By Edoardo Stella
Results from round 27 of the 2020/21 season:
Serie A table:
Simy’s records doesn’t prove enough for Crotone.
Simy became the most prolific Nigerian in a single Serie A season, beating Obafemi Martins’s record of 11 goals that had lasted since the 2004/05 season. His two goals also made him the most prolific player in the history of Crotone.
Lazio went up twice with goals from Luis Alberto and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, but always appeared to relax after scoring which allowed the Pitagorics to come-back twice.
It was the Ecuadorian Felipe Caicedo, a specialist of winning goals to rescue Lazio, as his contribution is vital given Ciro Immobile’s poor form.
Atalanta keep shining
Spezia had a positive first-half against Atalanta, as two teams that play very openly appeared to balance each other. However, in the second half it all changed pretty quickly, as a one-two in quick succession put the home side 2-0 up.
The Croatian Mario Pasalic started the show before Luis Muriel scored another wonder goal from outside the box. Muriel has contributed to 14 goals in 2021 and that number becomes 19 if we consider his latest 12 starts.
Pasalic scored his second towards the end, rounding the score, before Atalanta-owned Roberto Piccoli made it 3-1.
Sassuolo get back ahead of Verona
There were high emotions in the Saturday match between eighth and ninth-placed Sassuolo and Verona. Verona made use of Sassuolo’s poor form to get past the Neroverdi, but this game offered the chance for a counter-overtake.
Manuel Locatelli gave Sassuolo the lead, as Verona pushed for an equaliser which came late into the first-half thanks to Darko Lazovic. Verona were surprised again early on by Filip Djuricic, as the second half was largely spent in their opponent’s half.
Verona’s efforts were repaid with Federico Dimarco’s wonder goal, but just as they equalised, they switched off, with Hamed Traore scoring the winner just seconds later.
Embed from Getty ImagesDusan Vlahovic sends Benevento to hell
The Fiorentina striker keeps ensuring everyone knows his name, as he became the first La Viola player to score a hat-trick within the first-half since 1964. It was over after 45 minutes, as the Serbian concluded his formidable form with a strike from outside the box.
The 21-year-old is one of the few players born in the second millennium on double scoring figures this season and is quickly making himself known.
Benevento are down in 16th place and remain winless, still putting their trust in Filippo Inzaghi.
Genoa and Udinese help each other
There are moments when a draw can be considered a loss, but also games where a draw is more than positive.
Udinese and Genoa do each other no harm, gaining a point each to move up to 33 and 28 points respectively. Veteran Goran Pandev made it 1-0, before captain Rodrigo De Paul equalised from the spot.
Udinese had more chances, but it was Genoa who appeared threatening during stoppage time, with major chances for Miha Zajc and Valon Behrami.
Mattias Svanberg and Musa Barrow carry Bologna
Bologna does not have the consistency of a top team, but show class at times and once again; they were on the positive end against Sampdoria.
Both Barrow and Svanberg got a goal and assist each for a 3-1 result that puts Bologna two points behind the top 10.
Fabio Quagliarella sets some milestones, with his 400th start in the Serie A and his 93rd Sampdoria goal, which projects him at second place in the club’s history.
Crucial win for Inter as Torino come short
Torino’s “cuore granata” (garnet heart) came very close to ending Inter’s winning run, but their efforts were stopped, together with the hopes of Milan and Juventus fans, within five minutes to the end.
Romelu Lukaku struggled all game long, but was very cool when called to the spot after Lautaro Martinez was fouled. Gleison Bremer had vigorously led Torino’s defence and whilst it looked like Inter’s goal could finally seal the game, it took very short for Antonio Sanabria to make it two goals in two appearances.
It looked like Inter could finally be stopped in a frustrating game, but Alexis Sanchez invented the perfect cross which Lautaro Martinez beautifully converted in for the eighth consecutive win.
Parma finally get their reward in an unusual Roma defeat
After conceding four come-back games in the last five and being winless for 17, Parma finally pick up all three points and it come in a spectacular way by keeping Roma at bay, which had won nearly every game against smaller sides.
Parma have the players and the style of play for an honest permanence in the Serie A, so beware from counting them out yet.
Roma, instead, slip behind Atalanta and Napoli out of the top four and have looked less sharper than usual in the latest games.
Cristiano Ronaldo silences his critics
It was a bitter week for Juventus, with the elimination from the Champions League by FC Porto and criticism, particularly for Ronaldo, didn’t take long to arrive.
The Portuguese released all his talent against Cagliari, even doing better than Vlahovic did the day before, to score a hat-trick in half an hour. Cagliari took courage to play Juventus vis-à-vis, but Ronaldo was just too much.
There was a positive note for Giovanni Simeone, who broke his goal drought. Juventus, instead, with just the league left to play, aside from the Coppa Italia final in May, warn Inter: it will be an incredible fight until the end.
Politano ends Milan’s chances
Milan can’t seem to catch a break with injuries, as absences keep haunting them. After spending the first 21 games on top of the table, Milan have declined quickly, with former Inter player Matteo Politano giving them the coup de grace.
Napoli played their chances at the San Siro and close up to the top four. Milan, now, should entirely start watching on their back.
The nine points gap from Inter seems just too much and they would also slip behind Juventus should they win their game in hand.
For Edoardo’s previous Serie A column click here.
For more football content click here.
For more sport content click here.
1 thought on “Serie A Summary – Matchweek 27”