The 25th day of Serie A opened with three early matches that provided excitement and surprises. Napoli drew at home against Genoa, Juve did not go beyond a 2-2 draw in Verona, Atalanta won easily against Sassuolo.
Napoli-Genoa
The azzurri were unable to take advantage of the home factor and had to settle for a point against Genoa, who proved to be a tough team for the Azzurri. The match was balanced and was decided in the details. Genoa took the lead in the 51st minute with a beautiful goal by Frendrup, who surprised Meret with a shot from the limit.
Napoli reacted and came close to equalising. The equaliser came only in the 90th minute, when Ngonge, who had just entered, took advantage of a cross from Politano and beat the Genoa goalkeeper with a header. Napoli climbed to 36 points, while Genoa reached 30 points, in the middle of the table.
Serie A: Juve slows down again
Juve were unable to find the victory again and had to settle for a draw in Verona, which prevented them from keeping Milan at a safe distance and who could overtake them in the standings tomorrow if they win in Monza. The match was lively and full of goals.
Verona took the lead in the 11th minute with a great goal from Folorunsho, who volleyed a left-footed shot from outside the box and past Szczesny. Juve equalised in the 28th minute with a penalty converted by Vlahovic, awarded for a handball by Tchatchoua on a Kostic shot.
In the second half, Verona went ahead in the 52nd minute through Noslin, who took advantage of a defensive error and scored from close range. Juve responded in the 55th minute with Rabiot, who took advantage of an assist from Chiesa and beat Montipò with a low shot. In the final, Juve looked for the winning goal, but came up against the skill of Montipò, who saved the result with a great save on Chiesa. Juve remain on 54 points, -9 from Inter and +2 from Milan. Verona caught up with Sassuolo.
Atalanta warns rivals for fourth place
Atalanta had no trouble getting rid of Sassuolo and won their fifth consecutive league victory, consolidating fourth place. The Bergamaschi dominated the match and scored three goals.
The first came in the 22nd minute, when Pasalic put into the net a shot from De Ketelaere that was blocked by Consigli. The second in the 58th minute, when Koopmeiners doubled with a header from Holm’s cross. The third in the 75th minute, when Bakker, who had just come on, closed the scoring with a shot from outside the box that slotted into the corner.
Sassuolo were unable to trouble Atalanta, not least because they missed two penalties with Pinamonti, both parried by Carnesecchi. Atalanta climbed to 45 points, +3 on Bologna, but with a game to spare. Sassuolo remained on 20 points, in fourth-last place, in the middle of the relegation zone.
Serie A official page –> link
Italian Serie A –> link
