Ten things we learned from the Serie A weekend
Napoli look unstoppable after going 15 points clear again, Juventus are the clean sheet KINGS following a 15th shut-out while evergreen Henrikh Mkhitaryan is only getting better with age at Inter Milan… 10 THINGS WE LEARNED from Serie A
- Napoli are proving runaway leaders after triumphing again over Sassuolo
- AC Milan built on their victory against Tottenham by winning again at Monza
- But it was a nightmare return to Italian football for Portugal icon Paulo Sousa
This weekend’s Serie A action saw the league’s heavyweight sides all secure important wins – including Napoli, who maintain their ascendancy at the top of the table.
The Naples outfit are now 15 points clear of nearest rivals Inter Milan after their 2-0 win over Sassuolo and look certain to claim their first Scudetto since 1990.
Meanwhile, there were also wins for Inter Milan, AC Milan and Roma, while Salernitana continued their plight despite the arrival of new boss Paulo Sousa.
Sportsmail takes a look at 10 things we learned from the Serie A weekend.
Angel Di Maria was on target in Juventus’s 2-0 win at Spezia in Serie A at the weekend
NOTHING CAN STOP NAPOLI
If Napoli were a music band they would certainly be Queen – hitmakers of Don’t Stop Me Now – and it appears most teams will find it hard to do just that after they maintained a 15-point gap at the top with a 2-0 win over Sassuolo.
Luciano Spalletti’s side are a team in perfect harmony who are dazzling fans and capturing hearts everywhere. They enjoyed a brilliant day with brilliant goals from Victor Osimhen and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and kept yet another clean sheet.
It doesn’t look like there is any club in Serie A capable of resisting the strength and arrogance that Napoli are producing right now. Having lost only once and winning 20 out of 23 matches so far, it is hard to find a flaw in the team at present. Osimhen scored his 100th goal in the win over Sassuolo – reaching the figure quicker than Cristiano Ronaldo did.
Napoli’s aggressive outfit are reminiscent of Liverpool under Jurgen Klopp and they defend like Juventus did during Massimiliano Allegri’s first spell at the club.
Napoli’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (left) celebrates scoring in the 2-0 win over Sassuolo
SUPER SUB JUNIOR MESSIAS IS BECOMING MILAN’S MAIN MAN
The Brazilian is the best super-sub in the division because of his decisive impact – and the fact he never kicks up a fuss when he is named on the bench by Stefano Pioli.
The forward played for Serie D side Gozzano just a few years ago but today he is a reference point for AC Milan. He was fundamental to their win over Monza – scoring the winner in a 1-0 victory to give the team confidence that they could reignite their bid for a top-four place.
He might not have the technical ability of an AC Milan icon like Kaka and perhaps not the physical strength of a midfielder like Clarence Seedorf, but he has absolutely been more decisive than Charles De Ketelaere, Milan’s flop £31million signing last year.
Messias made his Serie A debut at the age of 29 back in 2020 before joining Milan for £8m last summer following a loan spell. He can now be considered as one of the most important and most useful players in the team after a fairytale career that promises to deliver a happy ending.
Junior Messias has emerged as a key player in AC Milan’s pursuit of a top-four finish this term
SABIRI’S STILL BLOWING HOT AND COLD
Abdelhamid Sabiri’s match against Bologna was certainly a rollercoaster ride.
In the 65th minute, the Moroccan Sampdoria star was sent onto the pitch by his manager Dejan Stankovic and from that moment on it was eventful to say the least. Three minutes after his introduction he scored a penalty but in the 71st minute he missed a second spot-kick.
There were contrasting emotions for Sabiri after being left out of the starting XI. He can be clumsy like a goofy cartoon character and his journey with Sampdoria has been a little up and down.
The attacking midfielder has the quality to be one of the best players in Serie A but he has to work on his discipline to avoid slip-ups in his performance. He scored an important goal from 12 yards and could be exceptional if the Sampdoria coaches help him work on his tactical understanding.
Abdelhamid Sabiri scored for Sampdoria with a penalty but then missed another spot-kick
MKHITARYAN IS AGING LIKE A FINE WINE
Henrikh Mkhitaryan has proven to be Inter Milan’s most influential player in an important moment in their season.
His goal against Udinese secured a crucial win that pulls Inter back to 15 points behind leaders Napoli, ensuring their rivals cannot wheel away any further. What’s special about his season is that he was considered too old and at the end of his career after leaving Arsenal for Roma in 2020.
However, he still looks just as fit as any of his team-mates at the age of 34 after a dominant display against Udinese, proving Simeone Inzaghi can trust him. He might not have the physical strengths from when he was at Dortmund and Man United but he is still a star that shines brightly in the heart of Inter’s midfield.
Precise in all moments of the match, he scored with a magnificent right-footed volley into the bottom corner of the net to cap off a brilliant display.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan netted a crucial goal for Inter Milan in their victory over Udinese
COURAGEOUS LECCE ARE PUSHING BOUNDARIES
It was no easy feat for Serie A minnows Lecce to go to Atalanta and get three points. This team is playing with serious courage and personality under Marco Baroni and their 2-1 win over a highly-rated team that has been impressing in the Champions League in recent years is one of the biggest surprises of the season.
Tuia, Baschirotto, Blin and goalkeeper Falcone were all excellent in the victory – Baroni has created a team that plays with a rigid shape but one that also takes risks and shows bravery against a top team.
Atalanta spent around £15m on forward Rasmus Hojlund – who scored what proved to be a consolation goal in the 87th minute – and that’s worth more than Lecce’s entire team put together.
Despite a clear economic gap, the team showed strength and character to give the clearest sign that they are not satisfied with simply avoiding relegation – they want to go as far as possible.
