From top to bottom in Serie A, the storylines remain compelling, and we are kept guessing as to what happens next.
Never was that clearer this weekend than in Turin, where title challengers Juventus were held at home by relegation strugglers Empoli. Granted, Max Allegri’s men played for more than 70 minutes with 10 men after Arkadiusz Milik’s 18th minute dismissal, an initial yellow card upgraded to red after VAR intervention.
Following the clumsy challenge on Alberto Cerri, both sides deserve credit for what followed as Juve chased the win, which would have seen them stay top, while Empoli tried to claw their way out of the drop zone.
Five minutes after the restart, Dusan Vlahovic put Juve ahead with his 12th Serie A goal of the season, only for Tommaso Baldanzi to equalise 20 minutes later.
Poland international Milik, who will now be suspended for the top of the table clash at title rivals Inter Milan next Sunday, took to Instagram after the match to ask for forgiveness from the Bianconeri faithful.
If there’s any doubt it’s a two-horse title race, that was made clear on Saturday night after the latest set of Serie A 2024 highlights in the San Siro.
That was when Milan, inspired by English talent Ruben Loftus-Cheek, were held to a 2-2 draw by Bologna.
They should have won the game, but two missed penalties proved vital as the impressive visitors claimed a point with a 92nd-minute equaliser of their own from the penalty spot.
A week after the alleged racial abuse of goalkeeper Mike Maignan halted play, there was another lull to the action as a brief stoppage in the 16th minute – Maignan wears the number 16 shirt – while a Martin Luther King quote was displayed on the stadium screen.
It read: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that”.
Joshua Zirkzee opened the scoring with a shot through Maignan’s legs from a tight angle before the spot-kick story started.
When Lewis Ferguson was harshly adjudged to have caught Simon Kjaer in the face as the defender dived down to head the ball, the hosts were awarded a penalty but Olivier Giroud scuffed his kick.
Milan did equalise on the stroke of half-time as Loftus-Cheek tapped in a Davide Calabria delivery from close range.
They were then awarded another penalty in the 74th minute when Rafael Leao was blocked in the area. Theo Hernandez stepped up this time, but his effort thumped against the upright.
Loftus-Cheek headed home to restore their lead shortly afterwards after Leao and Alessandro Florenzi teamed up, yet there was still more drama to come.
Ninety-two minutes were on the clock when substitute Filippo Terracciano held Victor Kristiansen’s shirt and, after more VAR intervention, Riccardo Orsolini converted the ball under Maignan’s body.
The SBOTOP Serie A 2024 betting odds suggest Milan will finish in the top four this term but don’t put your money on them for a repeat of their 2022 title success.
After a head to head for Euro ambitions between Lazio and defending champions Napoli ended in stalemate attention turned to Sunday evening’s final game with the question: could the Florence favourites upset the title favourites?
The answer was no, but they should have probably claimed a point.
Lautaro Martinez’s 14th-minute goal—a near-post header from a Kristjan Asllani corner—settled the contest as Inter returned to the summit.
Viola had a great chance to level matters with 15 minutes remaining after goalkeeper Yann Sommer collided with M’Bala Nzola.
However, Sommer redeemed himself by saving a weak spot kick from Nicolas Gonzalez—the fifth penalty of the weekend that was not taken.
The last time as many penalties were not converted in a single weekend was during the 1960–61 Italian top-flight campaign.
Perhaps not clinical, but Serie A remains ever-compelling.
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