Juve outsmart title rivals Napoli
Juventus took a big step forward in the title race with a 1-0 win away to Napoli on Friday evening. The Partenopei were previously unbeaten in the league, but their former striker Gonzalo Higuain made the difference, scoring the only goal at the Stadio San Paolo.
Maurizio Sarri’s side played their usual style of neat possession-based football, but in truth Juve boss Max Allegri outsmarted his adversary, adjusting his tactics to neutralise the threat of the opposition. “Naturally against Napoli you have to close down their left flank and the vertical passing lines, while they tend to struggle with crosses,” the Bianconeri boss revealed after the match. “We had to remain organised and continue to direct Napoli towards the areas where they weren’t going to cause us problems.”
Inter rise to the top
Whilst fellow title rivals Juventus and Napoli battled it out on Friday evening, Inter managed to capitalise on the situation and rose to the top of Serie A with a 5-0 win over Chievo. While former Manchester United target Ivan Perisic bagged a hat-trick, striker Mauro Icardi moved into Inter’s top ten goal scorers list having fired in a total of 94 goals since arriving in summer 2013.
Coach Luciano Spalletti was, of course, delighted with the result, his side the only remaining team still unbeaten in Serie A. “We are on the right path,” he told reporters in his post-match press conference. “The team started well today and got even better, so there’s not much I can say. I just say well done and try to find the tiny flaw so we can improve further.”
The result now sets up a mouth-watering clash with Juventus on Saturday, the Bianconeri trailing Inter by just one point in the table.
Last gasp equaliser stuns Gattuso
Gennaro Gattuso endured a painful start to his tenure as Milan Coach when minnows Benevento -- who had lost all 14 of their opening matches in the Italian top-flight -- secured their first ever point thanks to a dramatic 96th-minute equaliser from their goalkeeper. Alberto Brignoli earned the Campanian outfit a 2-2 draw sending the media and supporters alike into a frenzy.
😮 INJURY TIME, GOALKEEPER DIVING HEADER EQUALISER 😮
Sensational drama at Benevento 👏
“It’s a dream to be in Serie A, one we hoped would be better than this,” said Brignole, the hero of the hour. “I thought to myself it’s 2-1 and the 95th minute, we had nothing to lose. I went up there, closed my eyes and jumped. It was a goalkeeper’s dive rather than one of a striker!”
Meanwhile, Gattuso faces a battle to move on from such a disappointment in his first match in charge, the pressure now on him to improve his side’s fortunes sooner rather than later. “It hurts, I can say that,” the former combative midfielder told Sky Italia. “A stabbing would’ve been less painful than this goal.
“We suffered in the final 15 minutes, but conceded a bizarre goal. I never would’ve expected to concede at the last second with the opposition goalkeeper on target.”
