It’s been an extremely exciting weekend in Serie A. Although no major clubs went head-to-head during this matchday, Juventus, Milan, Inter and Napoli all had to fight hard to come out with the best possible result. On the other hand, Roma only needed 45 minutes to completely destroy Bologna, and Hellas Verona provided the upset with their away win over Lazio. So here are the Top 5 stories for Serie A round 11.
Marco Giampaolo Running Out of Time and Ideas
Marco Giampaolo had his ups and downs earlier in his career, but a brilliant season at Empoli followed by a solid stint at Sampdoria earned him his first major move to an Italian giant, when he was appointed as the manager of Milan in the summer of 2019. However, his dream move soon turned into a nightmare after getting sacked early in the season, and almost one year later, the current Torino boss could be facing another dramatic dismissal.
This season, the Granata had already wasted several leads against the likes of Lazio, Inter and Juventus where they eventually came out empty handed, and in round 11,they ended up up losing their 7th match of the Serie A season, in a 3-2 home defeat against Udinese.
Despite owning a decent squad, Torino now find themselves in a horrific 19th position, and it is becoming increasingly harder for Giampaolo to justify the reasons behind his team’s tendency to drop easy points. The ball is currently in the hands of president Urbano Cairo.
Only Toro could score twice in a minute to pull a game back from 0-2….and the concede another goal a minute later.
That fightback may be enough to save Giampaolo’s job, but the 1st half was extremely worrying.
Roma away next ?#TorinoUdinese
— Rob Gillman (@ToroRob76) December 12, 2020
Time to Appreciate the Fabulous Work Done at Hellas Verona
Two years ago, Hellas Verona were still struggling to break through the playoff spots of the Serie B table. Last season, the Gialloblu finished in an impressive 9th position on their returns to Serie A. But this season, Ivan Jurić might be aiming to take his side even higher.
Verona have already earned historic away draws against the Champions Juventus and the current Serie A leaders Milan, and have also beaten Atalanta away a couple of weeks ago, before their latest 2-1 victory over Lazio in the Olimpico Stadium in round 11.
During last week’s edition, we highlighted the importance of Mattia Zaccagni in the side, but Hellas are far from a one-man-team, with the likes of Miguel Veloso, Adrien Tameze, Matteo Lovato and goalkeeper Marco Silvestri all contributing to the team’s success.
What a season Hellas Verona is having!
Won against Roma, Atalanta, Lazio.
Drew against AC Milan, Juventus.
Lost against Parma?, Sassuolo.With 6th Rank, I feel they are underdogs of Serie A this season. pic.twitter.com/xlIYectgEf
— Devarsh! (@4231___) December 13, 2020
Antonio Conte Have No Choice but to Win the Serie A title
Inter may have thought that they hit rock-bottom with yet another early Champions League elimination. And yet, Cagliari almost made things even more gloomy for the Nerazzurri when they were winning the encounter between the two clubs.
A spectacular Nicolò Barella strike against his former club inspired a 3-1 comeback win which might have even saved Antonio Conte’s job. Nonetheless, the Beneamata hierarchy will not accept another trophyless campaign, and the former Juventus tactician won’t maintain his job for another season unless his delivers the club’s first Scudetto title since 2010.
0.79 – Among players with more than three away games played in Serie A in the three points for a win era, Inter’s Romelu #Lukaku scored the most on average per game: 19 goals in 24 games on the road (0.79). Dominant.#CagliariInter #SerieA pic.twitter.com/gPcX33sjnS
— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) December 13, 2020
Gasperini Winning His Personal Feud With Alejandro Gómez
The feud between Atalanta manager Gian Piero Gasperini and club captain Alejandro Gómez is no longer a secret. Ever since La Dea’s Champions League draw against Midtjylland where Papu was unhappy with his role on the pitch, the tension had been growing between the two men, with several reports claiming that the tactician was set to resign after the Ajax clash last Wednesday.
Nonetheless, Atalanta won the crucial encounter in Amsterdam, and the manager denied the reports, and then managed to brush aside Fiorentina in Serie A round 11 while leaving the captain on the bench. Famous Italian journalist Gianluca Di Marzio now claims that Gómez is set to leave the club as soon as January.
Although the Argentine’s departure would be a major blow for Atalanta, and the club’s faithfuls will be hoping that cooler heads will prevail, Gasperini will still be able to rely on the rest of his impressive attacking force, as the coach seems to have won this unexpected “civil war”.
Atalanta's star forward Papu Gomez ?? has had a falling out with coach Gian Piero Gasperini ??
Gomez is expected to play in the crucial CL match against Ajax tonight but his future at the club is now in doubt. [Goal] #Atalanta #UCL pic.twitter.com/AqqT0BzwmI
— RouteOneFootball (@Route1futbol) December 9, 2020
Positive Result for Milan Despite Having their Lead Cut Down
Since the beginning of the current campaign, we mentioned how most of Italy’s biggest clubs are suffering from inconsistent results, with Milan perhaps being the only major club who’s enjoying a solid run with 8 wins and only 2 draws in their first 10 matches.
However, Juventus, Inter, Napoli Roma, Atalanta and even Sassuolo all managed to earn wins – one way or another – in their round 11 encounters, whilst the Serie A leaders had to come from behind to earn a late draw against Parma.
Although Milan’s lead is now cut down to three points, their ability to once again avoid a defeat and come out with a point from match where fortune seemed to be their major opponent proves that the Rossoneri are still heading in the right direction.
Milan are still undefeated in Serie A and remain first place, three points above Inter.
Theo with a beautiful brace. Milan also hit the woodwork four times against an efficient Parma.
FT: Milan 2-2 Parma
— Matteo Bonetti (@BonettiESPN) December 13, 2020