Lecce impressed to win 2-1 at Atalanta in what was one of the shock results of the weekend
JUVENTUS ARE THE CLEAN SHEET KINGS
After picking up 15 clean sheets from 23 games this season, things are not looking so bad for Juventus after all despite their crisis season.
The Turin outfit might have trouble scoring goals – netting just 36 compared to league leaders Napoli on 56 – but stopping them going in at their own end is where they shine brightly. They’ve let in just 17 goals, the second best record in the division behind Napoli.
Their latest result was a 2-0 win over Spezia, their fourth clean sheet in their last five games. Even without the suspended Gleison Bremer, Juventus managed to keep Mattia Perin’s goal safe from danger and secured three vital points amid their points deduction.
Without the deduction, Juventus would be in second place behind Napoli but right now they can only focus on winning as many games as possible. Allegri moving from a four-man defence to a three-man defence has certainly helped with the club’s run of clean sheets to keep his back line solid with two wing backs dropping deeper.
Allegri might have had his struggles since returning to Juventus but his defensive solidity is one thing he can rely on as a foundation on which to build on at Juve.
Juventus celebrate victory at Spezia by applauding to travelling supporters at the end
THIAW MAKES A CASE FOR THE MILAN DEFENCE
Malick Thiaw is set to play a leading role in the last three months of this season and his superb performance against Monza demonstrates how Paolo Maldini has chosen one of the best defenders to strengthen the AC Milan defence.
At 21, Thiaw has managed to win over fans, team-mates and above all coach Pioli. After five months on the bench, the German defender is finally getting to grips with Italian football, which is much more complex than the Bundesliga.
Thiaw has taken advantage of Fikayo Tomori’s recent injury issues and the poor form of Simon Kjaer and Matteo Gabbia to become a permanent starter in Pioli’s back three.
In the future, Milan will want more of his physical strength as he helped Tomori in seeing off the threat of Andrea Petagna against Monza by winning all their duels.
The Schalke defender has been a key reason why Ciprian Tatarusanu hasn’t conceded a goal for 353 minutes. He will never be considered heir to the legendary Franco Baresi but he can serenely fill the role vacated by Alessio Romagnoli with ample room for improvement in fully learning Serie A football.
Malick Thiaw has taken his chance to emerge as a key defender for AC Milan in recent weeks
SOUSA ENDURES AWFUL RETURN TO SERIE A MANAGEMENT
Paulo Sousa’s playing career to date has been better than his coaching career. The failure with Poland marked the beginning of the downward spiral of a coach who at the helm of Fiorentina had hinted at excellent tactical and communication skills.
Sousa was an outstanding defensive midfielder, but today as manager his teams seem disorganised right in the middle of the park. His debut at the helm of Salernitana was catastrophic in terms of data. His side conceded 21 shots against Lazio while only having nine of their own as Lazio had 65 per cent possession on their way to a 2-0 home defeat.
Dylan Bronn’s red card late on only served to highlight a frustrating return to the dugout for Sousa.
The new coach was welcomed with enthusiasm but the bad performance against Lazio immediately created a lot of concern among the Campania fans.
The former Portugal international will have to try to teach his methods very quickly to avoid becoming involved in a relegation scrap. This will include a higher defence, greater pressure on the opponents and greater technical quality required of the attackers who have disappointed this term.
At the moment the only untouchable player is Boulaye Dia but both Krzysztof Pyatek and Federico Bonazzoli need to show more grit – and goals.
Paulo Sousa’s return to the Serie A dugout was a forgettable one in his debut at Salernitana
A NEW NORWEGIAN HERO FOR ROMA
Ola Selvaag Solbakken is the third Norwegian player to score in Serie A for Roma after John Carew and John Arne Riise.
The forward shares his date of birth – 7 September – with a Roma legend in Pedro Waldemar Manfredini. Perhaps a sign on the luck that could accompany Solbakken’s career in the Italian capital.
His winner against Verona on the stroke of half-time was of great beauty that demonstrates how the former Bodo/Glimt star can also be a key player in Italy. His Norwegian career with Ranheim and Bodo/Glimt produced encouraging numbers with 134 appearances, 26 goals and 33 assists.
Jose Mourinho has always appreciated his characteristics, convincing Roma and Tiago Pinto to snap him up on a free transfer. Solbakken is a left-footed player who plays mainly on the right but can operate on both flanks.
Mourinho has great faith in his ability to adapt and the hope is that he can become the heir of Marco Delvecchio, the Roma forward with the second most goals in the derby against Lazio (9) after club legend Francesco Totti (11).
Jose Mourinho’s Roma have a new Norwegian star it seems in forward Ola Selvaag Solbakken
DE KETELAERE MILAN NIGHTMARE CONTINUES
Costing €35million (£31m) to buy from Club Brugge after 45 days of negotiations, De Ketelaere’s 27 appearances and 1,000 minutes for Milan has produced a total of zero goals. If De Ketelaere’s failure of a season could be summed up in one figure, it would certainly be the latter one.
The 21-year-old’s first year at the San Siro has been a nightmare. Against Monza he had the opportunity to score his first goal only to see his goalbound effort cleared off the line.
The Belgian has rarely even looked happy in Milan. He gets the simple things wrong and up to now he has seemed to belong to the category of elegant players but without being battle hardened.
The Belgian league has always exported great talent to European football but De Ketelaere does not appear to have the grit necessary to be considered a top player.
Stefano Pioli’s patience towards him is intact but that of the fans has long since ended and many are hoping he will be sold at the end of the season.
Today his value has almost halved and there doesn’t seem to be any chance to a sale outright, with options appearing to be loan deals to lower leagues.
Charles De Ketelaere has had a nightmare season at AC Milan since signing last summer
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