Serie A Matchday 6 Round-up – Lazio claim derby bragging rights

Even by the lofty standards Serie A’s set at the start of 2021/22, Matchday 6 was simply ludicrous.

Calcio fans were treated to 35 goals, an incredible Derby della Capitale and, most significantly, a second consecutive win for Juventus over the weekend. Here’s our best attempt to wrap it all up for you!

Sarri outduels Mourinho in the derby

Two former Chelsea managers pitted their wits against one another in Sunday’s Derby della Capitale where Lazio claimed the bragging rights. Thus easing the pressure on Maurizio Sarri.

The Biancocelesti took the lead via an archetypal Sergej Milinkovic-Savic box entry and header before veteran Pedro rolled back the years to finish off a swift counter-attack to double the hosts’ advantage.

Roma came close through Nicolo Zaniolo before Roger Ibanez eventually halved the deficit, inciting an expression of “calm” from Jose Mourinho. Plenty of time remained.

However, it was Lazio who grabbed the important fourth through the impressive Felipe Anderson following some brilliant work from Ciro Immobile to tee up the Brazilian. The Giallorossi were handed a lifeline, though, as they were scandalously awarded a penalty. One that Jordan Veretout duly converted. Chances arrived at both ends in the dying embers but Lazio held out for a 3-2 victory.

Inter’s thriller with Atalanta

Atalanta are starting to find their feet after an unconvincing start and they earned a point away at the champions on Saturday evening.

The Nicolo Barella x Lautaro Martinez combination came up trumps for Inter in the early stages as the hosts took an early lead before La Dea pegged them back through a trademark Ruslan Malinovskiy piledriver and Rafael Toloi’s tap-in.

Edin Dzeko poached home an equaliser with 20 minutes remaining before impressive summer singing Federico Dimarco spurned a golden opportunity to win all three points for Simone Inzaghi’s side as his penalty cannoned off the crossbar.

At the other end, substitute Roberto Piccoli then thought he’d snatched a dramatic late winner but his close-range effort was ruled out for offside.

It was a thrilling contest neither side deserved to lose, with the eventual 2-2 scoreline a just one. The high-octane clash produced 40 shots, the most in any Serie A match so far this season.

Napoli & Milan stay hot

The weekend kicked off with AC Milan edging past Spezia 2-1 thanks to a late Brahim Diaz winner. Earlier, Daniel Maldini had given the Rossoneri the lead with a powerful header that his on watching father would’ve been proud of.

Then, on Sunday night, Napoli maintained their 100% start to the season by beating Cagliari 2-0 at the Maradona. Victor Osimhen scored his fourth of the league season to open the scoring before Lorenzo Insigne added a second after the break to secure a comfortable victory.

Luciano Spalletti’s side are a lot of fun.

Goal frenzies

Everybody’s getting in on the goal-scoring fun in Italy this season. Next time you roll your eyes at a Genoa vs Hellas Verona or Empoli vs Bologna-esque fixture, think again!

These two matches produced 12 goals on the weekend. Verona claimed a late point away at Genoa after the hosts had fought back from 2-0 down in the space of nine minutes to lead 3-2 with just five minutes left on the clock. Nikola Kalinic, though, levelled proceedings with a stoppage-time header.

In the other game, Empoli overcame Bologna 4-2 with Inter loanee Andrea Pinamonti among the goals. Musa Barrow and Marko Arnautovic were on the scoresheet for the visitors, who have claimed just one point from their last three outings. Empoli, meanwhile, have now won two on the bounce following last weekend’s defeat at the hands of Sampdoria.

Serenity

Unfortunately, we did have to endure a pair of tame fixtures in the Sunday afternoon kick-offs. Sassuolo and Fiorentina overcame Salernitana and Udinese respectively by 1-0 scorelines.

Domenico Berardi bagged the match-winner for Sass, while Dusan Vlahovic’s spot-kick was enough for Vincenzo Italiano’s Viola.

The weekend concluded in Venice where Torino played out a 1-1 draw with Venezia. Josip Brekalo opened his account for I Granata ahead of Saturday’s Derby della Mole.

What’s next?

There are just one more round of Serie A fixtures before the second international break of the new season. Fun.

However, Matchday 7 looks tantalising on paper. The weekend’s standout clash sees an improving Atalanta host unbeaten AC Milan, with Napoli’s trip to Fiorentina an intriguing prelude on Sunday evening. Inter’s visit of Sassuolo could be a good watch on Saturday night too.

Elsewhere, an in-form Empoli will be hoping to take down a dejected Roma, while Lazio visit Bologna looking to build on their derby triumph.

There are also a few crucial clashes among potential relegation candidates. Cagliari host Venezia on Friday night, Salernitana take on Genoa and Spezia visit Hellas Verona this weekend. Five of these sides make up the bottom five in Serie A right now, with Verona the outlier in 14th.

The weekend’s least interesting bout from a narrative perspective sees Sampdoria host Udinese on Sunday afternoon. Both sides are poised for comfortable mid-table finishes in Serie A despite Samp’s slow start.