafael Leao to give Milan a comeback win over Verona and put them even closer to the Scudetto.
Davide Faraoni scored first, as it looked like Milan could drop points, but just like their city rivals, the Rossoneri equalised just before half-time.
Tonali, on his birthday, was decisive, before Alessandro Florenzi scored a third. Milan could already celebrate the league title next Sunday, at home against Atalanta, if they score more points than Inter.
Fiorentina’s awaited victory fires up the race for Europe
A victory for Roma could have meant game over for the top seven, but instead, Fiorentina ended a streak of four losses in all competitions to tie up with Roma and Atalanta in sixth place, just three points off Lazio.
Somebody will miss out on Europe, after a fierce fight, as la Viola dominated the Giallorossi, who looked tired and, possibly, less motivated after their semi-final win in the Conference League.
Nico Gonzalez and Giacomo Bonaventura scored the two goals of the game inside the first 11 minutes, as the result remained under the control of Vincenzo Italiano’s side.
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