Milan kept up their unbeaten run at the top of Serie A with a win over Bologna in another great weekend of Italian football.
The Serie A 2021 betting odds here at SBOTOP place Napoli, Inter Milan and Juventus as the three favourites and they are all playing on Sunday night; and that meant Milan had the chance to go top of the table when they visited Bologna, which they successfully did. The other main challengers to the big three, Atalanta, slipped up at home to Udinese, while an infamous name made an appearance in Lazio’s squad.
Let’s have a look at four takeaways from the weekend’s Italian offering.
1. Bologna indiscipline hands victory to Milan
Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored for both sides as a 2-4 win for Milan propelled them to the top of the league on Saturday, but the main story of this match was Bologna’s loss of control as they finished the game with nine men. Milan were already a goal to the good courtesy of Rafael Leao when Bologna went down to ten, on 20 minutes, as Adama Soumaoro was red-carded for a nasty foul on Rade Krunic. And I Rossoneri doubled their lead through David Calabria on 35 minutes. An own goal from Ibra, early in the second half, gave the hosts a lifeline which they took and Musa Barrow converted for Bologna to make it 2-2 on 52 minutes.
But they blew it spectacularly when Roberto Soriano chopped down Fodo Ball-Toure and he too saw red, which meant Bologna had to play the remaining half-hour with just nine men. Incredibly they almost held out but with six minutes remaining Ismail Bennacer fired a long-range effort into the bottom left corner. As the game entered injury time Bennacer turned provider, teeing up Ibrahimovic who placed his shot from distance into the opposite corner.
2. Atalanta blow it at the death…again
A home game against lower mid-table Udinese gave Atalanta a great chance to keep up their challenge at the top and when Ruslan Malinovskyi scored early in the second half it looked like the hosts were on track for three vital points. Gian Piero Gasperini’s side is known for its attacking prowess but they simply didn’t show up for much of this game; while dominating possession with over 67 per cent of the ball, Atalanta only had eight shots on goal to Udinese’s nine.
Malinovskyi came close to making in 2-0 only to see his shot saved in the top right corner but the second goal didn’t come, and when Lazar Samardzic swung in a 94th-minute corner, the Atalanta defence switched off and Beto powered home his header to snatch a point for Bologna and deny their hosts two.
With the firepower of Malinovskyi, Duvan Zapata, Luis Muriel and Josip Ilicic in the team, this was simply a bad day at the office for I Nerazzurri. Gasperini will be particularly exasperated as this is the second time in a week Atalanta have blown a lead late in the game, losing 3-2 to Manchester United in midweek.
3. Salernitana set for a short stay
Having returned to the top flight after an absence of 23 seasons I Granata are finding it hard going and, after nine rounds are rock bottom on four points. With the worst set of Serie A 2021 results in the league, the new boys have a mountain to climb already, and a 2-4 defeat at home to mid-table Empoli hasn’t helped one bit. The match was over by the break as Empoli led by 4-0 at halftime, and though a goal from on-loan defender Luca Ranieri and an own goal halved the deficit the hosts failed to overcome a disastrous defensive 45 minutes.
Head coach Stefano Colantuono returned to the club after a three-year absence during which time three other managers led the team, the latest, Fabrizio Castori just for the 2020/21 campaign. The lack of stability at the club won’t help and they look destined for Serie B on current form.
4. Mussolini named in Lazio squad but Simeone shines for Hellas
The great-grandson of former Italy dictator Benito Mussolini made it in Lazio’s squad for the visit to Hellas Verona. 18-year-old Romano Floriani Mussolini was called up by Maurizio Sarri for the Sunday trip. But it was an unsuccessful afternoon for the Rome giants as four goals from Giovanni Simeone sent them home pointless. Ciro Immobile scored his eighth goal of the season to stay at the head of the race for the Capocannoniere but his strike was only a consolation, while Floriani Mussolini stayed on the bench and will have to wait for his full debut.
The young star has decided to use both his surnames, as allowed by Italian law and he told the Rome press: “Here at Lazio, I’m judged only for the way I play and not because my surname is Mussolini.”
The Roma academy product can play at right-back or right midfield and looks set to make his senior debut soon.
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