Juventus put up a convincing number in last week’s showdown, besting second place Roma 3-0, but in the progress they rekindled a old stereotypes about the Italian league. For somebody that hadn’t paid much attention to the Serie A in recent years, tuning into the one-versus-two matchup would have been rewarded with an Italian leader adopting a classically Italian approach to defend-then-pounce on their challengers. “That’s so Serie A,” the cynic could note, electing to persist with old ideas about the Italy’s current landscape.
In truth, most of the Italy’s best teams are playing more modern, expansive soccer, with each of the league’s top contenders averaging at least 1.78 goals per game. Inter Milan (sixth) now features Walter Mazzarri’s rampaging wing backs, while Fiorentina (fourth) brought in Mario Gomez and Giuseppe Rossi this summer (only to see both get injured). Napoli (third) has been consistently pushing forward thanks to Gonzalo Higuain, José Callejón, and Marek Hamsik, while Rudi Garcia have Roma playing some of the most attractive soccer in Europe. Even Juventus, the team that employed a catenaccio-inspired approach against Roma, has typically thrived on possession while putting up goals. If the soul of Italian soccer is still a conservative one, its league’s best teams are doing more than merely thriving on the mistakes of others.
Napoli, on the road Sunday against fifth place Verona, continued that trend, with Dries Mertens, Lorenzo Insigne, and Blerim Dzemaili leading Rafa Benítez’s team to a 3-0 victory. The result kept them two points behind Roma, who rebounded from last weekend’s disappointment with a 4-0 win over Genoa. And Juventus, after giving up the first goal at Cagliari, got a double from Fernando Llorente en route to a 4-1 win in Sardinia.
As with last weekend’s showdown in Turin, there’s a danger here of confounding goals with beautiful soccer, though the link is more than coincidental with Italy’s leaders. Throw in Mazzarri’s Nerazzurri (in action Monday against Chievo) and Vincenzo Montella’s Fiorentina (held 0-0 by Torino without Rossi, Gomez), and you have a collection of teams committed to transcending their league’s lingering misconceptions.
Last weekend, Juventus may have reverted for one day, but you can blame Roma’s threat for that. Besides, after Sunday’s explosion at Stadio Is Arenas, the Old Lady leads the league in goals. And how conservative can a team be if they’re scoring 2.4 goals a pop?
Elsewhere
- Livorno 0, Parma 3 - Two late goals from Amauri made a game that sat 1-0 for 84 minutes into a lopsided result, Parma jumping to eighth after building on Raffaele Paladino’s second minute opener.
- Bologna 0, Lazio 0 - Edy Reja’s second game back in charge ended with his team failing to put a shot on Gianluca Cerci, Bologna held to a draw despite outshooting their guests 12-2 (overall shots).
- Atalanta 2, Catania 1 - Maxi Moralez’s 86th minute goal gave the hosts a 2-0 lead, the insurance turning into a game winner when Sebastián Leto pulled Catania within one just before full time. Unable to find an equalizer, the Elephants stay bottom of the table, three points and a tiebreaker away from safety.
- Sassuolo 4, Milan 3 - Goals in the 15th, 28th, 41st, and 47th minutes from Juventus loanee Domenico Barardi pushed the 19-year-old to 11 for the season and his team out of the drop, Milan failing to protect a two-goal lead in their first loss of the new year.
Others
Cagliari 1, Juventus 4
Roma 4, Genoa 0
Verona 0, Napoli 3
Torino 0, Fiorentina 0
Monday
Sampdoria vs. Udinese
Inter vs. Chievo
Standings
| Team | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Home | Away | PTS |
| Juventus | 19 | 17 | 1 | 1 | 46 | 12 | 34 | 9-0-0 | 8-1-1 | 52 |
| Roma | 19 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 39 | 10 | 29 | 8-2-0 | 5-3-1 | 44 |
| Napoli | 19 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 41 | 20 | 21 | 7-2-1 | 6-1-2 | 42 |
| Fiorentina | 19 | 11 | 4 | 4 | 34 | 20 | 14 | 6-2-1 | 5-2-3 | 37 |
| Verona | 19 | 10 | 2 | 7 | 34 | 30 | 4 | 8-0-2 | 2-2-5 | 32 |
| Inter Milan | 18 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 37 | 22 | 15 | 5-3-1 | 3-4-2 | 31 |
| Torino | 19 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 31 | 27 | 4 | 4-5-1 | 2-3-4 | 26 |
| Parma | 19 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 29 | 26 | 3 | 4-4-2 | 2-4-3 | 26 |
| Lazio | 19 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 23 | 26 | -3 | 6-1-2 | 0-5-5 | 24 |
| Genoa | 19 | 6 | 5 | 8 | 19 | 24 | -5 | 4-3-2 | 2-2-6 | 23 |
| AC Milan | 19 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 31 | 30 | 1 | 4-3-2 | 1-4-5 | 22 |
| Atalanta | 19 | 6 | 3 | 10 | 20 | 29 | -9 | 5-2-2 | 1-1-8 | 21 |
| Cagliari | 19 | 4 | 9 | 6 | 19 | 28 | -9 | 4-4-2 | 0-5-4 | 21 |
| Udinese | 18 | 6 | 2 | 10 | 18 | 25 | -7 | 4-1-4 | 2-1-6 | 20 |
| Sampdoria | 18 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 19 | 27 | -8 | 2-3-4 | 2-3-4 | 18 |
| Sassuolo | 19 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 21 | 41 | -20 | 3-1-5 | 1-4-5 | 17 |
| Chievo | 18 | 4 | 4 | 10 | 13 | 23 | -10 | 2-2-5 | 2-2-5 | 16 |
| Bologna | 19 | 3 | 7 | 9 | 17 | 33 | -16 | 2-5-3 | 1-2-6 | 16 |
| Livorno | 19 | 3 | 4 | 12 | 16 | 33 | -17 | 2-3-5 | 1-1-7 | 13 |
| Catania | 19 | 3 | 4 | 12 | 13 | 34 | -21 | 3-4-2 | 0-0-10 | 13 |