Serie A Weekly Review Match Day 21 #752


Napoli 2 Juventus 1FT


Juventus would be given a chance to increase their lead at the top even more so than they already have. Over the last couple weeks the league leaders have started to pull away slightly leaving Lazio and Inter Milan a little bit behind. A win this weekend would have given them a little bit more cushion than before. It would be one of the most anticipated matches of the weekend. That’s right it would be Napoli against Juventus at the stadio San Paolo. While many believed that Napoli would be one of the teams to take the scudetto back to Naples finally the season has gone a little bit backwards. Carlo ancelotti was sacked and Napoli fell out of the title race almost as soon as it began. Napoli find themselves outside of the top 10 and the team has not improved that much under Gattuso either it has been a disaster as they are dealing with one of the worst seasons they’ve ever had. In the first meeting Napoli nearly erased a three-goal deficit to ultimately lose 4-3 with an unfortunate own goal by coulibaly. They will be at the San Paolo with a chance to pull off the upset. It would be the return of Maurizio sarri in Napoli. The Italian manager had spent several years there including two of their best seasons this decade. Juventus have been on fire largely to Cristiano Ronaldo Napoli would have the chance to slow them down. Napoli have been so bad this season the percetions was that they didn’t even stand a chance going into it. However when they kicked off they were the better team throughout the match. They controlled possession they had more of the ball and they came close on so many opportunities especially early in the game. Juventus had their moments but overall they struggled all the momentum was with Napoli for the majority of the game. There were chances for Gonzalo Higuain and Cristiano Ronaldo and others but for the most part Napoli felt the control early in the game and they drove it into the second half. It was a goalless first the despite chances that came close for Napoli and Juventus but once the second half hit Napoli dominated the league leaders there have been many games like this in which Juventus finds ways to win matches like this even though Napoli was in control in the past they had locked in like this. However this weekend was not going to be one of those days. Napoli have been absolutely terrible this season but they found the right time to heat it up. Eventually Napoli broke through after Napoli came forward Szczensy blocked a shot from Millik however at the right place at the right time would be  zielinski who delivered a blow putting the ball into the back of the net in the second half. Juventus continued to try to get back in the game it nearly happened when Gonzalo Higuain hit the post and Ronaldo missed a Surefire goal a few minutes later. It was a back-and-forth game but Napoli remained in complete control of the destiny playing with the lead after a dead play that went long outside on the wing Fabian Ruiz Delivered a perfect ball into the box to find Lorenzo insigne who smashed a ball into the top corner to give a Napoli a 2-0 lead. However Juventus never die they always come back. Ronaldo ended up scoring in the 90th minute to minimize the deficit. Then in the closing moments in stoppage-time Gonzalo Higuain gave Juventus a chance to earn that point but his acrobatic bicycle kick was denied by Alex meret as Napoli held on to earn a 2-1 victory that they needed. Fortunately for Juventus Lazio dropped points against Roma and Inter Milan dropped points against Cagliari. Despite the loss Juventus still remains in control of the league at least for now. In what was a very underwhelming performance for the league leaders.


A.S Roma 1 Lazio 1FT


Sunday night we saw another edition of one of football’s most antagonizing exciting and exhilarating Derbies throughout Europe. The Roman Derby between Roma and Lazio a derby that means everything to everyone in the city. Roma and Lazio played out a 1-1 draw in the first match of this fixture earlier this season. In that particular game Lazio dominate the match and probably should have won the game. Sunday night it was polar opposite of that. Lazio had an 11-game winning streak going prior to this matchup they are the most in-form team in Italian football. Meanwhile Roma have gone through a rough peroid Since returning from winter break as their Ambitions are to get back into the champions league and had an opportunity to do that with points in this match. It was a match that Roma dominated from start to finish and probably should have collected all three points. To a certain extent Lazio were exposed for the world to see. There have been discussions that Lazio are contending for the scudetto after the performance it would be in serious doubt after Roma made them look slow unathletic and average. It was a a compilation of goalkeeping errors that led to the goals but Roma still ran Wild on the Lazio and we’re a little unlucky not to a pick up all three points. Edin dzeko gave Roma the lead in the first half after Thomas strakosha made a huge error as he came out of the box leaving open net to try to attend to the ball that was being sent in from the wing. Coming forward with 6-foot 4 Edin dzeko the Bosnian connected with the ball scoring on a header as he saw the ball fall into the empty net as Roma took the 1-0 lead. Soon after that there was a penalty claim as Justin kluivert was taking out inside the box. After a VAR review the penalty was ultimately canceled. In what was a slightly controversial decision. However at Second Glance it looked like kluivert just ran into the defender. Before the end of the half Roma’s goalkeeper made a mistake Paul Lopez made a huge error somewhat punching the ball back into his own net before Francesco Acerbi got to the ball to put it in the back of the net. To goalkeeping errors highlighted the first half of play. In the second half Roma dominated from the very beginning to the very end. They were the better team they look dangerous on so many occasions from Back to Front. Edin dzeko Bryan cristante and Cengiz under looks absolutely Unstoppable they were on the verge of scoring on so many different opportunities. Had Roma finished a little bit more clinically in front of goal they surely would have won the Derby and earned the bragging rights. However Roma ended Lazio 11-game winning streak and kind of expose them for who they are. Lazio struggled to do anything against Roma as they created next to nothing. Roma have to feel disappointed that they were not able to pick up all three points but with the 1-1 draw Inter Milan remains in second, Juventus losing to Napli doesn’t do as much damage and Roma slide up back into fourth place. A match that could have been much more for Roma but Roma proved their point after that performance Lazio clearly isn’t what we thought they were.






