Another entertaining Sunday in Serie A is behind us, and it’s time to take a look at the highlight moments. Atalanta made no mistake at Empoli in the curtain-raising fixture, with plenty of action following up.
Torino defied the odds to beat reigning champions Milan, but we will focus on the three remaining matches.
Udinese Held Goalless in Cremona
Cremonese’s winless start to their first Serie A season in the new millennium continues after they shared the spoils with Udinese in a scoreless draw at the Stadio Giovanni Zini.
After Torino ended the Friulians’ nine-game unbeaten league start last time out, Andrea Sottil’s side headed into proceedings adamant to get back to the win column.
However, despite being heavily fancied to pour more misery on warm relegation candidates Cremonese, Udinese failed to find the net for the second time in three league matches (D2, L1).
Sought-after midfielder Lazar Samardzic came close to becoming Udinese’s hero late in the game, but Marco Carnesecchi made a comfortable save to deny his low effort.
Even though they have extended their winless Serie A streak to four games, they haven’t lost further ground on fourth-placed Lazio due to the Biancocelesti‘s disappointment on home turf.
On the other hand, another failed attempt to grab all three points leaves Cremonese deeply rooted in the relegation battle, as Massimiliano Alvini’s men now trail 17th-placed Lecce by two points.
Fiorentina Win at the Death in Liguria
Fiorentina snatched away a last-gasp 2-1 victory at the Stadio Alberto Picco to sink a 10-man Spezia Calcio and arrest a dreadful four-game winless Serie A streak (D1, L3).
With Vincenzo Italiano’s future in Florence hanging by a thread, La Viola went into this fixture desperate to get their stuttering league campaign back on track against one of the lowest-performing teams in Serie A.
Italiano’s side flew out of the traps as Nikola Milenkovic headed home Cristiano Biraghi’s near-post cross to break the deadlock in Liguria, marking the visitors’ third goal on six Serie A travels this season.
But Fiorentina’s celebrations were short-lived. Spezia replied 20 minutes after falling behind through talismanic striker M’Bala Nzola, whose unstoppable first-time shot squeezed past Pietro Terracciano.
Unfortunately for under-pressure manager Luca Gotti, Nzola’s fifth goal of the season proved only a consolation goal for the Aquilotti.
A chaotic second half saw several promising goalscoring chances on both ends of the pitch, yet Dimitris Nikolaou’s straight red in the 82nd minute turned the tide in the visitors’ favor.
Reduced to ten men, Spezia unsurprisingly dropped back to save a point, but second-half substitute Arthur Cabral stunned them in stoppage time to win for Fiorentina.
With four defeats from their last five league outings (D1), it’s no wonder Gotti’s lads have slipped to 16th in the table, only three points clear of the drop zone.
Serie A Enterainers Salernitana Stun Olimpico
Salernitana pulled off a sensational second-half comeback to turn a 1-0 halftime deficit into an emphatic 3-1 victory over Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico.
Even without headline performer Ciro Immobile, Maurizio Sarri’s side had high hopes for this fixture after overcoming Midtjylland 2-1 in midweek Europa League action.
The Biancocelesti couldn’t have hoped for a better scenario in the first half as in-form forward Mattia Zaccagni fired them in front with just four minutes left until the break.
Luis Alberto unleashed another defense-splitting pass to set Zaccagni up one-on-one with helpless Luigi Seppe for an all-important opener.
However, things went from bad to worse for Lazio in the second half. Only six minutes after the restart, experienced Serie A campaigner Antonio Candreva restored parity with a world-class chip over Ivan Provedel.
Inspired by a well-timed equalizer, Salernitana continued to push forward and were rewarded for their effort in the 68th minute as Federico Fazio turned the game on its head with a striker-like finish from inside the box.
Matias Vecino’s unbelievable miss from point-blank range came back to haunt the Biancocelesti in the final quarter of the match.
Davide Nicola’s high-flyers orchestrated a sublime counter-attack, with Boulaye Dia latching onto Domagoj Bradaric’s low cross on the far post to seal Lazio’s fate.