Results from round 28:
Serie A table:
Inter get back running after some time
A win against the bottom of the table may not be as significant, but Inter had to send a message to all their rivals and to themselves. They were winless in five games and goalless in more than 400 minutes.
They were convincing from the first minute and carried by Lautaro Martinez, who scored a hat-trick and finally found his first league goals in 2022. There was even time for Edin Dzeko to score two.
Inter will need to replicate these performances should they want to bounce back, after depleting their advantage at the top.
It all happens in the early stages for Udinese and Sampdoria
A crucial win helps Udinese make another important step forward and leave Sampdoria in a dangerous zone after the two were previously tied at 26 points.
It all happened in the first 13 minutes, with Udinese moving two goals up, before Francesco Caputo pulled one back for his team.
Sampdoria have lost every single away game under Marco Giampaolo, despite winning every home one and not even the return on an Italian pitch for Sebastian Giovinco could prevent it.
Tammy Abraham is Roma’s main man
For the first time in more than two months, Roma get consecutive wins and it was very significant that it came against Atalanta. Gian Piero Gasperini’s men struggled and got their third defeat in five games.
Tammy Abraham scored again to make it 20 in all competitions and proving to be a great signing by the Giallorossi. It’s now seven unbeaten games for Roma, after dropping as low as eighth in the table, they now caught Atalanta in fifth.
For the first time in four years, Roma finally have a player that can break the milestone of 20 goals in a season and will hope that Abraham can continue in this way for the final three months.
Lazio’s improvements put them back in the hunt for Europe
Five clean sheets in the last seven games. Lazio will be very pleased with this trend, after only getting two in the first 21 games. Lazio went from having the 16th best defence, to the ninth best.
It wasn’t meant to be easy, even if Cagliari are 17th, as Walter Mazzarri’s team were unbeaten in seven of their last eight games. However, Ciro Immobile soon put his team up with a penalty to become Lazio’s most prolific Serie A player ever.
Luis Alberto and Felipe Anderson finished two great pieces of play, to send the Biancocelesti to within a point of Roma and Atalanta.
Embed from Getty ImagesGenoa and Empoli still winless
Sunday’s match was a chance for either Genoa or Empoli to find their first win of 2022, as the two teams were the only ones in the league to not have won yet.
However, it ended 0-0, with the result being just more favourable for Empoli, given Genoa remain in the heart of the relegation zone. It’s their sixth draw in a row, fourth goalless, but they are seven points behind Cagliari after just a win in 28 games.
Fiorentina denied by fighting Verona
Two teams that like to play open football produced an exciting game, in which Verona held the ball and Fiorentina created chances. Krzysztof Piatek and Gianluca Caprari were on the scoresheet in the first-half, before both teams missed a serious of goal scoring opportunities.
For both teams it’s a hugely lost chance to remain in the hunt for European places, as both demonstrated to play great football and get important results, but lack a lot of consistency.
Verona’s positive note is that Caprari’s 10th goal means they are, together with Liverpool, the only European club in the top five leagues to have three players with at least 10 league goals.
Embed from Getty ImagesLukasz Skorupski holds off Torino
Bologna denied Torino in a balanced game, which ended 0-0 to keep both sides in a safe 11th and 12th place.
Bologna goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski was protagonist with two great saves in two minutes on Wilfred Singo and Koffie Djidji.
It’s Torino’s sixth winless game in a row and this means they are now five points behind the top half of the table.
Embed from Getty ImagesSassuolo are finally returning to their best
After finishing so comfortably in the top 10 in 2020/21, and looking like the only threat to the “seven sisters”, Sassuolo are finally coming back to showing great things after a slow start to this campaign.
A decisive 4-1 win against Venezia gave them their third win in a row, as all the attackers, Gianluca Scamacca, Giacomo Raspadori and Domenico Berardi, scored. Since matchday 10, Sassuolo have had a run of form only four points shy of a top four finish.
This could perhaps hint that new coach Alessio Dionisi’s work is finally kicking in. The same cannot be said about Venezia, who stayed out of the relegation zone for most of the season. However, their poor form makes it look like there is no way back out of it for them.
Juventus’ “corto muso” strikes again
The expression “corto muso” has gained popularity in Italy thanks to Massimiliano Allegri. It literally means that, in horse racing, winning by the slightest of margins is enough and there is no need to win by a wide margin.
This has been Juventus’s mantra this season, as the Bianconeri have rarely won with more than a goal margin and haven’t won any game by more than two in the league. Their recent 1-0 win against Spezia said it all again.
Alvaro Morata’s strike allowed Juventus to get all three points and, whether this is out of choice, or purely because Juventus find it hard to dominate and score more, this series of results keeps them with the lead of the table still in sight.
Olivier Giroud is the man for the title
Olivier Giroud has broken the number nine curse at Milan. The Rossoneri wanted a striker with great experience and quality and they can finally say they found one.
Giroud scored his first goal away from the San Siro against title rivals Napoli to send Milan alone at the top of the table. It was another important goal after the two he scored against Inter.
This game was a do-or-die and Napoli’s defeat is a serious blow for their title hopes. On the other hand, this is really the closest Milan have been in the last 10 years. Considering they have the head-to-head advantage on Inter, they really have a highway in front.
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