Serie A winners and losers from Matchday 35: Raspadori, Dovbyk make differences

In Italy, the pressure in Serie A turns up along with the heat and the humidity as the spring wears along toward summer. Just like in England, Italy’s top flight have three games to go in their season, so it’s time to check where everybody is.

Serie A winners from Matchday 35

Giacomo Raspadori

The Napoli attacker returns to the winners’ section because his inch-perfect free kick decided the game against Lecce. It was a training-ground play, as Scott McTominay ran past the dead ball and Raspadori waited to spot the hole that the Scotsman’s run opened in Lecce’s defensive wall. His shot went through the hole and inside the far post, and the azzurri remain on track to reclaim the scudetto. 

Charles de Ketelaere

AC Milan decided that the Belgian wasn’t needed, and so he’s become an integral part of the offense for an Atalanta team that will play in the Champions League next year, while Milan will not. That’s satisfying, and the two goals he scored in Atalanta’s 4-0 pasting of Monza are a nice cherry on top. 

Artem Dovbyk

The AS Roma striker hasn’t been the scoring machine that he was last year with Girona, but his 12 goals so far this season is respectable, and his header off Eldor Shomurodov’s cross was the only goal in their win over Fiorentina. The last time the giallorossi were shut out in Serie A was in mid-December, and not coincidentally, that was also the last time they lost. Coach Claudio Ranieri has them getting consistent results.

Lazio

Udinese’s unlikely goal scorers

Oier Zarraga has never been a scoring machine, but the Basque midfielder nabbed his first of the season when he turned in Rui Modesto’s cross to open the scoring for Udinese against Cagliari. The Sardinian side would equalize later, but Udinese’s Thomas Kristensen would grab the winner when Hassane Kamara’s corner kick bounced off his chest into the net. It was the defender’s first goal ever in Serie A, and before that he only scored one goal in four seasons in his native Denmark. His goal was no work of art, but he’ll happily claim the match-winner.

Pisa

Spezia’s loss to Reggiana ensured that Pisa will be promoted to Serie A next season. The last time the nerazzurri were in Italy’s top flight, Michael Jordan was winning his first NBA championship. Pisa’s move to the big time means that there will be three nerazzurri teams next year (they’ll join Inter and Atalanta wearing black and blue stripes), and Filippo Inzaghi will coach against his brother Simone at Inter. They’ll be partying at the Piazza dei Cavalieri all summer long.

Serie A losers from Matchday 35

Monza

Any failure to win would have relegated the biancorossi to Serie B, and their heavy loss to Atalanta ensured it. The club is owned by the family of the slimy, lately deceased Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, so enjoy the spectacle of those nepo babies mucking around with minnows like Carrarese and Mantova next season.

Mateo Pellegrino and Dennis Man

Your Italian grandmother could have converted the chances these Parma players missed in their 1-0 loss to Como, and she’d have done it without scorching Sunday’s gravy. Late in the first half, the Argentinian received a seeing-eye pass from Ange-Yoan Bonny five yards away from goal and somehow skied it into the stands. Then in stoppage time, Emanuele Valeri unselfishly played the ball across the goal mouth for his Romanian teammate, and Man scooped it over the crossbar. They’ll finish better in their remaining games, won’t they? I mean, won’t they?

Hellas Verona

Their easy capitulation to Inter Milan kept the title race alive. It also kept the relegation race alive, as Venezia and Empoli retain hope of catching them, Parma, and Lecce to reach safety. Worse than the result was the manner of it, as Paolo Zanetti’s side failed to create any scoring chances (their xG was 0.29) against an Inter team that looked pretty uninspired. Good thing the rest of the Mastiffs’ schedule is as soft as Italian linen.  

Genoa

In a downpour at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris, it looked like Patrick Vieira’s team had grabbed the three points after substitute Vitinha scored his first goal of the season with his first kick of the game, arrowing Andrea Pinamonti’s cross past AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan. However, the rossoneri turned the game around in the last 15 minutes, as Rafa Leão’s shot deflected in off Brooke Norton-Cuffy and Morten Frendrup turned Tijjani Reijnders’ cross into his own net. Bummer for the fans who braved the rain.