Though we still have the derby between Lazio and Roma to be played, this matchday has been a day of excellent football for Serie A. Chievo’s keeper (Stefano Sorrentino) redeemed himself after a slew of amazing saves. The guy was pelted with shot after shot, but managed to make the saves, including a flurry in the closing moments of the games where he made a few saves within a minute’s time. They’re one of the small teams that didn’t go into a defensive shell against a big dog like Milan, but that’s not to take away from the Rossoneri, who played a great game with lots of attack and scoring opportunities. Though Pato’s still a bit shaky in front of goal, he troubled Sorrentino a few times. He’s still young, so it’s understandable, but I do expect him to step up by the end of the season. Man of the Match and captain Gennaro Gattuso managed to maintain his infamous temper after having his cheek cut open by the boot of a Chievo player as he made phenomenal plays including a few crosses into the box, great challenges, and crucial runs. Luciano of Chievo’s highlight of the game was a headed flick of the ball off a freekick against Milan that looked to be going in, but Abbiati was there to scoop the ball out of the air and save Milan from a draw. Abbiati also took an elbow to the gut from Kaladze (he landed onto the elbow of Kaladze), but only went down for a few moments. Ronaldinho and Kaka were putting on the style with their dribbling and spinning out of the clutches of Chievo player after Chievo player, with the former showing us that the magic is indeed returning. This game was really a treat for fans and though the scoreline was the result of a soft penalty scored by Kaka, it was definitely match of the day thus far.
The other scores:
Atalanta 3 v 1 Napoli (Pinto 62′, Manfredini 89′, Floccari 90′)(Hamsik 72′)
Cagliari 1 v 0 Fiorentina HAHA (Acquafresca 31′)
Catania 3 v 2 Torino (Mascara hat trick 7, 38, 79′)(Colombo 6′, Amoruso 48′)
Samp 3 v 2 Lecce (Delvecchio 11′, Cassano 14′, Stankevicius 61′) (Tiribocchi 55′, 82′)
Siena 1 v 1 Bologna (Ghezzal 22′) (Di Vaio 45′)
Udinese 0 v 1 Reggina what an upset (Brienza 60′)
This week’s player of the week will be determined once the Roma and Lazio derby has passed.
This week’s upsets against Udinese and Napoli were quite surprising, especially the former who lost to Reggina. Udinese was a team that were just top of the league a few weeks ago and to not be able to hit back against one of the worst performing teams in the leagues is quite shocking. Napoli’s loss against Atalanta could be said to be a bit of karma. Lavezzi, who has spent most of this week running his mouth about Chelsea wanting him, apparently has brought a bit of bad luck to his team. Pride goeth before a fall, Lavezzi. You’re good, kid, but don’t go counting your eggs before they hatch. There are plenty of bigger dogs out there than you and the way Milan neutralised you a couple of weeks back is proof of that.
