The gap in the Serie A standings between the top five teams and the rest of the league is becoming increasingly evident. Napoli, Atalanta, Inter, Fiorentina, and Lazio have slightly pulled away from Juventus and now maintain a comfortable distance from Milan (who still have a game to recover) and the other teams.
The post-break football weekend started with a lackluster Milan-Juventus match at San Siro, ending 0-0 amid the boos of Milan’s disappointed fans, dissatisfied with both the result and the modest spectacle on display. The happiest fans following this result were those of Milan and Juventus’ competitors, starting with Inter supporters, who had already celebrated earlier in the afternoon on Saturday after their team’s dominant 5-0 win at Verona. It was a fearsome display by Inzaghi’s men, who scored five goals in 40 minutes on a pitch where Roma and especially Napoli had previously suffered defeats.
After the San Siro match, the first team to take advantage of Milan and Juventus’ slip-up was Atalanta. In Saturday’s evening fixture, they triumphed 3-1 against Parma at the Tardini with a performance full of personality and strength. On Sunday afternoon, Fiorentina followed suit, defeating Como 2-0 with goals from Adli and the ever-present Kean, who now has 9 goals in 13 appearances, second only to Retegui in the top scorer standings. At 18:00, Napoli responded with a 1-0 win at Maradona against Ranieri’s Roma in a dull game, settled by a goal from former player Romelu Lukaku. In the evening, Lazio wrapped up the day with a dominant 3-0 victory over Bologna, securing their fifth consecutive win, just like Fiorentina and Atalanta. It’s been an incredible run for a team that appeared to be on the path to downsizing during the summer and had even faced protests from some of their fans during the pre-season.
