After another captivating weekend, it feels as if the Serie A campaign is beginning to hit its stride. Unfortunately, the action will be interrupted by an untimely international break, but at least we were treated to a heavy three-day meal that included nerve-wracking contests, astonishing goals and some good old-fashioned Calcio controversy. So let’s recap the most relevant moments of the weekend while identifying the Tops and Flops from Serie A Round 7.
Top (Players): Marcus Thuram & Mateo Retegui
Since leaving either one would have been blasphemous, our two hat-trick heroes share the Top spot this weekend.
Marcus Thuram was on the receiving end of a horrendous tackle from Guillermo Maripan which warranted a direct red card. The Frenchman was lucky to avoid a serious injury, but despite the initial fear, he was hellbent on remaining on the pitch and inflicting some misery on Torino. The 27-year-old scored two headers in the first half before taking the match ball home with a clever finish in the second period.
For his part, Mateo Retegui showed no mercy for his former employers Genoa, as he led Atalanta’s charge by scoring thrice and also setting up Ederson with a deft flick.
Flop (Player): Guillermo Maripan
A defender’s job is never an easy one, let alone when he has to mark Lautaro Martinez and Thuram. Nevertheless, Maripan had no justifiable reason to go for a late sliding tackle on the Frenchman in the middle of the park.
The Chilean left his Torino teammates with a numerical disadvantage against the reigning Italian champions for the vast majority of the match, which resulted in a 2-3 defeat at San Siro.
Top (Manager): Paolo Vanoli
Although Paolo Vanoli was serving a one-match ban while his assistant Lino Godinho was on the touchline, we must still give the Torino manager his dues for inserting a noticeable Grinta and self-believe in the minds of his players who are trying to claw their way back to the contest despite facing the Serie A champions at their own turf at San Siro while being a man down.
Although the Granata came out empty-handed, the 3-2 result arguably constitutes a moral victory for the club.
Top (Team): Atalanta
Perhaps they haven’t been as consistent as last season, but on their day, Atalanta remain an unstoppable force. Just ask Genoa who were left hapless against the Orobici’s rapid and fluid passing which generated five goals, including three for their former striker Retegui.
Gian Piero Gasperini’s machine is still functioning properly, even though question marks remain over their ability to maintain composure between the Champions League and Serie A.
Flop (Team): Genoa
Once again, we must reiterate how Alberto Gilardino shouldn’t be the man to blame for the messy situation but instead, an unambitious transfer campaign that saw the Grifone easily relinquish the services of Retegui, Albert Gudmundsson and Josep Martinez. Hence, the team suffered another defeat, this time in the shape of an agonizing thrashing at the hands of Atalanta.
The Ligurians appeared to have had a promising project under the ownership of 777, but with the US-based company faltering and the club being put up for sale, the future looks bleak for the Rossoblu.
Top (Goalkeeper): David De Gea
Following his return from a one-year hiatus, David De Gea threw rust talk over the window, dispelling all concerns regarding his physical condition.
And if there were any doubters left, the Spaniard surely won them over with a sensational display against Milan that saw him lead Fiorentina to victory by saving two spot-kicks from Theo Hernandez and Tammy Abraham, while also denying a late effort from Samuel Chukwueze.
Welcome back to relevance, David!
Flop (Goalkeepers): Lorenzo Montipò & Jesse Joronen
In the contest between Verona and Venezia, Lorenzo Montipò committed the first blunder by failing to exit his goal and pick up a corner kick, which culminated in Gaetano Oristanio’s opener.
Casper Tengstedt then equalized for the hosts with a lovely volley. But it was Jesse Joronen who scored the winner in his own net with a clumsy attempt to catch a ball from a closed angle, which wasn’t even heading towards the net.
Top (Match): Fiorentina vs Milan
Even though the Artemio Franchi is currently under renovation, it still hosted an early contender for the Match-of-the-Season Award. This was a glorious mess filled with sub-plots, including three missed penalty kicks, Yacine Adli scoring against his former employers and some back-and-forth action at both ends of the pitch.
In the end, Albert Gudmundsson’s vicious strike allowed Fiorentina to prevail over Milan, but it was all about De Gea’s heroics.
Flop (Match): Bologna vs Parma
After the Tuscan Derby between Empoli and Fiorentina last weekend, another two local rivals played out a disappointing goalless draw.
Bologna should have won this one, especially following Woyo Coulibaly’s red card, but they remain a shadow of the team that mesmerized Calcio last season under Thiago Motta.
Top (Super-Sub): Pedro
At the age of 37, Pedro remains a beacon for a Lazio side that underwent an overhaul last summer. Perhaps he doesn’t have the legs to start every match at this point, but he’s certainly making the most out of his minutes.
The Barcelona legend came off the bench in the 73rd minute, and just over ten minutes later, he bagged the winner for Lazio over Empoli with a superb strike to the top corner that kickstarted the celebrations at the Stadio Olimpico.
Flop (Not-So-Super-Sub): Douglas Luiz
On the other hand, it just isn’t happening for Douglas Luiz at Juventus. After giving away a spot-kick following his introduction against Leipzig, he did likewise against Cagliari, but this time, it cost the Bianconeri two valuable points at home against a lowly opponent.
Top (Gamesmanship): Yerry Mina
Step aside Armando Izzo, Serie A has a new master of the dark arts!
Throughout the encounter between Juventus and Cagliari, Yerry Mina diligently tried to take Dusan Vlahovic off his game, whether by pushing and shoving the striker, getting in his face for no apparent reason, or simply trolling him after missing a sitter. Kudos to the Serbian for avoiding retaliation.
The Colombian’s antics can be labeled as top gamesmanship or poor sportsmanship depending on your perspective.
Flop: Soft Penalty Kicks
In the current day and age, penalty kicks are being handed for minimal contact, whether it is a foul or handball. Gone are the days when there had to be sufficient contact to justify the call.
To be fair, the referees are somewhat consistent in their approach, as evidenced by the Juventus-Cagliari and Fiorentina-Milan contests where both sides were awarded at least one spot-kick. But it still feels that the game is slowly drifting away from the Macho sport we once revered.
Flop (Birthday): Theo Hernandez
We can only hope Theo had the chance to cut his cake before the encounter against Fiorentina, as he certainly wouldn’t been in the mood to celebrate his 27th birthday afterward.
The left-back began his evening by giving away a soft spot-kick (see above) for a challenge on Dodo. Later in the match, his Milan teammates likely wanted to cheer him up so they allowed him to take the penalty kick, but the resolute De Gea was in no mood to hand birthday gifts.
Theo’s night ended with the Rossoneri’s defeat and a red card for dissent after the final whistle.
So much for Happy birthday…
Top (Assist): Romelu Lukaku
Romelu Lukaku had another stunning outing at the Maradona Stadium, leading Napoli to a 3-1 victory over Como. The Belgian provided the assists for the first and third goals, and scored the second from the spot.
The highlight of the evening was the inch-perfect through ball that put David Neres in front of goal for the third strike.
Top (Goal): Marten de Roon
This weekend, we witnessed several worthy contenders for this category, including Tengstedt’s volley, Artem Dovbyk’s solo effort and Adli’s strike against Milan.
However, Merten De Roon’s long-range volley against Genoa was something else, even though Atalanta were already leading 4-0 by that point.
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