The fat lady has not yet started singing. But the Old Lady is ripping the foil off a bottle of fizz. Juventus will seal their fifth consecutive Scudetto if Napoli fail to win away to Roma on Monday afternoon (which you can follow live with Jacob Steinberg’s minute-by-minute report from 2pm), so we’re holding back the main part of my weekly Serie A blog until after that match – which also has significant implications for both teams involved.
But for those who just can’t wait that long, here are some quick thoughts on Juventus’s 2-1 win away to Fiorentina, along with the usual Talking Points from the weekend.
• Juventus got some breaks early on at the Stadio Artemio Franchi. They were fortunate to be 1-0 up at the interval, after a first half in which Federico Bernardeschi had a goal disallowed on a questionable offside call and Fiorentina were denied a penalty for a clear shirt tug by Daniele Rugani. But the referee, Paolo Tagliavento, did later award the hosts a spot-kick for a non-existent foul on Nikola Kalinic, only for Gigi Buffon to save it.
These incidents do not necessarily even out. The whole game would have gone differently if those initial decisions had gone the other way. Fiorentina have the right to feel frustrated after outplaying their rivals for long stretches. Their 21 shots were the most Juventus have faced in any game this season. Likewise, the six shots that they allowed were a record low for the Bianconeri in this campaign.
But equally, Juventus deserve credit where it’s due. They were clinical in taking their chances, the first a beautifully constructed goal – volleyed home by Mario Mandzukic after Paul Pogba headed down Sami Khedira’s cross-field ball – and the second an act of defiant opportunism from Álvaro Morata just moments after Fiorentina had equalised.
The fact that the Spaniard was on as a substitute tells you everything you need to know about the depth and the quality of this squad. Juventus are – or, will be – deserving champions, and to have sewn it up this early after the miserable start they made to the campaign is astonishing.
Frankly, this one statistic says it all:
Juve have taken 73 points from a possible 75 since 31 October. https://t.co/rdzUTk0SGK
— Paolo Bandini (@Paolo_Bandini) April 24, 2016
• Rugani was fortunate not to give away a penalty last night, but he did receive his first top-flight yellow card, and in his 53rd appearance at this level. For a centre-back, that’s remarkable.
• Inter’s match against Udinese on Saturday was the first in Serie A history not to feature a single Italian in either starting XI. Foreign footballers now make up 56.1% of all players in the division, according to Gazzetta dello Sport, and the Italian Footballers’ Association president, Damiano Tommasi, is far from alone in believing that “the rules are wrong”.
• Still, that was a good 3-1 win for Inter - made all the better by Éder finally grabbing his first goal for the club. Roberto Mancini insisted afterwards that he had not given up hope of third place, and a Napoli win on Monday would keep his team’s slender hopes alive. If nothing else, Inter’s victory was well-timed for the visit of representatives from China’s Suning Commerce Group, who are said to be close to buying a minority stake in the club.
• Remember that fan who we saw weeping in the stands after Francesco Totti came off the bench to score twice against Torino? Well, his name was Alessio Avallone, and the club invited him down to meet his hero at training last week. “I was not even born when Totti made his debut in Serie A,” the 22-year-old told reporters. “But he’s a huge part of my life. Roma are my true girlfriend.”
• Palermo struck a vital blow in their battle for top-flight survival, winning 2-0 away to Frosinone. The Sicilians remain behind Carpi - who have a game in hand, at home to Empoli on Monday evening - on goal difference, but with home fixtures still to come against Sampdoria (now realistically safe from relegation) and Verona (already sunk), escape suddenly looks achievable. This was their first win since 24 January.
• Sassuolo continue to trail Milan in the race for Europe, but they might have kept the Rossoneri from poaching their manager Eusebio Di Francesco, who has signed a new three-year contract. That said, the deal is reported to include a €3m release clause.
Results: Atalanta 1-0 Chievo, Bologna 2-0 Genoa, Fiorentina 1-2 Juventus, Frosinone 0-2 Palermo, Inter 3-1 Udinese, Sampdoria 2-1 Lazio, Torino 1-3 Sassuolo
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Juventus | 35 | 49 | 85 |
| 2 | Napoli | 34 | 43 | 73 |
| 3 | Roma | 34 | 35 | 68 |
| 4 | Inter Milan | 35 | 15 | 64 |
| 5 | Fiorentina | 35 | 16 | 59 |
| 6 | AC Milan | 34 | 8 | 53 |
| 7 | Sassuolo | 35 | 5 | 52 |
| 8 | Chievo | 35 | 1 | 48 |
| 9 | Lazio | 35 | -2 | 48 |
| 10 | Genoa | 35 | -4 | 43 |
| 11 | Torino | 35 | -5 | 42 |
| 12 | Empoli | 34 | -8 | 42 |
| 13 | Atalanta | 35 | -6 | 41 |
| 14 | Sampdoria | 35 | -3 | 40 |
| 15 | Bologna | 35 | -11 | 40 |
| 16 | Udinese | 35 | -20 | 38 |
| 17 | Carpi | 34 | -18 | 32 |
| 18 | Palermo | 35 | -30 | 32 |
| 19 | Frosinone | 35 | -36 | 30 |
| 20 | Verona | 34 | -29 | 22 |
