Among the five major leagues in Europe, only the Italian Serie A saw events this Saturday, December 28. The day ended with a dramatic draw between Atalanta and Lazio, 1-1, at the Olympic Stadium in Rome. This result allows the reigning Europa League champion to remain the sole leader of transalpine football, despite the pressure exerted by Inter Milanwho had won his previous match.
During their trip to Cagliari, THE Nerazzurri dominated their opponent by winning 3-0. Showing clear superiority, Simone Inzaghi's team opened the scoring in the second half. In the 53rd minute, defender Alessandro Bastoni scored the first goal. Then, in the 71st minute, Lautaro Martínez, accompanied by Marcus Thuram, doubled the lead. Finally, in the 78th minute, a penalty converted by Hakan Calhanoglu sealed the score at 3-0.
Inter recorded their fourth consecutive victory, all without conceding a goal : three in the league (6-0 against Lazio, 2-0 against Como and 3-0 against Cagliari) and one in the Italian Cup (2-0 against Udinese, the day of Alexis Sánchez's return). This result calls into question the exclusive leadership of Atalanta, which had a complicated trip.
Indeed, Lazio opened the scoring in the 27th minute thanks to Fisayo Dele-Bashiru. The Roman team created several chances, but failed to capitalize on them, despite the efforts of Argentine striker Valentín Castellanos, who briefly played at the Universidad de Chile. As the match drew to a close, the Bergamo team found the equalizer thanks to Marco Brescianini, on a pass from Lookman.
Thus, today's results allow Gian Piero Gasperini's Atalanta to maintain the lead in the standings with 41 points in 18 matches, one more than Inter, who also have a game less. Napoli, currently third, is three points behind the leader. The Neapolitans will play tomorrow against Venezia and could thus equal La Dea's total.
The 18th day of Soccer Italian will continue this Sunday and Chilean fans will have to get up early to see (potentially) Alexis Sánchez. The Udinese of Niño Maravilla and Damián Pizarro will host Guillermo Maripán's Torino, at 8:30 a.m. Chilean time, in the Bluenergy Stadium in Udine. THE black and white and the Toro are looking to move away from the middle of the table.
The current edition of Serie A promises to be an exciting one, with several teams competing for the top of the table. While Atalanta and Inter look strong, it will be interesting to see if other teams, like Napoli, can keep up the pace. This begs the question: what role will surprise teams play in the outcome of this season?
