By Edoardo Stella
Results from round 37 of 2020/21 season:
Serie A table:
Mission completed for Spezia
A shocking verdict for the Serie A season came to life on Saturday, as Spezia completed their mission to remain in the Serie A.
Vincenzo Italiano’s team have been fabulous this year, in what was their first season ever in the top flight for the club. The Aquilotti stunned Torino with a 4-1 win that puts Davide Nicola’s team in a dangerous position.
Should they lose their game in hand against Lazio, they will play everything on the final match against direct rivals Benevento, for what will be 90 minutes of pure tension.
Atalanta secure Champions League football again
Only a few years ago, Atalanta were a team that was fighting for relegation, but have now been turned into an Italian superpower. Gian Piero Gasperini secured a place in the Champions League for the third consecutive year, with his fourth top-four finish in five years.
It’s simply amazing to witness such a sporting miracle happen, as Atalanta’s 4-3 win over Genoa is enough with a game left. The usual players were protagonists, with Ruslan Malinovskyi getting a goal and an assist to Duvan Zapata, who paid the favour back.
Robin Gosens got his 11th of the campaign and Mario Pasalic scored consecutive goals as a substitute. There was a scare in the final minutes, with Genoa getting two goals back, but it wasn’t enough.
Juventus win 3-2 in the Derby d’Italia to keep hope for a top four place
It couldn’t be a Juventus v Inter game without the polemics post-game. The most-hyped game of the year came with Inter already crowned as champions, and Juventus in the desperate need of claiming three points.
The referee was the protagonist, giving three penalties, all of which were very dubious. Rodrigo Bentancur and Marcelo Brozovic were both sent off, while Juan Cuadrado was the man of the match.
The Columbian’s first two goals of the season gave Juventus a precious win. Inter’s unbeaten streak in the league comes to an end after 21 games, but it’s a result that will probably live longer in the memory of their opponent’s heads, especially if the pull off a top four finish.
Roma return on top of their city
At last, Roma won a game against a big team and it comes in a very important game. Roma and Lazio played for pride, mostly, even if both teams were fighting for their position.
Goalkeeper Daniel Fuzato made two massive saves against Luis Alberto and Ciro Immobile, helping him keep a clean sheet. Henrikh Mkhitaryan finished off a beautiful bit of play from Edin Dzeko, whilst Pedro sealed off the game with a long shot.
Roma won their first derby since September 2018 and Laziohave now lost all hope of a top four finish.
Napoli overcome their fear against Fiorentina
Naples is a city known for its superstition and many have people already realised the similarity between the league finish of Napoli this season and the 2017/18 one.
Three years ago, Napoli had their last chance to win the league, they had just beaten Juventus but then came the turning point. Juventus were playing Inter, whilst Napoli played Fiorentina away. Juventus achieved a miracle comeback win, while Napoli lost.
Following Juventus’s win on Saturday (with the same exact score), and Napoli’s trip to Florence, fans were concerned it could happen again, although decisive for a place in the top four.
However, Lorenzo Insigne’s goal and assist to Piotr Zielinski were enough to give Napoli the advantage ahead of the final game.
Unbelievable ending punishes Benevento
Benevento went up against Crotone and gained an instant advantage when Vladimir Golemic was sent off in the first half. Benevento were comfortable all throughout, but missed many chances, even though they appeared happy to keep a slow tempo and avoid the fast counter-attacks from Crotone.
It looked as though the win was theirs, but Simy proved decisive. The Nigerian striker was at the perfect place in stoppage time, as Crotone found an unbelievable equaliser with a man down.
Benevento were left shocked and need to hope Torino lose their game in hand. Their rivals will play Simone Inzaghi’s Lazio, brother of Benevento’s coach Filippo Inzaghi. Can Simone do his brother a massive favour?
Quagliarella secures ninth place for Sampdoria
A late penalty from substitute Fabio Quagliarella gave Sampdoria a narrow win over Udinese. This lifts the Blucerchiati to 49 points and helps them secure ninth place.
Udinese conceded another penalty, which means it’s the negative record in the history of the Serie A (13).
It was a game with no major value, as both teams had already secured their season objectives.
Embed from Getty ImagesSassuolo honour Roberto De Zerbi
Coach De Zerbi has now secured two consecutive eighth-places, which may yet become seventh this year. It’s inevitable to say he did an excellent job coaching Sassuolo, who are the smallest city among the ones featuring a Serie A side.
He communicated his farewell after three years in charge, which was honoured with goals from Manuel Locatelli, Gregoire Defrel and Jeremie Boga. It’s a 3-1 win that keeps the hopes of a place in the Conference League alive, even if the possibility is small.
Sassuolo have to face Lazio, while Roma will travel to Spezia.
Milan condemn themselves to a do-or-die final game
A win against Cagliari would have meant a top four finish in the bag, but Milan made it hard on themselves and struggled to break apart the Sardinians.
The visitors received the news they would be safe from relegation just a few hours before the match and played a nice game which proved they really shouldn’t have been involved in the relegation fight. Milan just need to win their final game to finish in front of Juventus and Napoli.
The issue is the game is against Atalanta, who might yet rotate. Their future opponents just secured the top four and are due to play the Coppa Italia final three days before this clash.
10th place still in contention
Hellas Verona thought they had made it, as they were beating 11th placed Bologna with 10 minutes to go. However, a late goal by Rodrigo Palacio helped the visitors claim a draw and remain within three points of the top 10, with the last place available occupied by Verona.
The home side remain winless in over a month, but Juventus and Milan fans will hope they will be able to stop Napoli on Sunday to help them secure a top four finish.
Bologna can also play a key role, as they will host Juventus on the final game.
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