With four teams at the Italian Super Cup in Saudi Arabia, there was a more limited Serie A programme this weekend.
Yet in the league which keeps on giving, the compelling drama showed no sign of easing with Serie A 2024 highlights aplenty (not all for good reasons).
Ironically, the one name on everyone’s mind wasn’t even present.
I am, of course, talking about Jose Mourinho, formerly of AS Roma.
Inside the Stadio Olimpico, his replacement, Daniele De Rossi — the former Giallorossi captain — was greeted by loud cheers.
The ‘new manager bounce’ was clear as De Rossi received a rousing welcome and then watched as the club from the capital opened up a two-goal advantage early on against relegation-threatened Hellas Verona.
Romelu Lukaku and Roma captain Lorenzo Pellegrini scored six minutes apart during the first half, with both goals set up by Stephan El Shaarawy.
Although Milan Djuric missed a penalty for the visitors, Michael Folorunsho pulled one back for Verona with a long, swerving shot midway through the second half to set up a nervy finale.
Three points are three points, but this SBOTOP writer believes Roma have made a monumentally bad decision.
Indeed, I would go so far as to say that I do not think De Rossi will bring the success that the passionate eternal city clamours.
Certainly, the two European finals (one was a Europa Conference final, in fairness) Mourinho has guided them to in recent years will be the best it gets for a while for AS Roma.
Some others clearly feel the same, and there were telling signs in the Stadio Olimpico that the decision to part company with the self-styled ‘Special One’ is not one that has unified everyone.
The home crowd repeatedly chanted Mourinho’s name during the match, while several factions of supporters displayed their own banners in support, thanking him for his impact on the club over the last two and a half years.
“Mou one of us,” said one of the banners.
Other messages included, “The only one to defend us is the last one to surrender. Thank you, Jose,” and “Few of us have represented us the way you did. Every Romanista will be grateful to you for that.”
My advice is to study the Serie A 2024 betting odds first, but I would not bet on Roma sealing a top-four spot any time soon.
The other main talking point of the Serie A weekend came on Saturday night when AC Milan grabbed a last-gasp win at Udinese.
Unfortunately, instead of talking about Noah Okafor’s 93rd-minute winner, the spotlight was on a minority of the home crowd after Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan was allegedly racially abused.
Maignan alerted the referee before leaving the pitch after the half-hour mark, followed by his teammates. The Serie A match was halted due to the episode and was restarted after about 10 minutes.
The incident took place shortly after Milan midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek had given the visitors the lead with a low first-time shot inside the post.
France keeper Maignan was beaten three minutes later by a Lazar Samardzic shot before Florian Thauvin put Udinese in front in the 62nd minute.
However, Milan snatched victory when substitute Luka Jovic netted a rebound with seven minutes left, and Okafor made it 3-2 from close range in stoppage time.
Milan are third in Serie A, six points behind leaders Inter Milan and four adrift of second-placed Juventus, who both have a game in hand.
There’ll be no repeat of Rossoneri’s 2022 title heroics, but they look like a decent bet for a top-four finish.
As for the unsavoury incident, the comments of FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who has called for the implementation of an automatic forfeit of games for teams whose fans commit racist abuse, and TV pundit Ian Wright are flawed.
Forfeit of fixtures and point deductions will only play into the hands of those who abuse opponents, who could potentially cause issues to the advantage of their own team.
At the other end of the table, the result of the weekend was claimed by Empoli, who saw off Monza 3-0 to move within two points of escaping the drop zone.
There was no doubting the star of the show as Szymon Zurkowski netted a hat-trick to ensure a winning start for new Empoli coach Davide Nicola.
The ‘new manager bounce’ was evident again as Zurkowski hit a right-foot volley, headed home a rebound off the underside of the bar, and then completed a ‘perfect’ hat-trick by adding a third with his left foot.
With Cagliari going down at fellow strugglers Frosinone, there are just three points separating the sides placed 15th to 19th.
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