Inter Milan put in a champion’s performance on Sunday to end Napoli’s unbeaten run and announce themselves as title contenders again.
Napoli are still top of Serie A after another brilliant round of fixtures in the Italian top flight, but it was a great weekend for I Nerazzurri who have closed the gap to the summit to just four points. Inter and Napoli’s Sunday six-pointer rounded off the weekend superbly after the other big guns did their business on Saturday. Juventus got back to winning ways away to Lazio while AC Milan slipped up in Florence, and Atalanta showed once again how they can score for fun when the mood takes them.
Here at SBOTOP we previewed the Inter vs Napoli game and tipped a 1-1 draw and that’s exactly where we were on 25 minutes after a penalty converted by Inter’s Hakan Calhanoglu equalised an opener from Piotr Zielinski. When Napoli’s Polish midfielder took a pass from Lorenzo Insigne he smashed a pile-driver into the top right corner to give the Azzurri a lead. But it was short-lived. Kalidou Koulibaly blocked a shot from Nicola Barella with his hand and the referee pointed to the spot. Calhanoglu made no mistake from 12 yards, slotting the ball into the bottom left corner. Just before the break, Calhanoglu turned provider when Ivan Perisic guided home his in-swinging corner and Lautaro Martinez doubled the lead on the hour clinically finishing off a fast break.
Dries Mertens made it a nervy finish when he rifled in a shot to make it 3-2 but Inter held on for a famous victory.
The latest Serie A 2021 betting odds have taken a shift in the direction of Simone Inzaghi’s Inter and Napoli now have to pick themselves up to go again.
Warhorse Bonucci is a born leader
After losing the Scudetto to Inter Milan last season, Juventus started this campaign with a serious hangover. But a 2-0 win away to fifth-placed Lazio was more like it for the Old Lady. It was a typical Max Allegri performance as they allowed Lazio more possession but worked hard to minimise the hosts’ space to create, and then struck ruthlessly when they had a chance. Juventus had five shots on target to Lazio’s one, and two penalties, one in each half, dispatched by Leonardo Bonucci, won the game at a canter.
Danilo Cataldi fouled Alvaro Morata on 20 minutes and Pepe Reina felled the industrious Federico Chiesa late in the game to give Bonucci his brace. I Bianconeri climbed up to seventh place on 21 points, level with Lazio and four behind fourth-placed Atalanta.
Next up Juventus have a Champions League tie away to Chelsea followed by a home league game against Atalanta. Two more positive results will have Bianconeri fans dreaming of better times around the corner. And with leaders like Bonucci on the pitch, they have every chance.
Zlatan can’t save Milan in Florence
Among all of the weekend’s Serie A 2021 results the biggest surprise came in Florence where Milan lost by the odd one in a seven goal thriller. A 4-3 defeat away to Fiorentina meant AC Milan had to watch Sunday’s big game almost hoping for a positive result for Inter, to keep them on a par with leaders Napoli. Even Zlatan Ibrahimovic couldn’t turn the result in the Rossoneri’s favour despite his best efforts. The 40-year-old Swede scored twice in five minutes to haul Milan back into the game after La Viola had raced into a 3-0 lead.
But La Viola’s highly-rated striker Dusan Vlahovic scored his second of the game to make it 4-2, before an own goal by Lorenzo Venuti made it 4-3 deep into injury time. So Fiorentina planned to put a dent in I Rossoneri’s title ambitions and did so successfully while lifting themselves up to the sixth place and in the hunt for a Europa League place.
Atalanta’s hit men are hot, hot, hot
Atalanta thrashed Spezia 5-2 to cement their place in the top four and their celebrated strikers were all on target. The Colombian duo of Luis Muriel and Duvan Zapata struck and Ruslan Malinovsky scored as well, while Croatian midfielder Mario Pasilic scored a brace as La Dea ran riot against the strugglers who sit precariously above the drop zone. Mbala Nzola scored twice for Spezia to keep the score respectable in a free-flowing game but the visitors were never really in it. If Atalanta continue in this vein they could keep pace with the three leaders in Serie A, and they have a good opportunity to progress in the Champions League too. La Dea remains one of the most entertaining teams to watch in world football.
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