Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
Another guest article now and Filippo Festuccia returns with an extensive review of all the action in Week 26 of Serie A. You can follow Filippo on Twitter here @FilippoFest. Over to you Filippo
Very exciting Serie A weekend, with a lot of talking points and some subtle but potentially massive changes to the table. The fight for the title and Champions League qualification is tightening, with Fiorentina, Roma and Inter climbing back up as Napoli battled AC Milan to a draw and Juventus managed to stay on top despite a poor showing against Bologna. Meanwhile, the battle to avoid relegation suddenly got a lot more tense, with at least eight teams still involved in what will be a bloodshed in the following weeks.
Bologna-Juventus was our Friday night match, and Bologna managed to put an end to Juventus’ almost-record-setting winning streak with a goalless draw. As we predicted, Juventus was focused on their upcoming Champions League match, while Bologna’s strong defense (thanks to the great midfield team-up of wonderkids Diawara and Donsah) basically denied any chance. Key stat: Juventus had no shots on target (with 8 attempts). Pogba was particularly irrelevant, with no offensive passing contribution.
Hellas Verona-Chievo Verona: as promised, a tense, hard-fought derby. It was not pretty football, with one red card for each team and many hard tackles in midfield. Hellas is launching a desperate survival campaign, and this victory is a massive injection of optimism. Chievo, on the other hand, only needs a handful of points to reach the safe zone, but concentration will be key to ensure those points actually come their way. Key stat: Hellas dominated on the sides, with 30 crosses to Chievo’s 17.
Inter-Sampdoria was a pivotal match for a number of reasons. Inter won, giving new life to their hopes of Champions League qualification. Sampdoria lost, and relegation now seems a serious threat: with only two points in the last five games, the Montella-led team dilapidated their entire advantage on 18th-placed Frosinone. Sampdoria does not lack quality – they have offensive firepower in Ricky Alvarez, Correa, Muriel and Quagliarella – but their back three line is not working well. Key stat: Inter scored three goals with only four chances, while Sampdoria took 13 attempts to only score once.
Atalanta-Fiorentina: exciting stuff. Fiorentina needed new energy after their Thursday night match with Tottenham, and Kalinic (subbed in for Babacar in the second half) proved once again to be the right player for this kind of matches. His off-the-ball movements were stellar as usual and led Fiorentina to a crucial victory. Former Barcelona player Tello played well alongside Mati Fernandez and, while Fiorentina conceded a lot due to fatigue, they played their brand of fast-paced offensive football once again. Key stat: each one of Mati Fernandez’s five dribbles led to a dangerous imbalance in the opponents’ defensive line.
Genoa-Udinese reeked of desperation. As I said in the preview, these two teams have no business being that low in the table, yet here they are, playing dreadfully week after week. Genoa basically tried to shoot as much as possible, while Udinese crossed like it’s 1996 (31 attempts of putting a decent ball in the box) and found an early lead thanks to one of the rare mistakes in Perin’s career. Genoa was able to turn it around in the second half, dooming Udinese to a lot of sleepless nights. Key stat: Laxalt was Genoa’s MVP, with a strong offensive contribution (a goal and a good number of chances created) and some solid defensive work (1 interception, 3 blocks, 3 clearances, tackles everywhere).
Sassuolo-Empoli was everything we were promised, and then some. Two teams playing fast, attractive football with a lot of young Italian players: among them, Berardi was the leader in Sassuolo’s attacks, while Saponara dictated the tempo in Empoli’s midfield. Sassuolo played a more energetic game, creating many diverse chances and getting often caught offside, while Empoli focused on pressing and a more thoughtful approach. Sassuolo defended a little too wide and attacked a little too narrow, while Empoli kept their distances better and focused on the left flank for their counter-attacks. In the end, Sassuolo prevailed, thanks no doubt to the quality of their attacking trio. Key stat: 18 clear chances created by the two teams combined.
Torino-Carpi was not fun. Carpi is scared of a loss, which in turn means that they’re never really playing for a win. They’re just five points behind Sampdoria now, so it would be very important for them to play more aggressively to snatch some points here and there. There is really nothing to lose. Torino, meanwhile, has nothing to gain and nothing to play for: they’re dead-set for their goal of a safe end of the season, and while they should score more (they have an excellent team in Belotti and Immobile up front) it’s not really a problem. Key stat: Belec kept a clean sheet for Carpi, with four excellent saves including a penalty.
Lazio-Frosinone: another painful match for the viewers, as the two teams were quite content with a 0-0. Frosinone inched closer to 17th, while Lazio has little ambitions left in a rather bland season. Key stat: Lazio’s back line was stellar, with central duo Hoedt-Bisevac looking dominant on the ground and in the air. Their final tally was 14 interceptions, 10 clearances and 6 blocks.
Roma-Palermo saw a splendid performance by Roma damning Palermo close to relegation hell. Roma created tons of chances, thanks mostly to Pjanic playing in the trequartista position and his friend Dzeko, who managed to pull himself back together after a shocking miss. Palermo tried to force Roma in tight spaces at the beginning, but fell apart in the second half and left vast spaces to Roma’s formidable counterattackers, with Salah scoring two. This game is a strong message by Roma to their competitors, as the team carries on its winning streak: they have made the most points in the last five games, and Juventus is only 8 points away. Palermo, once again led by Iachini after he was sacked a few months ago, is struggling to find a clear identity, and it looks like a lot of work needs to be done in a very short time. Key stat: Pjanic passed the ball 73 times in 72 minutes (he was subbed off to make room for Iago Falque), often empowering Maicon’s runs on the right or Dzeko’s rapid bursts.
Finally, Napoli-Milan was the main event, and it did not disappoint, showing a battle between raw skill – as Napoli fielded their fearsome trio of Insigne, Callejon and Higuain – and tactics, with Milan focusing on making Higuain’s life hell, leaving no space for Napoli and counter-attacking with vicious precision. Not everything went according to plan, especially on the precision front: Niang sent wide an egregious chance, but his teammates were not perfect either. Napoli tried very hard to weave a web of tight, quick passes, opting to keep the ball on the ground, but Milan covered all possible lines and defended well despite the absence of their leader, Alessio Romagnoli. Milan’s main problems were in building chances from the back, as many possessions were lost due to avoidable mistakes. Key stat: Napoli dominated territorially, with 70% possession and a strong presence in the opposing half, but many of the 16 chances they created were easily countered by Milan.
Thanks Filippo, make sure to keep an eye out for his preview for Week 27 later this week and subsequent articles between now and the end of the season.
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