The flawed brilliance of the 2021/22 Serie A season was on full display on Matchday 32.
The Scudetto race continues to stutter along, with the holders once again snatching back control, while fourth-placed Juventus maintained their comfortable standing in the final Champions League spot following their come-from-behind triumph at Cagliari on Saturday night.
Serie A Matchday 32 round-up
It was another weekend where little changed in the races for various European spots and the relegation dogfight, and here’s a round-up of all the action.
Inter the big winners at the top
AC Milan buckled under the pressure for the second matchday running as they were held to a goalless draw after crosstown rivals Inter had turned up the heat the day prior.
The Nerazzurri built on the momentum gathered from their gritty win in the Derby d’Italia by beating Hellas Verona 2-0 at San Siro. Nicolo Barella scored just his second goal of 2022 for the opener before Edin Dzeko tapped home a second before half-time.
Milan visited Ivan Juric’s Torino on Sunday night, a side that won their first Serie A game since January last weekend but held Inter to a point in March.
Gleison Bremer was once again in inspired form for the home side as a robust Il Toro stifled a toothless Rossoneri. Torino limited Milan to very few high-quality chances in this one while struggling to create anything of any substance of their own as a stalemate ensued.
Milan’s draw means that the Scudetto is back in Inter’s hands with Napoli falling behind after they were beaten 3-2 at home to Fiorentina on Sunday afternoon.
Atalanta full further behind as top-four contenders all win
Fiorentina’s triumph in Naples has left them in a great position for claiming a spot in Europe next season and with an outside shot of joining the top-four race.
Vincenzo Italiano’s side will leapfrog Lazio in the table if they win their game in hand.
Juve’s fightback in Sardinia was imperative because the Bianconeri’s closest rivals for the final Champions League spot both won on Matchday 32. Ciro Immobile was in prolific form for the Biancocelesti in a 4-1 win over Genoa, while AS Roma staged a late comeback at home to Salernitana, eventually winning 2-1.
Ivan Radovanovic did arguably score the goal of the weekend for the defeated side in Rome, however.
Atalanta, meanwhile, are surely putting all their eggs in the Europa League basket after they fell to yet another Serie A defeat on Matchday 32. Sassuolo were the beneficiaries of La Dea’s demise on this occasion as Hamed Traore scored twice for the Neroverdi.
Venezia & Sampdoria in deep trouble
For the second matchday running, Serie A’s bottom five all failed to win.
We’ve already discussed Genoa and Salernitana’s respective defeats, with the latter’s status in Serie B next season all but secured.
Elsewhere, Venezia lost their sixth game in a row as they continued to struggle to gain any momentum in their bid for survival. The Venetians fell to another late goal as Rodrigo Becao headed home the winner for Udinese in a 2-1 win.
Cagliari’s defeat against Juve, though, means Venezia are still within touching distance of survival, while Sampdoria have fallen deep into the dogfight following their dire defeat away at Bologna on Monday night.
Best of the rest
In the most forgettable contest of the weekend, Empoli and Spezia, who have all but confirmed their places in the top-flight next season, played out a 0-0 draw in the Matchday 32 curtain-raiser.