It was an exciting weekend at the top of the Serie A table, with champions Juventus losing ground to Napoli and Milan feeling the heat after a second league defeat in a row. Inter are quietly building momentum, whilst Lazio showed their prowess with an emphatic victory over Sassuolo. Here’s five things we learned in round seven:
Napoli last man standing
Maurizio Sarri’s Napoli remain the only side unbeaten in Serie A after Juventus could only secure a point away to Atalanta. A 3-0 victory over Cagliari saw the Partenopei turn on the style once again, and now join Barcelona as the only side in Europe’s top five leagues that are still unbeaten. The Neapolitans look to be mounting a credible title challenge to the Bianconeri, and have scored no less than three goals in all seven of their encounters, lagging behind only Paris Saint Germain (27) with their 25 goals scored.
The side also made history as the first Serie A team to ever notch up seven straight wins with at least 25 goals scored, and Skipper Marek Hamsik moved closer to a personal record too. The Slovakian midfielder opened the scoring after just four minutes, firing in his 114th strike for the club. This tally now moves him within one goal of Diego Maradona’s Napoli goalscoring record, an achievement that looks set to be surpassed sooner rather than later.
Montella under Pressure as Roma shine
Alessandro Florenzi scored his first competitive goal for 546 days after suffering consecutive ACL tears last term as Roma defeated Milan 2-0 at San Siro. Edin Dzeko was also on the scoresheet, and the Giallorossi have now equalled their all-time record of 27 Serie A games with at least one goal scored.
Despite back-to-back defeats, Milan boss Vincenzo Montella refused to show any signs of disappointment after the match. “I was much more worried after the Sampdoria game, where I couldn’t figure out what had happened,” the coach told Mediaset Premium.
“I think Milan played on level terms with Roma. Even down to 10 men, we didn’t fall apart. I think this is the right track, the lads had the correct attitude.”
Atalanta hold Juve
Europa League exploits did not hold Gian Piero Gasperini’s side back as La Dea held Juventus to a 2-2 draw at home on Sunday evening. The Bergamaschi battled hard after going 2-0 down to early goals from Gonzalo Higuain and Mario Mandzukic, when other sides would have simply crumbled. Juve were awarded a controversial VAR penalty after Andrea Petagna was adjudged to have handled in the area, but Paulo Dybala missed the resulting spot-kick for the first time in his career.
Regular viewers of Serie A would not have been surprised by the comeback – especially as Atalanta did the same in the corresponding fixture last term – but Gasperini assured there is no magic formula. “There’s no secret,” he said after the match. “We’ve been working the same way with this identity for 15 months, we’re introducing new players, have great spirit and enthusiasm that allows us to complete these comebacks. Frankly, it’s about time we start taking the lead occasionally! I know it’s fun to fight back, but we don’t have to every time….”
Lazio recover to smash Sassuolo
Supporters at the Stadio Olimpico may have been worried for a while as Sassuolo went 1-0 up to Lazio after almost half an hour but any anxiety proved to be unfounded as the Aquile came back in sensational style. Simone Inzaghi’s side now move up to fourth in the table with 16 points from their opening seven fixtures, with striker Ciro Immobile adding his ninth goal of the campaign so far.
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Inter quietly maintaining pace with the leaders
Luciano Spalletti was pleased with his Inter side after they beat bottom of the league Benevento 2-1 away from home this weekend. Marcelo Brozovic was the hero of the day with a brace, but the new boys made it tough for the visitors. The Campanian minnows were only denied an equaliser by the upright, but remain without a single point in the opening seven rounds of their debut Serie A season.
