Serie A Round-up: Torino end Juventus’ record-breaking run while Lazio run riot
The Derby della Mole produced an upset result in week 35 of Serie A with Torino going within moments of securing a historic win at Juventus Stadium, eventually settling for a draw. It was a result that ended the Bianconeri’s league record of 33 consecutive wins at home, a run that began back in September 2015.
Napoli, Roma and Lazio were the only clubs in the top 15 to record wins in a week, which saw a total of 35 goals recorded.
Cagliari kicked off the weekend’s proceedings with a tough trip to Napoli and barely had time to settle into the San Paolo surroundings before the Partenopei had opened the scoring.
Dries Mertens tapping in from a Faouzi Ghoulam cross in the second minute, the same duo combined to double their lead early in the second half, before Mertens turned provider for Lorenzo Insigne to all but seal the three points.
Diego Farias grabbed a late consolation for the visitors in stoppage time, Napoli finishing 3-1 victors in yet another dominant performance.
Saturday evening’s Derby della Mole came just days after the 68th anniversary of the tragic Superga air disaster.
Torino looked an inspired team at Juventus Stadium and kept the home side scoreless for the first half. Adem Ljajic produced an inch-perfect free kick to give il toro a surprise lead on 52 minutes.
The visitors clung to their lead as the Bianconeri pushed forward, coming close on multiple occasions but unable to find the net in ninety minutes of normal time.
Though one minute into stoppage time, Gonzalo Higuain stepped up and out of nothing, turned and drilled the ball past Joe Hart to clinch a hard fought point. Torino were left heartbroken however left the premises with pride, having ended the Old Lady’s winning streak at the stadium.
An incredible twenty-nine goals would flow on an action packed Sunday of eight Serie A matches. Ten of those goals would come in Sampdoria’s visit to Lazio, where the Romans put on another attacking master class.
Keita Balde got the goal fest underway in the second minute, finishing off a swift attacking play to continue his impressive goalscoring form. A penalty on 19 minutes gave Ciro Immobile the chance to double the score and the Italian international made no mistake.
The Blucerchiati halved the deficit when Karol Linetty slotted in a ball delivered across the face of goal from Fabio Quagliarella, and a competitive match looked to be brewing.
Though three goals in the final 10 minutes of the half had almost certainly won the Biancocelesti the match as the half-time whistle blew, thanks to goals from Wesley Hoedt, Felipe Anderson (penalty) and Stefan de Vrij.
Senad Lulic and Immobile added to the monumental score line in the second-half before a Quagliarella brace clawed back a small amount of respect for Samp, who finished on the wrong end of a 7-3 score line.
Fiorentina faced a challenging away match to Sassuolo and after resisting early pressure, Federico Bernardeschi won his side a penalty after being brought down in the box. Nikola Kalinic was unable to convert from the spot or with the follow up, however Federico Chieso made no mistake just four minutes later, finishing off a stunning chipped ball over the defence from Borja Valero.
The match remained at 1-0 until the 74th minute when Gonzalo Rodriguez brought down Domenico Berardi and earned himself a second yellow card, before Matteo Politano equalised with the subsequent penalty.
Pietro Iemmello looked to have stole the match for the home side after heading home from a corner however Bernardeschi produced an inspired 94th-minute left-foot shot around the keeper to save Fiorentina from a second-straight loss; 2-2 the final score.
Inter’s trip to Genoa brought about another uninspiring performance from the Nerazzurri, who remained locked at 0-0 with the struggling Rossoblu for 70 minutes.
It was the home team who would shock the league when Miguel Veloso’s long-range shot parried off the bar and into the path of the former Inter striker, Goran Pandev, who volleyed past Samir Handanovic for the lead.
The 1-0 score line would remain until the final whistle, handing Genoa just their second win in twenty matches while condemning Inter to seven games without a victory.
Crotone kept their incredible run of results going by defeating Pescara 1-0, however their survival campaign was stunted by Empoli’s 3-1 win over Bologna. Meanwhile, Palermo’s relegation was officially confirmed following their draw away to Chievo, joining Pescara in the drop down to Serie B next season.
The weekend of Serie A was capped off with Milan hosting second-placed Roma on Sunday evening at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza.
Edin Dzeko had the away fans celebrating after just eight minutes, finishing off a superb exchange between himself and Mohamed Salah with a shot into the top-right corner.
Gianluigi Donnarumma and Wojciech Szczesny exchanged stunning saves on long-range efforts from Diego Perotti and Sosa respectively before Dzeko headed home for his second off a Leandro Paredes corner.
A 75th-minute Mario Pasalic strike would only provide a brief consolation for the Rossoneri, before Stephan El Shaarawy blasted past Donnarumma just two minutes later, with Daniele De Rossi converting a penalty in the final minutes to secure a 4-1 score line.
The Giallorossi reclaimed second position from Napoli with their emphatic victory, and will now have the minds firmly focused on their home encounter against top of the table Juventus.
Both Milan giants remain winless in their last four outings, all but confirming Atalanta’s Europa League qualification for next season.