The matchdays are flying by in the 2021/22 Serie A season and following the conclusion of Matchday 28 in Naples, there are now just ten left before the campaign’s up.
We were treated to one of the few remaining duels between the Scudetto contenders at the weekend as Milan took on Napoli with both sides vying to reach the Serie A summit.
But who came out on top? Let’s take a look as we round up all the action across Italy on Matchday 28.
Huge victory for Milan in Naples
Milan’s impressive record on the big occasion continued as they picked up a gargantuan victory away at fellow Scudetto contenders Napoli on Sunday night.
The Neapolitans shot out of the blocks but they were swiftly subdued by the calm and controlled Rossoneri. The visitors made their overload in the build-up pay as Napoli appeared completely reliant on Victor Osimhen for any spark in the final third.
The Nigerian was part of a thrilling battle with Milan’s two centre-halves, but Pierre Kalulu and Fikayo Tomori did an excellent job on the frightening forward. Instead, it was Milan’s line-leader that made the difference as Olivier Giroud poached home the eventual winner in typical Olivier Giroud fashion.
The victory thrust Stefano Pioli’s side to the top of the table with Inter now their closest rivals. The Nerazzurri let out all their frustrations on poor Salernitana on Friday night as Lautaro Martinez ended his goal drought with a hat-trick amid a rampant 5-0 victory.
Romans close in on Atalanta
Atalanta’s victory over Sampdoria last week proved to be a mere false dawn as they fell to defeat at AS Roma on Saturday evening.
Juventus target Nicolo Zaniolo and the blossoming Tammy Abraham combined for the game’s only goal as Marten De Roon and Henrikh Mkhitaryan were sent off in the second period. Roma are now level with Atalanta in the Serie A table with 57 points and are six adrift of Juventus, who beat Spezia 1-0 on Sunday evening, in the top-four race.
Lazio, meanwhile, ended Cagliari’s unbeaten run with a 3-0 victory in Sardinia. Ciro Immobile, who overtook Silvio Piola as Lazio’s all-time leading scorer in Serie A, Luis Alberto and Felipe Anderson were on target for Maurizio Sarri’s side as they reduced the gap on fifth-placed Atalanta to a point.
Sassuolo continue to purr
Following recent victories over Inter and Fiorentina, Sassuolo, given their nature this season, were poised to drop points away at the relegation-threatened Venezia on Sunday afternoon.
However, Alessio Dionisi’s side bucked the trend and dismissed the paradox on this occasion as they won 4-1 in Venice. The Neroverdi’s Azzurri stars were on fire as Giacomo Raspadori, Domenico Berardi and Gianluca Scamacca all got on the scoresheet for the visitors as Venezia gave away three penalties.
For the neutral, Sassuolo are one of the best watches in Europe right now and they closed the gap on Fiorentina and Hellas Verona immediately ahead of them in the table as the two sides played out a 1-1 draw in Florence.
Best of the rest
Genoa drew AGAIN on Sunday as they played out a goalless stalemate with Empoli. It was their 15th of the season and sixth on the bounce. They’ve drawn every single game in Serie A since Alexander Blessin took charge as manager.
While their avoidance of negative results is admirable, Genoa must start converting these single points into three if they are to avoid relegation to Serie B.
Elsewhere, Torino’s winless run continued at the weekend. Ivan Juric’s side are woefully out of sorts but they stemmed the flow somewhat with a point away at Bologna.
And finally, Udinese beat Sampdoria 2-1 on Saturday to ease any fears about possibly getting dragged into the relegation dogfight.