Results from round 33:
Serie A table:
Inter’s fate remains in their hands
By winning every game, the Nerazzurri would be champions, but, for now, they remain second in the table, with Milan having played a game more.
Their third consecutive victory proved their worst moment appears to be over, and it showed with a performance against Spezia that saw the return on the scoresheet for Marcelo Brozovic, Lautaro Martinez and Alexis Sanchez.
Spezia tried their best to remain in the game, with captain Giulio Maggiore also pulling a goal back late on, for his first of the campaign, before Sanchez sealed the victory in stoppage time.
Milan end their drought and keep first place
After two consecutive games without goals, Milan scored one per half, with Rafael Leao and Junior Messias, to win over Genoa. It was the seventh consecutive clean sheet for the Rossoneri.
A clinical performance which saw them send Inter back to second place, having played just few hours before. Milan will face five difficult games until the end of the campaign and are proving solid defensively, now also capable of scoring.
Meanwhile, for Genoa the situation is critical, having just five games left to make up six points over Cagliari.
Cagliari win in their lucky time
The lunchtime matches are bringing fortunes to Cagliari in a miserable season. The Sardinians make a step towards safety with their sixth win of the season.
Five of these victories came at 12:30, time of the day in which they are unbeaten this season, with two further draws.
Alessandro Deiola scored the winner, to deny Sassuolo. The Neroverdi lost a chance to stay in the fight for the top seven. A target which will likely not be reached, despite a great second half of the season.
Embed from Getty ImagesEarly goals for Salernitana keep Sampdoria worried
Salernitana went 2-0 up within six minutes to shock Sampdoria. It was unexpected, considering Salernitana had only won three games all season.
The situation remains tragic, but for Davide Nicola’s men it is good to end the year on a high, despite being nine points behind Cagliari. A win for Sampdoria would almost certainly have meant survival, but Marco Giampaolo’s team remain stuck at 29 points.
It is the 11th defeat of 2022 for the Blucerchiati, in just 14 games. It is a negative record in the top five leagues.
Embed from Getty ImagesUdinese continue their terrific run against Empoli
Gabriele Cioffi’s Udinese got their third consecutive win, with another thrashing, 4-1 against Empoli. It extended a streak of eight consecutive games with just one defeat (to Napoli).
Everything seems to be going wrong for Empoli, at the moment, apart from the fact that relegation contenders struggle to score points.
Andrea Pinamonti’s penalty goal, when 2-0 down, wasn’t enough to push the Tuscans towards a result. It was unfortunate for goalkeeper Matteo Silvestri, who was yet to save a Serie A kick from the spot, and had saved the first attempt, which was to be repeated.
This result might push Udinese towards a surprising attempt to finish in the top 10, as they looked set to being involved in a relegation scrap just months ago.
Lucas Torreira strikes again
With his third goal in the last four games, Lucas Torreira helped Fiorentina move past Venezia and remain well in the hunt for Europe, ahead of a Coppa Italia semifinal against Juventus.
The midfielder is not known for his numerous goals, but his side is unbeaten when he scores. This time, it was down to Venezia to suffer this fate.
The Lagunari have to desperately score points to remain in the Serie A but were dominated and condemned to a side role for most of the game.
Embed from Getty ImagesJuventus rescue it late against wasteful Bologna
Bologna played the perfect game for 83 minutes, striking with Marko Arnautovic (sixth consecutive goal scored by the Austrian for Bologna) to pull a 1-0 lead and looking to hold on.
The situation changed when Adama Sumaoro tackled Alvaro Morata at the edge of the box. Play went on, as Juan Cuadrado struck the post with the open goal.
VAR intervened, thinking it could be a penalty, but the tackle was outside of the box. This resulted in a red card, after which Gary Medel lost his head, going face to face with the referee and seeing red, too.
Nine against 11, Bologna resisted until stoppage time, when Dusan Vlahovic deflected in a bycicle-kick from Alvaro Morata.
Pellegri’s goal is cancelled out late again for Torino
Pietro Pellegri scored his first goal in more than a year. His fourth in the Serie A overall, after he became one of the youngest goalscorers ever in 2017.
All his four goals came against Roman teams.
However, Torino were reached in stoppage time by Lazio, who drop behind in the race for Europe. It’s a curious trend for both teams: Torino fans will be angry for conceding again late on, whilst Lazio, in particular Immobile, have a tendency to score late.
Late man El Shaarawy condemns Napoli
Luciano Spalletti was held to a draw from his former side, as Napoli drop four points behind Milan and risk abandoning the title race.
Lorenzo Insigne, who was seen in tears after the game, scored an early penalty, but Stephan El Shaarawy, who scored all his 2021/22 Serie A goals in stoppage time, earned Jose Mourinho’s side a deserved point.
Napoli lacked the winning instinct to hold on to the three points, in another false step at the Stadio Maradona.
Atalanta suffer a huge blow in the European race
The second-half of the season went all wrong for Atalanta and Gian Piero Gasperini risks missing out on Europe with Atalanta for the first time after five successful years.
Hellas Verona won 2-1 at the Gewiss Stadium to close up to just three points, as la Dea even risk missing out on the top eight. Federico Ceccherini’s first goal in four years and Teun Koopmeiners’ own goal made vain Giorgio Scalvini’s first ever Serie A goal.
The Gialloblu, who hit the woodwork three times, inflicted Gasperini a third consecutive Serie A defeat. It is the first time since becoming manager of Atalanta in 2016.
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