Amid a battle for Supercoppa Italiana glory in Saudi Arabia, another whirlwind weekend of Serie A action witnessed breathtaking comebacks and landmark victories. Gameweek 21 offered an enthralling mix of jaw-dropping performances, dramatic turnarounds, and captivating storylines.
From Roma’s start to the post-Jose Mourinho era over Milan’s outrageous late win at Udinese to Juventus’ demolition of Lecce, the action in Serie A overshadowed proceedings in the Middle East. Buckle up as we delve into the five most noteworthy takeaways from the latest round in the Italian top-flight.
‘Better Call’ De Rossi
Roma took a significant leap of faith when they replaced seasoned campaigner Mourinho with a relatively inexperienced Daniele De Rossi. However, the club legend got his managerial tenure at the Stadio Olimpico with a morale-boosting 2-1 win against relegation-battling Hellas Verona.
Goals from Romelu Lukaku and Lorenzo Pellegrini inside the opening 25 minutes put Roma in cruising control of proceedings. Despite Verona’s valiant late effort to avoid defeat in the capital, De Rossi’s charges kept their ground to return to the win column for the first time since mid-December.
De Rossi’s ambition is to instill a new mentality at the Olimpico. In contrast to Mourinho’s philosophy, the former midfielder wants Roma to have control of the game and keep possession. After a promising start, it’s only natural to wonder – can the ex-captain be Roma’s savior?
It’s time to say NO TO RACISM
High-flying Milan pulled off a sensational fightback to avenge a 1-0 defeat in the reverse fixture with a last-gasp 3-2 win at Udinese. Luka Jovic and Noah Okafor scored off the bench beyond the 80th minute to inspire Stefano Pioli’s side to a fourth consecutive Serie A victory.
But the incident that took place midway through the first half made the Rossoneri comeback pale into insignificance. Racist chants coming from a section of the stands forced Mike Maignan to interrupt the game and walk off the pitch.
Although the France national team goalkeeper returned between the sticks, another racial scandal in Serie A made FIFA president Gianni Infantino call for more severe punishments.
Frosinone give Cagliari taste of their own medicine
Cagliari staged an incredible late comeback to beat Frosinone 4-3 despite trailing 3-0 heading into the last 15 minutes of the game back in October. Eusebio Di Francesco’s side repaid the Sardinians the favor on Sunday afternoon, turning a 1-0 halftime deficit into a sensational 3-1 win.
Juventus loanee Matias Soule grabbed the spotlight, slotting home an inch-perfect free-kick to complete the turnaround after Luca Mazzitelli canceled out Ibrahim Sulemana’s first-half opener midway through the second half.
Another Juventus player put the icing on the cake deep into stoppages. Nadir Zortea served second-half substitute Kaio Jorge on a plate to kill the game off in the 95th minute, ending Frosinone’s’ miserable seven-game winless run in Serie A (D1, L6).
One-man show at Castellani
Davide Nicola’s first Serie A game in charge of relegation-threatened Empoli six days after the sacking of Aurelio Andreazzoli witnessed incredible scenes at Stadio Carlo Castellani. The division’s worst home side tackled mid-table Monza in a must-win clash and excelled.
Fresh off marking his 2023/24 debut with a consolation goal against Hellas Verona, Szymon Zurkowski put on a show in Tuscany to hand Empoli only their second win in 11 home matches in Serie A this season (D2, L7).
The Polish midfielder bagged his first-ever hat-trick in the Italian top-flight to single-handedly rip Raffaele Palladino’s underperforming side apart and help Gli Azzurri whittle down the gap on 17th-placed Cagliari to only two points.
Max Allegri writes his name down in history books
After only recently shattering Carlo Ancelotti’s record for the most 1-0 wins in Serie A, Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri reached another milestone as Bianconeri thrashed out-of-sorts Lecce 3-0 at Stadio Via del Mare.
In-form frontman Dusan Vlahovic notched up a second-half brace before Gleison Bremer’s towering header capped off a memorable night for Juventus, extending their winning league streak to five matches. In addition to leapfrogging Inter at the table’s summit, Allegri oversaw a 12th clean sheet of 2023/24.
Juve’s commanding performance in Puglia was a fitting way for Allegri to earn his place in a select club. He has become only the third manager to win 300 games in Serie A after Nereo Rocco and Giovanni Trapattoni.
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