The Top 5 Stories of Serie A Round 8: Inzaghi Haunted by the Past

AC Milan, Inter Milan, Italian Football, Juventus, Napoli, Roma, Serie A, Top 5 Stories

So, did anyone else miss Serie A football during the international break? Thankfully, the Calcio gods decided to make up for the lost time with another exciting weekend that featured not one, but two top clashes. At the end of the day, Inter and Roma were derailed by the resurging Lazio and Juventus, while Napoli and Milan pounced on the opportunity to open a gap with the chasing pack. So let’s checkout the Top 5 Stories from Serie A Round 8.

Haunted by the Past

After spending 22 years inside the walls of Lazio, who knows what Simone Inzgahi felt while entering the Olimpico as an invader at the helm of the reigning Italian champions?

Inter took a first half lead thanks to a spot kick from Ivan Perisic. Nonetheless, the visitors pulled off a stunning uprising against their former manager, as it ended 3-1 for the capital side.

The Italian manager probably thought that he’ll have the upper hand against his former men thanks to the talent at his disposal, but Maurizio Sarri’s tactical victory threw yet another curveball in what is turning out to be an unexpected title race.

One Way or the Other

On Saturday night, most of us thought that Milan were heading towards their first Serie A defeat of the season, as they found themselves trailing by two goals in their Round 8 encounter against Hellas Verona.

Nevertheless, the Rossoneri completely turned the table, scoring three goals to earn all three points. Their strikes included a dubious spot kick and an awkward own-goal from Koray Gunter.

Therefore, Stefano Pioli’s men earned a tough come-from-behind win to maintain pace with Napoli at the top of the table.

Some will call it luck, others will credit Milan for their resilience. But however you’d like to describe it, these are the types of performances that league-winning campaigns are built upon.

Impressive Squad Depth

On Sunday afternoon, Atalanta made light work of Empoli away from home, as Josip Ilicic grabbed two goals – despite blasting his spot kick well wide – and the encounter ended 4-1 in favor of La Dea.

After several years of non-stop impressing performances, Gian Piero Gasperini’s men can no longer be considered a surprise package. However, one can only admire their splendid squad depth.

The Orobici were without their starting wingbacks Robin Gosens and Hans Hateboer, imposing defender Berat Djimsiti, rising star Matteo Pessina, while key players Duvan Zapata, Ruslan Malinovskyi and Remo Freuler all entered as second half substitutes. And yet, they had all the tools needed not just to win the match, but force their will on their opponents from start to finish.

A Brave Decision Is Needed

Lorenzo Insigne is brilliant at football. It’s incredibly difficult to make an argument against this statement.

But at a certain point, one must admit that the diminutive captain might simply be an average at best penalty kick taker.

In round 8, Insigne failed to convert from the spot for the second Serie A fixture in a row. Therefore, the Euro 2020 winner has now scored only two penalties from his five attempts this season.

The Partenopei ended up winning (as usual) their match against Torino thanks to late goal from Victor Osimhen who’s been on fire since the start of the campaign, and perhaps Luciano Spalletti should take the courageous decision and hand the young Nigerian an additional task.

New Regime, Same Old Roma

In the last few years, Roma had suffered from a recurring issue. The capital side often produced entertaining performances against the smaller clubs, but they end up on the losing side when facing the big boys.

The Giallorossi headed to Turin for a major Serie A round 8 clash against Juventus, and José Mourinho appeared to be pretty confident of his side’s capabilities against the fragile Old Lady.

Nevertheless, the Special One failed in yet another important test after succumbing to a defeat at the hands of Lazio in the Derby last month.

So unless, the Romans can resolve this significant stumbling block, they’ll always remain on the outside looking when it comes to competing for the top spots.

Read More – Mourinho Adamant Roma Deserved All Three Points vs Juventus

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