It was quiet a weekend in Serie A: a stirring comeback; a wonderful piece of sportsmanship; a veteran haunting haunt his former employers; the birthday boy showing he has lost none of his impudence (or talent) and Lazio leapfrogging their city rivals Roma into the fourth and final Champions League spot.
And then there was the small matter of a true footballing legend notching his 500th (and 501st) club career goal.
The Serie A 2021 highlights began on Friday night as Inter Milan won in Florence to move to the top of the table, yet by the end their city neighbours had returned to the summit to continue their surprise title charge.
Bergamo bonanza and Belotti class
It was an extraordinary game in Bergamo which looked home and hosed as Atalanta opened up a 3-0 lead against Torino inside 21 minutes.
The contest should have been over at that point as Josip Ilicic – initially disallowed but given via VAR – Robin Gosens (officially credited as an own goal) and Luis Muriel got on the scoresheeet.
At that point, the SBOTOP Serie A 2021 betting odds – and any measured football fan – would have felt basement battlers Torino were doomed.
Andrea Belotti reduced the arrears with the rebound from a penalty before Gleison Bremer and substitute Federico Bonazzoli completed a stunning fightback to earn themselves a point.
Despite their dire situation at 3-0 down midway through the first half, special mention to Belotti who showed great sportsmanship by convincing the referee not to book an opponent – or even award a free kick on the edge of the box – as he stumbled.
Pandev at the double
When you’ve not scored twice in a Serie A game for more than seven years, there’s never a bad time so Goran Pandev would have truly enjoyed this moment.
His first league brace since 2013 just happened to be against his former club, Coppa Italia holders Napoli.
Classily, the 37-year-old refused to celebrate against his former club as he and goalkeeper Mattia Perin were the Genoa heroes.
Pandev pounced on an error playing out from the back for the first goal, then added a second from a team passing move.
Perin performed heroics in goal, with the woodwork rescuing him from Andrea Petagna’s header and a Lorenzo Insigne volley.
Matteo Politano drilled one in for Napoli but it was too little, too late.
Birthday boy Ronaldo is timeless
As if to prove the point, the genius that is CR7 again inspired his side to victory in the week he celebrated his 36th birthday.
The irony was not lost on me as this truly gifted footballer – who shows no signs of allowing old ‘father time’ to catch up on him – reached for the referee’s watch to check goal-line technology after hitting the crossbar against Roma.
The Portuguese genius had already netted the opener for the Old Lady and nearly doubled his tally as a strike took a big deflection to bounce off the underside of the bar and back out.
Ronaldo appealed to the assistant referee for a goal before consulting Daniele Orsato himself. He then checked the referee’s watch to make sure the ball hadn’t crossed the line, laughing with the match official.
The highest scorer in top level world football has now netted 88 times in 113 Juventus games. They are up into third and can’t be ruled out of the title equation.
The wonder that is Zlatan!
When my beloved Manchester United were reported to be interested in signing a then 34 year-old Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the summer of 2016, I must confess I was somewhat underwhelmed.
Looking from afar here was a player who, while talented, was in my opinion grossly overrated and would have limited effectiveness as he approached the twilight of his career.
How wrong I was!
When he left the club 18 months later with three winners’ medals and many moments to cherish, I was only wishing we had signed him a decade earlier when he was 24 and could have spent the next 10 years becoming a bona fide club legend.
Now less than a year shy of his 40th birthday, the flamboyant Swede is still adding to his considerable showreel of spectacular and match-winning goals.
He was at it again at the San Siro on Sunday, notching his 500th goal at club level by expertly steering the ball into the far top to fire unfancied AC Milan corner with the inside of the boot!
He duly added another.
Lazio have city bragging rights
Simone Inzaghi’s side would have already claimed that with some justification a month ago, especially after they swept Roma aside with a 3-0 victory in the Derby della Capitale.
They can now point to the league table as further proof as they are again more than matching their city rivals.
That’s after Cagliari were beaten on Sunday night.
Ciro Immobile scored the only goal and, while Lazio still trail Roma on goal difference, I do not expect it to stay that way for long.
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