They say that after ten rounds of action, the league table begins to take shape. Yet, the picture on top half of the Serie A standings remains somewhat chaotic. This weekend, the majority of the big boys managed to collect three points, albeit on the back of slim wins.
This includes Juventus who put their recent calamities behind them as they emerged victorious in the Derby della Mole. So let’s identify the best and worst performers of the Calcio weekend in our Tops and Flops from Serie A Round 10.
Top (Player): Ademola Lookman
With every passing week, Ademola Lookman is consolidating his position as one of the best Serie A signings of the summer. The Englishman has been able to add an X-factor to Atalanta’s attack – which Jeremie Boga was supposed to bring last season.
This weekend, the attacker was the main protagonist in La Dea’s come-from-behind victory against Sassuolo. He provided the assist for Mario Pasalic’s equalizer after some neat footwork, before scoring a fabulous winner himself to keep Gian Piero Gasperini’s men on Napoli’s heels.
Flop (Player): Nicolò Rovella
In the last three weeks, the Juventus loanee has been one of the most impressive players at Monza, as the Biancorossi enjoyed an uprising following the appointment of Raffaele Palladino as new manager.
But the honeymoon reached an abrupt ending at Empoli who held on to secure a 1-0 victory at the expense of their Lombardian visitors.
For his part, Rovella almost cost his side another goal as he was easily dispossessed, and before the end of the match, he received his marching orders after starting a heated argument with an opponent.
A weekend to forget for the up-and-coming midfielder.
Top (Goalkeeper): Guglielmo Vicario
Speaking of Empoli’s win over Monza, Paolo Zanetti’s men owe a great deal to their custodian and his incredible saves.
Vicario is finally receiving the credit which his undoubtedly deserves, as Roberto Mancini has recently called him up for national duty, and the Italian is adamant on preserving his spot by putting up brilliant performances week in week out.
Top (Manager): Salvatore Bocchetti
After Palladino, here’s another new Serie A manager who’s making us all feel old. It seems like only yesterday that Salvatore Bocchetti was still a young defender trying to make a name for himself at Genoa.
In round 10, the new Verona manager made his Serie A managerial debut after taking over from the recently-sacked Gabriele Cioffi, and he was given a baptism of fire as the reigning Italian champions descended on the Bentegodi.
Although they ultimately left the pitch empty-handed, the Gialloblu displayed some tactical organization and a fighting spirit that has been missing since the start of the campaign, as they were close to derailing Milan’s momentum.
Surely a positive sign for the future.
Flop (Manager): Maurizio Sarri
“I don’t know what the President intends to do, but he might need a different coach, because I cannot play regularly on a turf like that, or we go play elsewhere.”
Ever the diplomat, Maurizio Sarri managed to steal the headlines away from a forgettable affair at the Olimpico Stadium between Lazio and Udinese, by causing a needless stir within his own walls.
Now surely the turf at the Olimpico can do with some enhancement, but probably the same applies on the majority of Italian stadiums who are mostly ill-equipped.
But repeatedly calling for the club’s president to wield the axe on the one’s own head is a mad stunt that only a cold maniac like Sarri can pull off.
Top (Team): Inter
To be fair, no side truly delivered a stupendous performance this week, with the vast majority of fixtures either ending in a draw or in a minimal margin. Therefore, Inter gets the nod in this category for their relatively comfortable win over Salernitana.
The Nerazzurri are gradually regaining their mojo, and as we mentioned before, they have been revived by the back-to-back encounters against Barcelona.
On Sunday, the Southerners never really threatened the hosts in anything noteworthy, as Lautaro Martinez and Nicolò Barella guided Simone Inzaghi’s side towards a routine victory.
Flop (Match): Lazio vs Udinese
While this was one of the most anticipated clashes of Round 10, the Olimpico affair turned out to be a disappointing one for the neutral Serie A fan, ending in a goalless draw.
Whether Sarri’s alibi was the true cause behind the lack of action or not remains debatable, but what’s certain is that Ciro Immobile’s injury took the wind out of Lazio’s sails.
Top (Match): Napoli vs Bologna
On the contrary, the back-and-forth action between Napoli and Bologna made it up for Calcio fanatics who weren’t quite satisfied with the earlier action on Sunday.
The Partenopei might be unstoppable in the Champions League, but the Emilians still managed to give them some scares.
At the end of the day, Victor Osimhen’s timely return sealed a 3-2 victory for Luciano Spalletti’s men.
Top (Goal): Giorgos Kyriakopoulos
By all accounts, Lookman was the man of the match in Bergamo. Yet, it was Kyriakopoulos who provided the best highlight of the encounter as he gave Sassuolo the lead with a stunning volley.
Furthermore, Luca D’Andrea became the first player born in 2004 to provide an assist in Serie A.
Ma che gol ha fatto Giorgos #Kyriakopoulos? ?
Assist del primo 2004 della Serie A Luca D’Andrea ?#ForzaSasol ?? pic.twitter.com/zVUGXoxouv
— U.S. Sassuolo (@SassuoloUS) October 17, 2022
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