I find the Italian top-flight one of the most exciting leagues in Europe right now with Serie A highlights aplenty.
This weekend’s 11th set of fixtures offered more of the same and what threatens to be the most open title race for years – the battle at the bottom is pretty close too!
Juve have work to do
At the start of this season, I suggested Juventus would be the team to beat in Serie A this term.
With Max Allegri back at the helm, and Cristiano Ronaldo spearheading the challenge, the ‘old lady’ would be again the main threat in the race for the Scudetto.
Of course, since then Ronaldo has swapped Turin for Manchester and Juve have struggled at times.
Then came last weekend and a clash with the defending champions, the side which wrestled the championship from them last season.
The bitterness between Inter Milan and Juventus goes way back, of course, and a late VAR intervention at San Siro led to more.
An 89th-minute penalty rescued a point for Juve – the same old story as far the majority of these meetings have gone – and perhaps was the cue to spark a title charge.
Instead, results over the last few days have made a mockery of my prediction at the start of the season that they will be champions.
A midweek defeat was a collapse that shocked many fans, not least, presumably, coach Allegri.
When they followed that up with another reverse this weekend, Juventus dropped to ninth as Verona condemned Allegri’s side to a fourth league defeat of the campaign.
Giovanni Simeone scored twice in three minutes to give the hosts a 2-0 lead.
Weston McKennie reduced the arrears with 10 minutes remaining, but there was to be no late reprieve for the visitors.
I read last week a former pro claim that Juventus are a better team without Ronaldo.
Not only did it amuse me but it is a highly inaccurate statement,
It will take some recovery – even in late October – if the SBOTOP Serie A betting odds are to be turned on their head and Juventus can regain Italian football’s top crown.
As for Allegri, he has reportedly taken his players on a training retreat after back-to-back defeats to Sassuolo and Verona.
Record-breaker Immobile’s Lazio are great to watch but not title winners
The first big match of the weekend saw Lazio bid to end their away woes at Atalanta.
They were pretty close to doing so in fairness.
The Biancocelesti broke the deadlock in Bergamo when Pedro pounced after Juan Musso kept out record-breaker Ciro Immobile.
Duvan Zapata drilled in from a tight angle to equalise, but Immobile made history with his 159th strike in a Lazio shirt, equalling Silvio Piola’s all-time club record in all competitions.
However, Marten De Roon was the unexpected hero popping up deep into stoppage time with a half-volley to snatch a point.
Both teams are entertaining to watch, indeed Atalanta are so refreshing they remind me of the Newcastle United side of the mid-1990s (albeit created at a much smaller cost) which attacked and defended with abandonment.
Neither side though is ready to mount a genuine title challenge in a year when Juventus appear off the pace.
Vlahovic keeps good company
Spezia did not make it easy for them but once the deadlock was broken a minute before the break in Florence, it became the Dusan Vlahovic show.
His treble meant he passed Luca Toni and the great Gabriel Batistuta in the club’s all-time scoring ranks and the Serbian striker is now aiming for Kurt Ronald Hamrin’s record from 1960.
Vlahovic converted a penalty after Emanuel Gyasi handed in the penalty area before completing a well-worked team move created by Riccardo Saponara and Alvaro Odriozola.
The Serbian completed his hat-trick after the ball was rolled into his path by Jose Callejon.
It was his eighth goal in the league this term, one less than Immobile at the top of the top scorers list, and his 25 goals in 2021 means he has surpassed those Fiorentina heroes who managed to score at least 23 goals in a calendar year.
Batistuta achieved the feat in 1998 before Toni scored 24 times in 2006. Vlahovic is now two goals behind Hamrin’s record.
Vlahovic has eight games to score at least three goals to help him surpass Hamrin and claim the record.
●●●
CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE FOOTBALL STORIES & ODDS
Stay updated with everything sports and betting.
Follow us on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
