Results from round 24:
Serie A table:
Genoa hold on against Roma with the help of VAR
Nicolo Zaniolo’s last minute winner was disallowed, with the Italian receiving a yellow card for his celebration and later a straight red for protesting against the decision. Roma were left wondering how the referee deemed Tammy Abraham’s tackle a foul.
Genoa were left with 10 men with 20 minutes to go, but still held on, showing that Alexander Blessin’s work may start to pay off.
The Grifoni are yet to score a goal with the new manager, but are still unbeaten. Their attacking problems are evident, having scored just three goals in the last 12 games.
Milan reopen the title race, but what is going on with Inter?
A huge win for Milan sees them overturn the result against Inter thanks to a massive brace from Olivier Giroud. A win for the Nerazzurri would have meant a seven points-advantage, but Milan, who produced little until the goals, were the ones to want it more.
Inter were dominant for large parts of the game, but it all changed when a triple substitution saw Lautaro Martinez, Ivan Perisic and Hakan Calhanoglu walk off the pitch. Without the three players, Inter’s attacking prowess massively decreased and they couldn’t hold the lead, nor comeback.
It’s not the first time Inter dominate a game and allow it to blow open after their subs, showing that, perhaps, Simone Inzaghi has not yet found the balance within the team that looked so evident given Inter’s strong start to the campaign.
Fiorentina’s new chapter without Vlahovic off to a poor start
It was not the resumption Fiorentina would have wanted after the break, with Lazio dominating the second-half and scoring three goals to move in front of la Viola up to sixth.
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic was once again on the scoresheet, so was Ciro Immobile. Lazio are relying on their main men and will need the contribution of the rest of the team to continue with their progress.
It’s the first time in seven years that Lazio keep a clean sheet for three league games in a row and the defence is really the place Maurizio Sarri will need to work on, given the team’s struggle.
Gaston Pereiro complicates Gasperini’s plans
2022 really is seeing the new face of Cagliari, which climbed out of the relegation zone for the first time since August.
It’s not up to everyone to stop Atalanta, not to say to win. Gaston Pereiro led Cagliari, scoring two goals and getting goalkeeper Juan Musso sent off.
Atalanta drop to fifth and are showing a drop in form. Next game is against Juventus and will say a lot about that last spot for the top four.
Marco Giampaolo’s first joy comes with a great performance
Some stories are just too beautiful and this is why people love the beautiful game. Marco Giampaolo’s first home game in charge of Sampdoria has the mark of Francesco Caputo and Stefano Sensi, two former players of Sassuolo who helped destroy the Neroverdi.
Giampaolo is known for his attacking football and it was off too easy when Candreva assisted Caputo. The former provided two assists and finally scored, but the main story came from Sensi.
Missing so many games through injury in two seasons at Inter, he came on loan at Sampdoria and scored after seven minutes his first goal in three years, against his former club. You wonder if it just had to be.
Both Sassuolo and Sampdoria are registering some very surprising results, both positively and negatively. The two teams are still trying to show who they really are in 2021/22.
Embed from Getty ImagesWinless Empoli and Bologna fail to strike
Both Empoli and Bologna are winless in 2022 and playing against each other didn’t help either of these sides to improve their form. The result was a 0-0 in which both teams hit the post once.
After a positive start to the campaign, they are both dropping down the table, even if a relegation battle seems far too ambitious.
Embed from Getty ImagesOsimhen scores as Napoli still hope for the title
Victor Osimhen’s first goal after his injury a few months ago helped Napoli clear Venezia and move to within a single point of leaders Inter. Andrea Petagna scored in stoppage time to make it 2-0.
Osimhen was active, as always, also hitting the post and Napoli will still hope to be in the title fight, with yet another clean sheet. Their next game is against the Nerazzurri and will be massive for both sides.
Venezia couldn’t make use of their little chances and drop to 18th place. They already played Lazio, Milan, Inter and Napoli in the second round of games, so Paolo Zanetti will hope that Venezia can get back on track against opponents lower down the table.
Torino collapse in stoppage time
Playing away has not been a good thing for Torino this season, considering their record, and their seventh defeat in 11 games came all in stoppage time against Udinese.
Torino missed several chances and had Rolando Mandragora sent off at the 92nd minute. Nahuel Molina scored from the free-kick and the Dacia Arena erupted, before Vanja Milinkovic-Savic made a mess of a catch and gave away a penalty.
Ignacio Pussetto, who was fouled, scored from the penalty spot and gave Udinese their first home win in three months.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe new signings strike for Juventus
There is nothing better than buying a new player and watching him score in the first game. Possibly, there is: buying two new players and watching both of them score.
Dusan Vlahovic and Denis Zakaria scored against Verona and helped Juventus move in the top four for the first time this season.
Vlahovic demonstrated immediately that his form for Fiorentina wasn’t odd and that he is now ready to shine for a top club.
Simone Verdi strikes two beautiful free-kicks
After a disastrous spell for Torino, Simone Verdi took 15 minutes to score his first two goals for his new club. The Salernitana forward scored two direct free-kicks which made people wonder how his talent never emerged at Torino.
Spezia were tough to beat and replicated twice with penalties, scored by Rey Manaj first and Daniele Verde second.
The home side had a busy transfer window, bringing in players like Diego Perotti, Federico Fazio, Luigi Sepe and Verdi to boost the experience in order to obtain a miraculous comeback. It seems hard: 17th place is nine points away.
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