After the matches postponed by the pope’s death were played during the midweek, Sunday and Monday featured a full slate of games in Serie A, so without further ado:
Serie A Winners
Scott McTominay
He was half of the much-maligned “McFred” midfield at Manchester United, and now he suddenly looks like one of the most potent midfielders in the world. The Scotsman scored both goals in Napoli’s 2-0 win over Torino, and the Neapolitans have now seized control of the race for the scudetto, thanks in no small part to the 11 that McTominay has scored in his first season in Italy.
Rolando Mandragora
The Fiorentina vice-captain scored maybe Serie A’s goal of the season when he received Yacine Adli’s cross with his back to goal, kicked the ball up and executed an inch-perfect bicycle kick to give la viola their second and an eventual victory over their Tuscan rivals Empoli. He’s a defensive midfielder, but he was playing further up the pitch in this game because of Moise Kean’s injury. Maybe Fiorentina should keep him in attack.
Taty Castellanos and Boulaye Dia
Lazio’s two goals at Genoa were both scored on tremendous plays by their forwards, as the Argentinian picked Luca Pellegrini’s cross out of the air to one-time it home. Following that, the Senegalese striker corralled a through-ball from Nicolò Rovella that was running away from him and managed to slide it inside the far post. Never mind that they were both scored with the man advantage; those shots gave the biancocelesti three points that left them even on points with Juventus.
Milan’s North Americans
Christian Pulisic returned to the scoresheet thanks to Álex Jiménez’ steal in Venezia’s third that led to the American’s straightforward finish. Then Pulisic’s Mexican teammate, Santiago Giménez, came on as a sub and ran onto Tijjani Reijnders’ lob to seal the rossoneri’s 2-0 triumph in Venice in the dying seconds.
Cagliari
Their win at Hellas Verona leaves them eight points clear of safety with only four matches left and ahead of the team they beat. The isolari’s opening goal came when 36-year-old Leonardo Pavoletti ghosted in behind Verona’s defense so that when Zito Luvumbo’s early cross came to him, he was four yards away from goal with only Hellas goalkeeper Lorenzo Montipò to keep him company. Looks like Serie A will be staying in Sardinia next season.
Como
A classic counterattacking goal bagged the three points for the biancoblú against Genoa, going from their own six-yard box to Patrick Cutrone cutting in from the left and sending Gabriel Strefezza through for a neat finish. That was a great play in a game rather short on entertainment value.
Serie A winners/losers
Cristian Chivu
Remember the Romanian defender who played for Roma and Inter with the plastic helmet and the dead-ball skills? He coached Parma to a great win at home against Juventus, as the Old Lady couldn’t break down the crociati’s well-organized defense. Then again, that same defense had goalkeeper Zion Suzuki screaming at them in frustration when Parma choked away a 2-0 lead and allowed Lazio to nab a draw via two goals by Pedro.
Juventus
Sometimes the scheduling gods are kind. After the loss to Parma, those gods provided Juve with a nice, cushy home game against Monza to recover. They won easily, while the biancorossi couldn’t get into the match even after Kenan Yıldız’ red card.
Lazio
Had they won that game against Parma, they’d be level on points with Juventus in fourth. Now, though, they’re in seventh and out of the European places entirely. Even beating Juventus at home in two weeks might not be enough, because they also have to travel to Inter the following week. Their season is balanced on the thinnest of edges.
Serie A losers
Inter Milan
Roma were very good in their win at San Siro, but the nerazzurri came out completely flat at home. They didn’t find their offense until after halftime, and then their finishing let them down. Not only did they lose the game and their hold on first place, but they also lost Benjamin Pavard to injury 14 minutes in. With a trip to Barcelona coming up on Wednesday, you don’t need to be having defenders hurt.
Udinese’s defense
Amid a generally strong showing by their backline, it was their blunder that led to Torino’s opening goal, as Sandi Lovrić’s turnover near his penalty box left goalkeeper Maduka Okoye facing three shots in quick succession. The Nigerian managed to save the first two, but not the third by Che Adams, who side-footed home from close range. Torino added an insurance goal late in the game to salt away their victory.
Riccardo Orsolini
However, Udinese were the beneficiary against Bologna with the game still scoreless in the 90th minute. The ball came to the Bologna captain one yard away from goal, and he managed to head it over the crossbar. With Team Lunch Meat vying for a Champions League spot, the draw amounted to two points thrown away.
Sebastian Otoa
Genoa snapped up the young defender from Aalborg this winter, and the Afro-wearing Dane’s debut for il grifone lasted all of 34 minutes, as he drew a straight red card for pushing down Lazio’s Mattia Zaccagni on a breakaway. Lazio would later also be reduced to 10 players by Reda Belahyane’s red, but not before they scored two goals and secured their win on the road.