Between Tuesday and Thursday, calcio fans were treated to some exciting midweek action. Milan faltered at the hands of Sassuolo late in the match, and Spezia surprised everyone by holding on against Inter. Elsewhere, the fights for Champions League qualification as well avoiding relegation are still witnessing new twists with every passing week. So here are our Top 5 Stories from Serie A Round 32.
Milan Facing a Real Threat
Whilst Milan were sitting comfortably at the top of the table at the end of the year, they only remain within the Top 4 at the moment thanks to the amount of points they gathered earlier in the season.
The Rossoneri surprisingly wasted what could have been a convincing win, as Giacomo Raspadori stroke twice for Sassuolo in the final stage of the match.
If Stefano Pioli’s men continue to deliver inconsistent results, they risk finding themselves outside of the Champions League spots yet again.
1 – Giacomo #Raspadori is the first player able to score a brace as substitute vs AC Milan in Serie A in the 3 points for a win era (since 1994/95). Flight.#MilanSassuolo
— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) April 21, 2021
No One Wants to Go Down
Besides Crotone and Parma – who are now doomed beyond doubt – everyone is putting up a real fight in order to avoid relegation.
Cagliari remain the favorites to go down as they sit in the 18th position, however, they have managed to win their last two fixtures.
Elsewhere, Fiorentina finally returned to winning ways with a victory against Verona, with the likes of Benevento, Torino and Spezia all snatching hard-fought draws.
Giuseppe #Iachini recorded his first win in his second spell as #Fiorentina head coach (D1 L2). The #Viola temporarily move up to 13th place with 33 points, 8 above 18th place Cagliari.#VeronaFiorentina #SerieATIM #Football pic.twitter.com/88bZjzJPgL
— The Counter Attack (@TheCounterAtta3) April 20, 2021
Liguria’s Old Guard
On Wednesday, Sampdoria came out with all three points against Crotone thanks to Fabio Quagliarella’s lone strike. The 38-year-old took his tally to 11 goals this season, but he isn’t the only ageless striker in the city.
Goran Pandev’s brace secured a draw for Genoa when facing Benevento. The North Macedonian has now entered a glamorous club after scoring his 100th Serie A goal.
Immortals.
100 – Goran #Pandev is the first Macedonian player to score at least 100 goals in the Top-5 European Leagues. Historic.#GenoaBenevento #SerieA pic.twitter.com/up5ahp4uAl
— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) April 21, 2021
Lukaku Holding Inter Back
Romelu Lukaku is undoubtedly one of the best strikers in the world. But whilst the Belgian spearheaded his side’s run towards an imminent Scudetto title, his form in front of goal dropped in the past few weeks.
In Round 32, the former Manchester United wasted some scoring opportunities against Serie A new boys Spezia, which meant that Inter dropped points for second match in a row.
Although the Nerazzurri will eventually win the title, and Lukaku will find his best form once again, their fans will be hopping that these events will happen sooner rather than later.
Crisis at Inter! second draw in a row!
Hysteria.Nope! They actually played a good game. Super unlucky. 20 shots on goal, 5 on target. Spezia? 1 shot throughout the match but it was on target! So it ends 1-1.
Sometimes it’s possible to just be unlucky.
— Mina Rzouki (@Minarzouki) April 21, 2021
Classic Clash at the Maradona Stadium
Even though Napoli were in the driver seat from start to finish, their crucial Round 32 encounter against Lazio was one of the most entertaining contests in Serie A this season.
On Thursday night, all the stars delivered in one spectacular match that ended 5-2. From Lorenzo Insigne’s brace, to Dries Mertens’ screamer, as well as Victor Osimhen’s vicious strike, the Partenopei put on a real show, but Ciro Immobile’s curler and Sergey Milinkovic-Savic’s brilliant free-kick gave the Biancocelesti fans a small consolation.
Napoli managed to close in on the Top 4 spots, leaving the capital side as the outsiders in the European race, but calcio fans were just happy to witness a thrilling match of football.
19 – #Napoli have earned 19 points in the games against the current top-7 sides of the table, none of these teams have gained more points in such matches in #SerieA this term (also Inter 19). Top.#NapoliLazio #SerieATIM pic.twitter.com/0s3U6hqp3I
— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) April 22, 2021