Results from round five:
Serie A table:
Late drama as Bologna and Genoa share the spoils
Bologna and Genoa fail to get all three points, with the home side going up twice on the score, but being caught both times in the space of few minutes.
Scottish full-back Aaron Hickey found his first Serie A goal, getting the lead for Bologna, but it was Mattia Destro, a former Bologna player, who scored the next one.
Marko Arnautovic netted a penalty with five minutes to go, as it looked like Bologna would finally get the win, but it was another penalty which allowed Domenico Criscito to snatch a late draw for Genoa.
The wing-backs allow Atalanta to pick up form
It’s the first home win of the season for Atalanta, who scored both goals thanks to wing-backs Robin Gosens and Davide Zappacosta.
Finally, La Dea can get consecutive victories, moving up to 10 points. It was a great night for Zappacosta, who is demonstrating he can still play for a top team.
On the other hand, Sassuolo lose their third consecutive game and drop closer to the danger zone.
Inter’s great second-half come-back denies Fiorentina
For 45 minutes, Fiorentina held the upper hand, thanks to a heroic performance which culminated in Riccardo Sottil’s goal, giving the lead against Inter.
Samir Handanovic was called up multiple times, as it looked like the champions were set to struggle. However, Inter reentered the pitch completely differently and won the game with Matteo Darmian and Edin Dzeko scoring in quick succession.
Ivan Perisic sealed the victory late on, as Inter show great character, whilst Fiorentina are denied, having conceded eight out of their nine Serie A goals in the second-half.
Juventus live a scare but get their first win
Five games into the season and Juventus finally get their first win. It was much harder than they hoped, but Massimiliano Allegri was actually happy it came that way, to avoid complacency from his side.
Moise Kean scored the first goal since his return, but Juventus were caught minutes later by Spezia’s Emmanuel Gyasi, who ironically celebrated like Cristiano Ronaldo.
Thiago Motta’s side even went up 2-1, before Federico Chiesa and Matthijs De Ligt turned the result around. Wojciech Szczesny redeemed his poor start to the season with a super save late on, as Juventus hope to change their fortunes.
Salernitana ruin Nikola Kalinic’s day
Verona fans were hoping on a prosperous Verona career for Kalinic, as the Croatian was signed last season. However, the first year was one to forget. The striker managed just 19 games, with a poor score of two goals.
He already equalised the tally from last season, with a brace against Salernitana coming in the first 45 minutes. He could even add a third, but struck the crossbar.
Salernitana could consider themselves lucky, as Verona hit the woodwork twice, but Cedric Gondo and Mamadou Coulibaly scored to give the Garnets their first points of the season.
Theo Hernandez’s substitution wins the game for Milan
Venezia were trying all they could to fend off Milan’s and Rafael Leao’s initiatives and did a fine job to resist for more than an hour.
Stefano Pioli put on the youngest 11 thus far, with an average age of 24 years and five months, rotating the squad against the newly-promoted side.
It took long, but when left-back Hernandez came on, he ripped apart the Lagunari with his power and creativity. He assisted Brahim Diaz and then got his goal, as Milan establish themselves as Serie A’s best defence.
Empoli win relegation clash against Cagliari
It might be too soon to talk about relegation, but it’s likely that Empoli and Cagliari will have to fight hard to remain in the Serie A.
Empoli get a slight advantage over the rivals, deservedly winning a game thanks to Federico Di Francesco and Leo Stulac.
It’s Empoli’s second win of the season, once again coming away from the Stadio Castellani, after that with Juventus earlier on. Cagliari, on the other hand, are 19th with just two points to their account.
Can anyone stop Napoli?
Five games into the season and there is still a team with a full score. Luciano Spalletti’s Napoli keep winning, thrashing Sampdoria at their ground with a 4-0.
What stands up is the relative ease with which the team can find goals, despite not quite dominating the first-half.
They have the second-best attack, behind Inter, and the best defence, tied with Milan. Conceding only two goals in five matches is a serious number, as the run of games that is coming up could see them remaining in the lead.
Immobile’s late penalty rescues struggling Lazio
Against the odds, Torino were coming onto the game in high spirits, after winning their last two games. Lazio, meanwhile, failed to win their last two.
The goalkeepers were called up several times, with Pepe Reina keeping Lazio in contention with some important saves, even after Marko Pjaca’s goal at the 76th minute.
Torino looked to be holding on, but Vedat Muriqi gained a penalty, which Ciro Immobile converted in stoppage time to equalise for Lazio.
Is there any chance we could see Pellegrini in the derby?
With six goals and two assists in eight games this campaign, midfielder Lorenzo Pellegrini is the real star of Jose Mourinho’s Roma.
However, he is set to miss the Derby della Capitale against Lazio this weekend, given his sending off in the last minute of the game against Udinese. Roma still pulled it off and won 1-0 thanks to a goal by Tammy Abraham.
Mourinho seemed unhappy about the double yellow, deeming very exaggerated the decision and claiming he would do all he can to bring justice and allow Pellegrini to play. It seems deeply unlikely that this could happen, but never underestimate the Special One.
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