Serie A SRL Round-Up | Atalanta put up dominating offensive performance against Verona and more
With a large portion of their action on Sunday and Monday, Italy and the Serie A had a calm and quiet Saturday with just two games played as Atalanta and Brescia walked away with wins. Sunday, on the other hand, saw Lecce and Napoli win while AC Milan were held to a shock draw against Bologna.
Brescia Calcio 2-1 S.P.A.L.
Despite the club on their fourth manager for the season, nothing seems to be working for Brescia and their side. However, the sheer fact that the club have ended what has been a dreadful run of five games with four losses and the singular win. Well, now that doubles with Sandro Tonali and his side walking away with a not so convincing win over fellow relegation-threatened side S.P.A.L..
While the first half was not devoid of action, it certainly had nothing on the second half. But two out of the three goals found themselves hit the net in the opening forty-five minutes with Brescia opening the score 10 minutes into the game. It took S.P.A.L. a lot longer than that with an added time equalizer before half-time. Even that refused to change the course of the game with the hosts eventually scoring in the second half and walking away with a convincing win.
Hellas Verona F.C. 0-4 Atalanta B.C.
There’s just something about La Dea when they’re at their best and this season that has been more often than not, with this game proving as much. While Verona had more dangerous attacks, and both sides ended up level with shots on goal and corners, Atalanta were lethal. They had seven shots on target, as compared to six for Verona, and four of them found the net.
And they were spread across 90 minutes with two coming in the first half and two coming within minutes of each other in the second half. It proved to be far too much for the Verona to handle and they failed to make anything happen with the time left in the game. It gave Gian Piero Gasperini’s men the time they need to rest and make the most of their advantage.
Cagliari Calcio 0-0 U.S. Sassuolo Calcio
This game ended goalless but in reality it should have been anything but. Somehow despite dominating nearly every statistics on board, Sassuolo failed to make the most of it. The first half did see quite a lot of action with the away side taking nine shots and the hosts struggling to do the same with just three attempts on goal. At least four shots sound have found the net but somehow Cagliari’s backline did their job and forced it away.
Nothing changed in the second half and despite being the side in a better position and the in-form side coming into the game Cagliari failed to do much. They only forced Sassuolo’s goalkeeper in four saves, and had a grand total of nine shots on goal despite spending more averaging minutes per attacks. In the end however, nothing worked for either side and they had to settle for the draw.
Genoa C.F.C. 1-3 U.S. Lecce
If you watched just the first half, then you’d still walk away a very happy person. Why? Well, the first half had eleven shots on goal, two yellow cards and a catalogue of action. Add to that the fact that Genoa seemed on the up and up in that first 45, then you wouldn’t be surprised. Especially since the home side walked into the game in better form and looking like they wanted to get out of the bottom.
But then walked in the second half and Lecce turned things around. Somehow, they opened the scoring and while Genoa equalized less than two minutes later, it was never going to stay level. The away side dominated proceedings after that and somehow managed to walk away with two more goals to their name including an added time insurance goal.
AC Milan 1-1 Bologna F.C. 1909
This was AC Milan’s game. This should have been an easy win for the hosts, especially with Bologna walking into the clash sitting in the 12th place. To make things even worse, they’d managed only three draws in their last five games with two losses. Not a good sign for the away side and yet, somehow after that first half, they believed in themselves. A goal 15 minutes into the game and Bologna had AC Milan reeling.
The Serie A giants dominated the game after that and did their very best to try and get back into the game which they eventually did. It took them 12 shots and 62 dangerous attacks in their effort to get one goal back but they failed to double their lead and had to settle for a draw.
Parma Calcio 1913 1-0 U.C. Sampdoria
It was a shot party. Quite literally with both shots firing on goal whenever they got the chance and they got plenty of chances to do just that. But few people watching would have expected there to be 24 shots on goal but only nine on target in total. Because both sides managed to create far more than anyone expected with a combined total of 125 dangerous attacks. Yet Parma was the one who eventually broke the deadlock with a 78th-minute goal and that proved to be the decider in the end.
S.S.C. Napoli 2-1 Udinese Calcio
The game to watch in the Serie A, despite the schedule, and it certainly did not disappoint with three goals finding the net before full time. However, that meant that despite Udinese putting doing well with the chances they had, the away side struggled to break the hosts. Gennaro Gattuso’s side opened the scoring in what was a lifeless first half but things changed in the second.
Udinese found their rhythm of sorts and despite an early second-half goal from Napoli, the away side had momentum on their side for most of the final quarter of the game. They made it count by pulling a goal back but despite five shots on goal in the final half-hour, Napoli stood firm.