Results from round nine:
Serie A table:
Destro lives a magic moment, but Torino win
Torino and Genoa kickstarted a weekend of football with some decisive games in the bottom part of the table.
The Granata went up by two goals, only for Mattia Destro to score again, in what it’s his sixth goal in six games. The striker is often a player that lives of moments and will finally hope to give some continuity to his form over the season.
Genoa remain in the relegation zone, with Josip Brekalo’s winner meaning Felipe Caicedo’s first Genoa goal is worth close to nothing.
Super Candreva pleases Sampdoria
Sampdoria will hope this win can finally be the first of many, as they beat Spezia with another great performance by Antonio Candreva.
The midfielder took the free-kick which Emmanuel Gyasi deflected in his own net and later scored a goal of his own.
It’s the sixth (and seventh) time he contributed directly to a goal in the last six games. Meanwhile, Inter fans will be biting their hands for letting a yet-to-age winger go.
Empoli’s baby talents give a dreadful welcome to Stefano Colantuono
Andrea Pinamonti and Patrick Cutrone were rising stars in the Serie A some years ago. It hasn’t quite worked out for them, who had to try and restart their career off at Empoli.
The two were both on the scoresheet, with Pinamonti netting a brace against Salernitana, for Colantuono’s first game in charge.
It was a nightmare, as Empoli were 4-0 up at half-time. Salernitana’s two goals after the break don’t make the manager’s return any sweeter, as the Seahorses are full of problems.
Dionisi prevails on Zanetti, as Sassuolo close up on the top 10
The clash between the two youngest managers in Serie A, Alessio Dionisi and Paolo Zanetti, sees Sassuolo come out on top over Venezia.
The Neroverdi went down, with David Okereke scoring his second of the season, but came-back to clinch all three points.
Domenico Berardi was the man of the match, with Sassuolo finally showing some bits of play that recall the Andrea De Zerbi era.
Late Bennacer strike denies a miracle to nine men Bologna
Milan continue their awesome start to the season in what should have been a much easier run against Bologna.
Rafael Leao scored, as Adama Soumaoro was sent off for bringing down Rade Krunic at the edge of the box. When Davide Calabria made it 2-0, it seemed over, but Bologna somehow recovered in few minutes after half-time to equalise.
Roberto Soriano received another red card, but the Rossoblu held off until the 84th minute, when Ismael Bennacer netted a wondergoal and sent all the scares away.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic got one in stoppage time, after ironically scoring the own-goal which started Bologna’s come-back.
Beto and Udinese come-back after Malinovskyi’s wonder
Ruslan Malinovskyi’s danger from long-range is by now well known, as the Ukranian scored his 11th long shot since joining the league in 2019/20.
It looked as Atalanta could snatch all points, but Udinese got an equaliser in stoppage time, with Portuguese striker Beto netting from a corner.
After both teams hit the post once in the game, it was a well rescued point for Udinese.
Can Fiorentina finally challenge for Europe?
With the fifth win in nine games, Fiorentina tie Atalanta and look very convincing.
La Viola regularly featured in the top seven in this start of the season and it looks as if they finally found a good dimension with Vincenzo Italiano.
Cristiano Biraghi scored a penalty, Riccardo Saponara splendidly set up Nico Gonzalez and young star Dusan Vlahovic sealed the game with a direct free-kick.
The Serbian was booed by his own fans for not renewing the contract, but it looked like it was no problem for the striker.
Simeone’s party tears Lazio apart
With four goals in his last 33 games, few would have predicted Giovanni Simeone to return to life and score four goals, as Verona beat Lazio 4-1.
The Argentinian is always somebody who works hard and contributes to the game, but received some criticism in the past seasons for his lack of scoring.
He found six goals in his eight opening Verona matches. Can he return to be a prolific striker, as well as being a useful team player?
Roma end Napoli’s winning run
The defences triumphed over the attacks, as Roma keep Napoli at bay to end their eight-games winning run.
Both teams had multiple chances in what turned out to be a spectacular game, even if no goals were scored.
Napoli remain at the top, but are now tied with Milan. The only positive note being their good defensive score, with their sixth clean sheet in nine games.
Dybala saves the day, as Inter yet again waste a victory
85 minutes of control and then, not for the first time this season, a slip, an episode, which lets the opponents back into the game.
Inter showed up with great character to face Juventus and found the lead with Edin Dzeko, who scored his seventh Serie A goal of the season.
Juventus had a series of half chances, but things changed considerably when man of the match Ivan Perisic was taken off for Denzel Dumfries.
The Dutch winger gave out a silly penalty spotted by VAR, which meant Paulo Dybala equalised for Juventus on minute 89, as Inter can only blame themselves for not bringing the points home.
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