Close encounters were the order of the day over Easter weekend in Italy but, as Giancarlo Rinaldi reports, there were still plenty of brilliant moments and blunders around the peninsula.
They may have rested on Sunday in Serie A but they provided more than enough tension in the two days prior to their break across a string of gripping clashes. Napoli ground out a win to get their title challenge back on track, Lazio and Roma boosted their Champions League credentials – while we await the final verdict on Juve’s points deduction – and Inter and Milan were both held to frustrating draws. There were wins for some strugglers too, but who caught the eye most across these hard fought fixtures?
Winners
They like a left-field, big name transfer in Salerno and there were more than a few eyebrows raised when they ended up acquiring Mexican goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa. But the man they called Memo reminded everyone just how brilliant he can be with a string of magnificent saves to deny Inter at the Stadio Arechi. The best of the lot was a behind-the-line leap to deny Stefan De Vrij but he was in the kind of inspired form that should help to keep his team afloat. His heroics to keep the score at just 1-0 paid off late in the game when the law of the ex was in full effect as Antonio Candreva found an equaliser which he freely admitted was meant as a cross to heap more pressure on Simone Inzaghi.
No national team, no problem for Mattia Zaccagni as he turned in another five-star performance to help Lazio see off Juventus in the battle for the best of the rest behind Napoli. He may be out of favour with Roberto Mancini but that has not stopped the Biancoceleste winger from having the season of his life. He capped another fine display with a goal and an assist to put the Bianconeri out of their misery at the Stadio Olimpico and keep his side in second place. With the Azzurri struggling for creative options in attack, it would be good for everyone if they could sort out their differences and get him to produce this kind of form for his country.
In the battle of Gianluca Vialli’s old teams at the Stadio Marassi, Leonardo Sernicola unveiled a goalscoring masterpiece that even the great man himself would have been proud of. The fate of both Samp and Cremonese looks more and more forlorn but that didn’t stop them from dishing up a contender for the game of the weekend which ebbed and flowed throughout. Twice Doria led but their visitors hauled themselves back into contention on both occasions before the 25-year-old substitute delivered a curling shot which would have been worthy of a clash much further up the table.
LOSERS
Another side showing signs of life at the bottom end of the table are Verona but they had Andrea Consigli to thank for a most unlikely three points grabbed against Sassuolo at the Stadio Bentegodi. His opposite number, Lorenzo Montipò, had performed wonders to keep Hellas hanging on in there before a Federico Ceccherini header levelled the game. It was late, late in injury time though that the visiting goalkeeper suffered disaster as he passed the ball straight to Adolfo Gaich who kept his cool from distance to give the Gialloblu a slightly greater hope of salvation.
Fiorentina were on their finest run of form in living memory and a deflected Cristiano Biraghi cross looked set to give them victory over a battling Spezia side. They had not figured, however, on some route one football from former goalkeeper Bartlomiej Dragowski, persistence from M’Bala Nzola and a dash of defensive confusion from Brazilian bulldozer Igor. He got lost under a high ball and never truly found his bearings until it was too late and the ball was in the back of the net. Then it was back to old Viola as they created a string of chances but could not score and ultimately risked losing a game they should have won with a dangerous counter-attack from the visitors.
The highs and lows of the goalkeeping weekend were completed by a combination of defender Antonino Gallo and netminder Wladimiro Falcone in Lecce. Their team had put up a more than decent fight against a slightly uncertain-looking Napoli before the pair were involved in the decisive moment at the Via Del Mare. The Palermo youth product tried to play the ball back off his knees before it squirmed through the normally impeccable shot-stopper’s fingers. The unfortunate defender was credited with an own goal earlier this season against Fiorentina but this time around that dubious honour went to his colleague. One error, however, should not cloud an impressive season which was capped with a recent Italy call-up.
Giancarlo Rinaldi is the author of a number of books on Italian football. He is also half of the Rigore! Podcast team. You can follow him on Twitter @ginkers.