Two outsider managers in Maurizio Sarri and José Mourinho have the capital’s clubs going deep in Serie A’s top-four battleThe Scudetto is still heading to Naples, but for one weekend Serie A belonged to the city of Rome. On Friday night Lazio toppled league leaders Napoli at their own stadium. On Sunday, Roma beat the Juventus side who would be second if it weren’t for the 15-point penalty handed them at the start of this year.Both games followed a similar pattern in being settled by a single second-half goal. Lazio’s reward was to finish the weekend third in the table. Roma are one point behind them in joint-fourth. Continue reading...
Luciano Spalletti’s side are now 18 points clear in their Scudetto quest, with Milan, Inter and Juventus nowhere to be seenThe Stadio Carlo Castellani held some unhappy recent memories for Napoli. It was here that their title challenge unravelled last April, as a 2-0 lead over Empoli in the 80th minute became a 3-2 defeat. They were authors of their own demise back then, the equaliser arriving when goalkeeper Alex Meret dallied in possession and allowed Andrea Pinamonti to block an attempted clearance straight into his net.Could they self-destruct a second time? They held an identical 2-0 advantage on Sunday when Mário Rui earned a pointless red card, kicking out at Francesco Caputo. Instead of wobbling, Napoli became even more...
With European football in turmoil and leading clubs out of sorts, the knockout stages offer some welcome unpredictabilityWhen the draw for the last 16 of the Champions League is made before Christmas, the warning always comes: wait till February. What can look a straightforward tie as the group stage ends may appear very different a couple of months down the line as form fluctuates and injuries, managerial changes and January signings take effect.Recently that has tended to mean the superclubs asserting themselves, financial muscle powering through whatever blips may have occurred in the autumn. But as the Champions League knockout stage begins on Tuesday, very little has settled down and the competition looks more open than it has done for...
Milan slumped at home to Sassuolo, while Monza rocked Juventus. Is there anyone who can now stop Napoli?By the end, it felt like a cup final: two teams playing as if everything needed to be settled right here. One moment Roma’s keeper, Rui Patricio, was making a save at his near post and the next he was sprinting toward the opposite goal, joining the attack for a corner. As teammate Gianluca Mancini’s final attempt on goal was blocked, Napoli players spilled from the dugout punching the air, yelling, embracing.Why should it matter like this? José Mourinho had told us on Saturday that the Serie A title race was already over, offering his congratulations. “I don’t want to be misinterpreted …...
Edin Dzeko’s header proved decisive as the Serie A leaders started 2023 by seeing their lead at the top cut to five pointsThe mid-season World Cup interruption felt that little bit longer to many Italian football fans, left without a team to cheer for, so Serie A’s organisers opted for total immersion on its return. If you thought four games in an afternoon was a lot during Qatar’s group stage then how about 10, scheduled in pairs to kick off every two hours throughout a regular workday?Typically, the Italian top flight would return from its winter break on the Christian feast day of Epiphany, 6 January, a national holiday, but that falls on a Friday this year. Playing then would...