Fans of Italian football were once again treated to another compelling weekend which included everything that makes the Calcio world such a unique concept. From the good to the bad, the ugly and the beautiful, here are the top 5 major stories from Serie A Matchday 3:
Loopholes In COVID-19 Protocol Threaten To Ruin The Whole Season
Let’s address the ugly business first before we can discuss some actual football. The whole weekend was marred with an incredibly controversial incident – even for Italian football’s high standards.
It all started with the Napoli – Genoa match last week, as it was later revealed that up to 22 players and staff members from Genoa tested positive for Covid-19. And when Piotr Zielinski and Elif Elmas tested positive during the weekend, it was feared that a similar cycle was beginning to take shape at Napoli.
While everyone agreed with the need to postpone the match between Genoa and Torino that was due to take place at the weekend, the top clash between Juventus and Napoli took a whole different route.
Local health unit in Naples apparently ordered the club to isolate the squad so Napoli didn’t take the scheduled trip to Turin. But on the other hand, the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) stated that no travel ban was explicitly inflicted on Napoli, and thus ordered the match to go on as planned.
Juventus, for their part, managed to confuse us all by going through their match-day routine as if they haven’t heard the news of their opponents staying at home. The Bianconeri even released the matchday squad, invited their designated 1000 guests to the stadium (Oh lucky fellows…), and the whole squad and coaching staff appeared at the Allianz Stadium for a kickoff that would never come.
On the other hand, Napoli made the situation even more awkward by not releasing any statement. The FiGC judge will soon decide the final outcome of Sunday’s grand debacle, but whether Juventus will be awarded a tasteless win, or whether the match will be postponed, the obvious loopholes in the COVID-19 Protocol adopted by Serie A clubs threaten to ruin the entire sporting season right from its early beginnings, and thus adjustments must be made as soon as possible, as the league’s reputation won’t survive another farce like this one.
Paulo Fonseca’s Roma Finally Have a Tactical Identity
Things are rarely any steady at Roma. While many Italian clubs are known for their excessive changes in the coaching staffs, the capital club have been taken it a step further, with several changes in sporting directors as well, and even a change in ownership very recently.
With all these moving factors, it’s understandable that any manager would struggle to build a tactical scheme and maintain it. Paulo Fonseca had a shaky start to his Italian adventure last season, but the Portuguese tactician decided to switch for three-man defense during the middle of the season, as he felt that a top Italian side must adopt this formation to achieve better results.
Fonseca was apparently right, as his brave decision turned Roma’s fortunes around and produced improved results and performances. This season, Roma have an obvious attacking trio composed of Eden Dzeko with Pedro and Henrik Mkhitarian just behind him, and supported by Lorenzo Pellegrini and Jordan Veretout in midfield. The rest of the starting lineup has also been mostly maintained.
Although Roma’s victory over Udinese was its first of the season, and was achieved by the slightest of margins, it came on the heels of an impressive performance against Juventus, showing that Paulo Fonseca’s Roma is finally taking shape.
Scudetto Word Should No Longer Be a Taboo at Atalanta
How many times had a club president, director or manager declared his side a Scudetto contender even before the launch of the season, and then falling flat on his face? I’ll leave the answer to the followers of Italian football.
So why are Atalanta prevented from dreaming?
Ever since Gianpiero Gasperini’s arrival in Bergamo, the club has been growing from strength to strength in a very short period of time. From a mid-table struggling side, to a Europa League participant, and now a Champions League mainstay. So with the current trajectory the team is taking, the writing is on the wall.
Atalanta’s 5-2 victory over Cagliari was the Lombardy side’s third straight win in the season, as they have already registered a whooping 13 goals so far in less than 300 minutes of football, and became the boogeymen for the rest of the table.
Inter Are Yet to Solve Their Problems From Last Season
Inter had a bittersweet 2019-2020. The club obviously improved with the arrival of Antonio Conte and Romelu Lukaku, but still finished second in the Scudetto race and runners up in the Europa League, two competitions that the Nerazzurri faithful felt they could have won if it wasn’t for some poor results in the deciding matches, mainly against Juventus, Lazio, and Sevilla.
This season, Conte’s squad has been further bolstered with some impressive signings, and victories over Fiorentina and Benevento promised an exciting season ahead. But yet again, despite having the numerical advantage for most of the second half, Inter failed to beat Lazio in their first big test of the season.
While a draw at the Olimpico against a Champions League side is never a bad result in itself, Inter showed some lack of character when they conceded the equalizer at a time when they were dominating the match, as they lost control of the encounter and could have came out empty-handed had Immobile not foolishly got himself sent-off.
Picking up the three-points against the smaller sides is definitely an important trait of a championship hopeful side, but Inter must also learn how to settle the big clashes, as this is where they lost their Scudetto last season.
Welcomed Sight for Milan Supporters as Their Club Tops Table
Well, Atalanta are technically the current leaders on goal-difference, but their Lombardy cousins are on-par with them on nine points as Milan find themselves topping the league table after several years of wandering around the high-mid table.
It might have only been Bologna, Crotone, and Spezia so far, and we’re only still in matchday 3 of an awkward Serie A season, but Stefano Pioli’s side had been showing positive signs since the restart of last season.
And with the addition of several young talents like Sandro Tonali and Brahim Diaz, and the continuous development of the likes of Theo Hernandez and Rafael Leao, a young Milan side (in the absence of Zlatan Ibrahimovic) waited until the second half to break through the tough Spezia and claim their third victory of a season that promises much more for the Rossoneri.
