There’s been plenty of action in Serie A on Sunday, as we take a look at everything that happened across football venues in Italy. While Atalanta failed to live up to expectations, Bologna bounced back on the back of a managerial shift.
Without further ado, let’s skip to our Sunday recap.
Unconvincing Atalanta drop points against Cremonese
Sunday’s Serie A action got underway at the Gewiss Stadium as top-four bidding Atalanta and newly-promoted Cremonese shared the spoils in a hard-fought 1-1 draw.
After a goalless first half, Gian Piero Gasperini’s side went all-out seeking an all-important deadlock-breaker and found it through Merih Demiral midway through the second half.
Teun Koopmeiners whipped the ball in from the free-kick, with the former Juventus defender heading home to give La Dea a well-deserved lead.
Atalanta thought they had a fifth win in six Serie A games in the bag, only to concede four minutes later as Emanuele Valeri latched onto the rebound to hand Cremonese their second consecutive draw.
While the visitors can be more than happy about taking home another point, Gasperini’s men missed a golden opportunity to go alone at the top of the standings.
Bologna sink Fiorentina in their first match in the post-Mihajlovic era
Days after sacking long-serving manager Sinisa Mihajlovic, bottom-half Bologna eked out a precious 2-1 home win over Fiorentina to end a dismal five-game winless Serie A start (D3, L2).
Both sides had their chances to score in the opening 45 minutes, but the Renato Dall’Ara crowd had to wait until the 54th minute for the breakthrough goal.
Unfortunately for the home fanbase, La Viola took the lead through Lucas Martinez Quarta, who tapped the ball into the empty net following Riccardo Saponara’s delightful low cross.
However, it took the Rossoblu only five minutes to reply as Musa Barrow ran behind his marker and put the ball past Pietro Terracciano with a crafted finish.
Bologna’s blitzkrieg was too hot to handle for Vincenzo Italiano’s team, with talismanic striker Marko Arnautovic pouncing on Dense Kasius’ cross on the far post to complete the comeback.
Newcomers share the spoils at Via del Mare
Lecce and Monza drew 1-1 at the Stadio Via del Mare in an exciting duel between the two newly-promoted clubs, both of which were on the lookout for their first Serie A win of the season.
Both sides headed into proceedings seeking their breakthrough victories, with visiting Monza losing their opening five league matches via an aggregate score of 13-2.
Giovanni Stroppa’s men looked eager to defy their dreadful league start from the get-go and were rewarded for their effort in the 35th minute when Stefano Sensi took them in front.
Despite carrying a slender lead into the break, Monza collapsed only three minutes into the second half as Joan Gonzalez drew Lecce level with a shot from inside the box.
I Lupi thought they could run away with all three points as they were awarded a late penalty. Yet after consulting with the side-pitch monitor, referee Luca Pairetto overturned his initial call.
Udinese come from behind to thrash Sassuolo
High-flying Udinese battled back from a 1-0 halftime deficit to defeat an underperforming Sassuolo 3-1 at the Mapei Stadium, extending their winning Serie A streak to four matches.
After a thumping 4-0 home win over Roma last time out, the Friulani took the field with high expectations, but Davide Frattesi’s first-half opener clipped their wings.
But Ruan Tessoldi’s straight red on the stroke of halftime threw Andrea Sottil’s outfit a lifeline, and they embraced it with their arms wide open.
Udinese’s relentless attacks in the second half failed to pay off as Sassuolo kept the lines compact before the introduction of towering striker Beto turned things around.
Less than ten minutes since joining the fray, the Brazilian star headed home Roberto Pereyra’s cross to level the score and set the tone for the visitors’ stellar comeback.
Lazar Samardzic unleashed a thunderbolt from the edge of the box in the 91st minute to give Udinese the advantage before Beto doubled his tally with a top-class finish.
Lazio back to winning ways thanks to Ciro
Lazio eked out a 2-0 triumph over a stubborn Hellas Verona side at the Stadio Olimpico despite a relatively underwhelming display.
Encouraged by a 4-2 demolition of Feyenoord in midweek Europa League action, the Biancocelesti returned to winning ways in Serie A following a 2-1 home loss to Napoli last weekend.
An evenly-contested first half failed to produce a goal, though Maurizio Sarri’s team came close to scoring through Toma Basic, whose long-range effort rattled off the left post.
While Verona spent most of the second half as spectators, trying to defend a point, Ciro Immobile came up massive again to break the goal drought with a thumping header at the far post in the 68th minute.
Lazio controlled the tempo for the remainder of the game and eventually managed to put the second on the board as Luis Alberto hammered home from the edge of the penalty area to seal the deal for the hosts.