Inter Milan 1 Cagliari 1FT


Inter Milan portrayed themselves as title contenders this season they started incredibly hot and we’re in the driver seat for much of the first half of the season. However in the last 2 weeks enter has struggled to pick up points with two draws against relegation-threatened Lecce and the League’s most potent attack Atalanta. Inter Milan underperformed in both of these games and we’re on the verge of losing their sizzle. The more games Inter Milan drop the harder it’s going to be to get themselves back in the driver’s seat with the possibility of winning their first league title in a decade. Antonio Conte and Inter Milan we’re looking to put their last two weeks behind them as they try to minimize the Gap at the top of the league. They would welcome an ambitious Caglarli team who is dealing with some inconsistencies of their own. after being in the conversation for Champions League football this year the Dark Horse team from Sardinia has significantly struggled since the start of the New Year. This was a perfect opportunity for Inter Milan to finally get back on track. Meanwhile Cagalri had some Ambitions as former Inter Milan midfielder radja nainggolan who is on loan would look for revenge of his own for the team giving up on him a despite him scoring the goal that took them into the Champions League this season. It was a very balanced match up both teams had their moments and there wasn’t really a clear team that seemsed to have that momentum. It was a little concerning throughout the game for Inter Milan as they seemed not to have that killer instinct that they had in the early parts of the season. The momentum they had has just evaporated and Inter Milan seem to continue to struggle. They were chances exchange from both set the teams in the first half. Caglari came close on a couple of occasions but Samir handanovic continue to display a world-class qualities from The Inter Milan goalkeeper to keep things level. Inter Milan would eventually get that goal they were looking for close to the half-hour Mark new Inter Milan signing Ashley Young sent in a beautifully had cross to Martinez. The young Argentine viciously put his head through the cross as a ball ripped through the back of the net to give Inter Milan a 1-0 lead. In the second half Caglalri tried to find their way back into the game much like Inter Milan they were looking for that momentum to make the biggest difference in the game. Caglalri controlled possession and try to put something together to try to steal points from underneath them late in the match. In the second half they came close a couple of times and Inter Milan even though it wasn’t their best had some real opportunities especially from romelu Lukaku who misfired on a breakaway. Eventually that moment would come for then radja nainggolan would get his revenge the Belgium Struck from outside the box taking a slight deflection rolling into the back of the net to equalize for Caglalri making it 1-1 with not much time remaining. Romelu Lukaku came close again late in the match but it seemed like the writing was already on the wall. Then in the very late part of the game in the closing moments there was massive controversy and a scuffle would erupt. In the 90th minute Martinez was brought down by a tackle that wasn’t called. Martinez totally lost his cool charging at the referee getting in his face while many others also getting involved as teammates had to hold him back. Martinez and Inter Milan’s backup goalkeeper would both receive red cards. even more so in the conclusion of the match The Inter Milan staff follow the referee into his dressing room trying to show their displeasure with his decision. Caglalri end up earning a much valuable point as Inter Milan drop their third consecutive game Inter Milan have hit a wall since coming out of winter break. Martinez would receive a three-match suspension after his behavior and all-around disappointing afternoon for Inter Milan. Luckily Juventus ended up losing to Napoli as Inter Milan were given a big break.

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