Roma won again in Serie A, Udinese fought back to draw with Atalanta, Napoli won to claim first place in the standings and Juventus fell against AC Milan in the most important match of the round. Let’s take a look at an action-packed weekend in Italy…
MATCH OF THE WEEK – UDINESE – ATALANTA 2-2
The funniest match of the weekend, undoubtedly. The team coached by Gian Piero Gasperini seemed to have won after an hour, but once again Udinese showed that this year they do things seriously.
Atalanta had taken the lead by 0-2: first the goal of the former Leicester player, Ademola Lookman, who is playing as a true protagonist in the Nerazzurri, then the second goal scored by Luis Muriel, who played a sensational game and also achieved the assist for the first goal of the Bergamo team.
Andrea Sottil’s Udinese, however, never gives up: first the goal from Gerard Deulofeu who shortened the distance with a masterful free kick, then the equaliser scored by Nehuen Perez. In the final minutes, the Bianconeri also went close to winning 3-2: it would have been the seventh in a row, something truly astounding.
So the Scudetto race for Gasperini’s Atalanta suffers a small bump: up to now they are collecting many points even without playing their best football. These are also positive signs: when you can’t win, it’s better to draw.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – GIOVANNI SIMEONE
Never before has Gio Simeone been seen like this, not even in his best moment at Verona. The Argentine striker with the Napoli shirt has really become a different player, more complete, stronger, more mature and aware.
Against Cremonese, Luciano Spalletti’s team struggled more than expected: a quarter of an hour before the final whistle Giacomo Raspadori and his teammates were still on for a 1-1 result, with Cremonese having managed to find the equaliser after the advantage secured from the penalty scored by Matteo Politano.
Spalletti chose to bet on Simeone, who in a few minutes found the goal of the advantage (with a nice header) and then the decisive pass for the third goal scored by Hirving Lozano (before the fourth, scored by Mathias Olivera). A complete and all-round performance for Cholo’s son, who with the Napoli shirt is proving to be a great player, one of those who can change the face of a team, exactly as he did during the match against Cremonese. At the age of 27, Simeone is showing himself for what he really is at the best level in Italy. Enhorabuena!
INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE(S) OF THE WEEK – CHRIS SMALLING AND EDIN DZEKO
One plays for Roma, the other was their captain for several seasons (during which he scored 119 goals), but the two of them were among the best players of the last Serie A weekend.
Roma’s first goal from Chris Smalling, his third since the start of the season, with a nice header after a perfect cross by Lorenzo Pellegrini (sixth assist for the Giallorossi captain), but the goal is not the only reason why it is among the best of his: a true leader, always precise in the contrasts and 1 vs 1, always careful, clean in the interventions, the true certainty of Jose Mourinho. And it’s incredible that he’s not in Gareth Southgate’s selected group.
The former Giallorossi striker, on the other hand, actually gave Inter and Simone Inzaghi three points: on Saturday he scored two goals against Sassuolo, the first for the Nerazzurri advantage, the second for the three final points, important to carry on after the victory in the Champions League over Barcelona and to relaunch Inter in the league standings. After a complicated season, Edin took his team by the hand, perfectly replacing the injured Romelu Lukaku (who will also miss the next game). He is not yet perfectly paired with Lautaro Martinez, the understanding between the two of them is not yet perfect, but that’s Dzeko, a great champion capable of always scoring, in every game.
TEAM PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK – MONZA
Raffaele Palladino has completely changed Monza’s face. Adriano Galliani has again chosen well, he has again chosen a good and young coach, as has happened in the past on many occasions, for example with Max Allegri.
Since Palladino was promoted, Monza have won three consecutive games: the victory against Juventus, the one against Sampdoria and then this weekend against Spezia, thanks to the two goals scored by Carlos Augusto and Pablo Marì. A slow rise from the slums of the standings with nine points in the last three games, up to 10 points on the table and overtaking Vincenzo Italiano’s Fiorentina. Monza plays well, wins games and seems to have rediscovered identity and belief.
Given how the Lombard season had begun, Palladino is performing a miracle. He deserves a lot of compliments, because he is a young and prepared coach who is demonstrating great organisational skills.
