With 28 goals scored over the weekend, an improvement from last week’s haul, Serie A sides entertained the audiences. There were wins for Milan, Inter, and Juventus, with goals that are worthy of a mention.
Napoli’s defeat to Genoa and the Old Lady’s victory over Roma stand out. Sassuolo’s 1-2 defeat to lowly Spezia was alarming, as was the 3-3 draw Atalanta allowed Torino. While Lazio claimed their sixth successive Italian top-flight win, Parma’s search for a win stretched to two months.
The musical chairs on the points table continued, and this came courtesy of some exciting goals. There were long-distance howlers and inside the box trickery. Here are our top five goals pick from Round 21.
Josip Ilicic vs. Torino
After their dismantling by Lazio last week, Atalanta let another chance slip. They took a seemingly unsurmountable 3-0 lead before allowing the visitors to make it 3-3 in the 84th minute. It was truly a tale of two halves, and Josip Ilicic was their star man. The Slovenian hit the ball first time after Marten de Roon sent it long. The linesman ruled him offside, but VAR came to his rescue, and the celebrations were made belatedly.
Cristiano Ronaldo vs. Roma
The Turin giants outclassed Paulo Fonseca’s men with Cristiano Ronaldo in the midst of it all. The Portuguese should have finished with more to his name, but the crossbar and Pau Lopez denied him. It was his first goal of the night that stands out for its simplicity and difficulty of execution. He calmly controlled the ball from Alvaro Morata before taking a shy at the goal. It was an expert goal by an accomplished marksman.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic vs. Crotone
Zlatan Ibrahimovic hit a brace and was the go-to man as Stefano Pioli’s men added to Crotone’s misery. And if CR7 can make a difficult goal look simple, the towering Swede can match and overshadow him. Zlatan’s first was one of simplistic beauty, as he started and ended the move. Controlling the ball, he fed it to Rafael Leao, who pierced the defense and found Ibra. The result was never in doubt as Zlatan sent it past Alex Cordaz to open the scoring.
Gianluca Caprari vs. Sampdoria
Benevento should have taken the points against Sampdoria, but their profligacy in front of goal cost them. An 80th-minute strike from Keita Balde cancelled out Gianluca Caprari’s fine effort as bragging rights were shared. However, the Sorcerers’ fans will remember Caprari’s goal against his parent club. The forward tried his luck from a narrow-angle and beat Emil Audero on the near post.
Nicolò Barella vs. Fiorentina
The Viola had given Inter the scare before succumbing to a memorable 4-3 defeat earlier in the season. The Nerazzurri did not have Antonio Conte in the dugout, but his men gave a better account this time around. In the 0-2 victory, Nicolo Barella ran the show in his customary way. The Italy international was denied by Bartlomiej Dragowski from point-blank range; still, he had his way with an unforgettable outside the box effort.