When the review of the 2023-24 Serie A season is written, it will be interesting to note what status is given to a goal scored on January 6 by Davide Frattesi.
It was the 93rd minute at the San Siro when the Italian midfielder tapped home from close range to earn leaders Inter Milan a potentially priceless three points.
That was only part of a chaotic finish as there was still time for Verona to be awarded a penalty which was missed by Thomas Henry, who had earlier cancelled out Lautaro Martinez’s opener for the home side.
It was a bitter blow for the visitors who would have climbed out of the relegation zone with a point.
The Nerazzurri broke the deadlock with their only shot on target of the half as Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s through ball found Martinez who stabbed the ball home inside the box.
A Verona substitution paid off when Henry diverted a Duda cross at the near post less than a minute after coming on.
Frattesi then grabbed what proved to be the stoppage-time winner, pouncing after Alessandro Bastoni’s volley hit the crossbar following a corner, although it was controversial as there was an Alessandro Bastoni elbow on Ondrej Duda in the build-up.
Yet there was more drama to come.
Even after Darko Lazovic was sent off, the visitors had a gilt-edged chance to equalise when they were awarded a penalty deep into added time following a foul by Matteo Darmian.
Henry stepped up but hit the post to conclude a hectic finale – the impact of which may not be known for five months (for either side).
Inter’s form may not seem as dominant as champions Napoli proved to be last season, but Simone Inzaghi’s men have posted a record of 15 wins from a possible 19, plus three draws and just one loss, which came against Sassuolo at the end of September.
By comparison, Napoli were just two points better off during their title-winning campaign.
The Partenopei had also lost just once but had won 16 and drawn twice for a 50-point tally after 19 matches.
It was also announced on Saturday that Inter had signed a player who is set to become the first Canadian to play in Serie A.
Winger Tajon Buchanan has joined from Club Brugge for a reported fee of £6.02 million. He has 35 caps for his country and started all three of his country’s group games at the 2022 World Cup.
They remain two points clear of Juventus at the summit.
Rock bottom Salernitana would have caused the biggest shock of the season had their 10-men been able to hold on against the ‘old lady’ of Turin who grabbed an injury time winner through Dusan Vlahovic
Elsewhere in Serie A on Saturday, Monza came through a frenetic encounter to win 3-2 at Frosinone and edge into the top half.
Goals from Dany Mota and Valentin Carboni put the visitors 2-0 up at half-time, before an own goal from Matias Soule made it 3-0.
Abdou Harroui scored for Frosinone who were reduced to 10 men just before Soule struck from the penalty spot, but it wasn’t enough.
Lecce and Cagliari shared a 1-1 draw as Gaetano Oristanio’s second half effort sealed a point after Valentin Gendrey had broken the deadlock.
If the day began with drama at the San Sito, it also concluded with dramatic scenes, this time in Emilia-Romagna.
That was where Sassuolo gave themselves some wriggle room from the bottom three at the expense of Fiorentina.
They had also not conceded a goal in three Serie A games but Marcus Pedersen got down the left and pulled back for Andrea Pinamonti to steer into the far bottom corner with the inside of the boot after just nine minutes.
That proved the only goal of the contest in a surprise to the SBOTOP Serie A betting odds as the hosts held out with both teams having goals disallowed and Gian Marco Ferraro producing a goal line clearance to deny the club from Florence an equaliser.
There were more Serie A highlights to enjoy on Sunday, especially if you were a Torino fan.
By contrast, it was the worst possible start to the new year for Napoli and their new signing Pasquale Mazzocchi who saw red under five minutes into his debut.
With Victor Osimhen and Andre Frank Zambo Anguissa at the Africa Cup of Nations, Alex Meret, Natan, Leo Ostigard and Matias Olivera all injured, and manager Walter Mazzarri suspended, perhaps Napoli should have feared the worst.
They fell behind just before the break when Antonio Sanabria reacted quickly to fire in from close range.
Mazzocchi, who completed his transfer from Salernitana 24 hours earlier, was brought on at the break but barely four minutes later was dismissed for a lunge on Valentin Lazaro – a yellow card upgraded to red after VAR intervention.
Toro took full advantage as Nikola Vlasic drilled home the second before Alessandro Buongiorno outjumped his marker to head a third.
Napoli fans who had made the long journey to Turin vented their frustration by throwing flares and fireworks onto the pitch, causing play to be halted for a couple of minutes.
More fireworks in another action-packed Serie A weekend but, on this occasion, sadly not for the right reasons.
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