It was a strange weekend of football in the Italian peninsula. After representing Calcio in various European competitions, the majority of the big boys appeared to be exhausted or rather dizzy. But one way or another, each of them managed to scrape through and escape with a slim win… expect for Juventus of course (we’ll get it shortly). So let’s review the action from the Serie A weekend in our tops and flops from Round 6.
Flop: VAR
Let’s start by addressing the elephant in the room. VAR totally messed up this week. After snatching a dramatic last-gasp winner against Salernitana, Arkadiusz Milik sent the Allianz Stadium into a frenzy.
Nonetheless, the men in the dark room decided to take center stage, asking the match official to review the goal, culminating in the disallowing of a perfectly legal goal.
Whether Leonardo Bonucci intervened in the play or not remains a matter of debate, but in any case, the defender was played onside by Antonio Candreva who was wasn’t noticed neither by VAR nor the referee.
While this technology was originally introduced to lift the doubt and settle controversial debates, nowadays, the men in the VAR room are deciding to intervene in situations where their services is uncalled for, which is simply ruining the magic of the Beautiful Game.
Top (Player): Paulo Dybala
Speaking of magic, thank the football gods for Paulo Dybala. New jersey, new squad number, same old La Joya.
While Roma didn’t exactly look inspiring during their Tuscan trip to Empoli, the Argentine put José Mourinho’s men back on the win column, first by scoring an absolute scorcher of a goal, and then providing a wonderful assist for Tammy Abraham’s winner.
Top (Goalkeeper): Samir Handanovic
If Dybala led Roma to victory with his fabulous touch, then Samir Handanovic held Inter on his broad shoulders, making a plethora of stunning saves to shield his team from Torino’s onslaught.
At the end of the day, Marcelo Brozovic became the toast of the town at Appiano Gentile courtesy of his late winner, but without their longtime captain, the Nerazzurri didn’t stand a chance.
Flop (Player): Igor Julio
Igor Julio is currently one of the best up-and-coming defenders in Serie A, and prior to the Viola’s trip to Bologna in Round 6, he was even linked with a January switch to Juventus – which is apparently the reward for anyone who does well at Fiorentina.
Unfortunately for the Brazilian, his once-promising weekend turned sour following a horror-show at the Renato Dall’Ara. First he committed a major howler that resulted in an equalizer for the hosts, before dooming his team by picking up an avoidable second yellow card.
Top (Coach): Luca Vigiani
After sacking Sinisa Mihajlovic, Bologna appointed Luca Vigiani as an interim coach for the weekend’s clash against Fiorentina, and the retired goalkeeper made it account, by leading the Rossoblu for a memorable come-from-behind victory, which subsequently ended the team’s negative run.
Thiago Motta already had his contract signed and sealed, thus, he’ll be in charge next weekend. Nonetheless, Vigiani had a solitary outing, and he made it count.
Flop (Team): Verona
This weekend, Lazio weren’t thrilling by any means. Maurizio Sarri’s men created little to none during the first half, before showing signs of improvement after the break.
Yet, the Biancocelesti didn’t need to be anywhere near their best to earn a comfortable victory over Verona who never showed up at the Olimpico Stadium. Gabriele Cioffi’s men didn’t even test Ivan Provedel with a single attempt on goal.
Apparently, the departures of Giovanni Simeone, Gianluca Caprari and Antonin Barak have taken their toll on the Gialloblu.
Top (Team): Udinese
Don’t look now, but Udinese are sitting in the Top four after Round 6, and with one of the best goal differences in Serie A. Riccardo Sottil’s work has been truly remarkable thus far.
Now surely Ruan Tressoldi made life hard for Sassuolo by leaving his teammates in a numerical disadvantage for an entire half, but the Zebrette were relentless in their attempts to turn the result upside-down, and they eventually managed to do so even if took them until the final moments of the match.
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