Serie A Matchday 34 round-up – A Rossoneri recovery in Rome!

Calcio, eh. Does it ever disappoint?

Melodrama at the top and a potential Great Escape occurring down the bottom. The end to the 2021/22 Serie A season is bound to be thrilling. Matchday 34 only perpetuated the likely impending excitement as Milan just about kept pace with Inter at the summit, while two sides significantly bolstered their chances of survival.

We’re now down to a two-horse race for the title but a four-team dogfight for the right to stay in the division. 

Serie A Matchday 34 round-up

Here’s a round-up of all the action across Serie A on Matchday 34.

TONALLLLLLLIIIIIIIIIIII

“Acerbi with the header, and Ibrahimovi– TONALLIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII… It’s a Rossoneri recovery in Rome! They’re not going away in this title race! MASSIVE. ABSOLUTELY MASSIVE!”

Oh, Adam Summerton. Grazie.

The most significant goal of Sandro Tonali’s young career reignited this thrilling Scudetto race as Milan came from behind to beat Lazio in Rome. Ciro Immobile struck early to give the Biancoclesti the lead before a much-improved Rossoneri equalised shortly after the restart through that man Olivier Giroud.

However, Stefano Pioli’s side were poised to lose ground to their crosstown rivals in the title race before Tonali poked home a crucial winner in stoppage time to ensure Milan retained their place at the summit.

They simply aren’t going away.

Inter had briefly climbed to the top of the Serie A table after they comfortably beat AS Roma 3-1 at the San Siro. The Nerazzurri have certainly rediscovered their groove.

Napoli slide out of Scudetto contention

Napoli exited the Serie A title race in fitting fashion as they capitulated at Empoli on Sunday afternoon.

Luciano Spalletti’s side cruised into a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Dries Mertens and Lorenzo Insigne before Liam Henderson’s 80th-minute strike sparked a rapid Empoli comeback. By the 87th-minute, the hosts had taken the lead following an Andrea Pinamonti brace.

Napoli’s collapse all but thrust them out of Scudetto contention and their focus has switched to holding off Juventus for third spot. The Bianconeri closed the gap on the Partenopei to a point after they beat Sassuolo 2-1 on Monday night.

They couldn’t, could they?

I want some of whatever Davide Nicola’s cooking down in Salerno. The shoe-brandishing coach oversaw Salernitana’s third-straight Serie A victory at the weekend to give his once dead and buried side a valid shot of survival. It’s now in their hands.

Salernitana were fully deserving of their 2-1 victory over Fiorentina on Sunday as Federico Bonazzoli scored a 79th-minute winner.

However, they were joined on 25 points by Genoa who won the all-important relegation six-pointer against Cagliari 1-0.

Venezia, meanwhile, lost their eighth Serie A game on the spin as they handed Atalanta a rare victory in 2022. Duvan Zapata was back on the scoresheet in a 3-1 win for La Dea.

Best of the rest

Torino extended their unbeaten run to four games on Matchday 34 as a Sasa Lukic brace lifted Ivan Juric’s side to a 2-1 win over Spezia. Il Toro are vying for a top-half finish this season, and they currently sit three points off 10th-placed Sassuolo.

A side that seems poised to finish in the top half is Hellas Verona. Although, they were held to a 1-1 draw against Sampdoria at the weekend. Gianluca Caprari cancelled out Francesco Caputo’s opener to deny Marco Giampaolo’s side a crucial three points.

Elsewhere, Bologna and Udinese played out an entertaining 2-2 draw on Sunday.