Reigning Scudetto holders Juventus‘ exceptional run of form continued in round 25, as they saw off Napoli to leapfrog the Partenopei and take top spot in Serie A for the first time this season.
Maurizio Sarri delivered on his word as the visitors took the game to Massimiliano Allegri’s side, in a game that saw them impose their own style of play on their hosts, making life extremely difficult for the Old Lady.
As the game neared its conclusion, however, substitute Simone Zaza took centre stage and unleashes a powerful left-footed drive from range, which deflected slightly and looped above the hapless Pepe Reina to steal the points for Juve. Leonardo Bonucci can take an enormous amount of credit for his contribution to the win, as he denied what would have been a certain goal for Gonzalo Higuain to put the Azzurri ahead with a crucial interception at full-stretch.
In the battle for the final Champions League place, Fiorentina solidified their position in third as they came from behind to seal a late winner against Inter. Marcelo Brozovic had put Roberto Mancini’s men ahead in the first half, only for Borja Valero to level the scores on the hour mark.
As the game ticked into the dying moments, Khouma Babacar stole the points for La Viola, before Mauro Zarate and Geoffrey Kondogbia were both shown red cards.
Roma‘s resurgence under Luciano Spalletti went on as they left it late to win away at Carpi. Lucas Digna put the Giallorossi ahead in the second half, only to have Kevin Lasagna draw the Biancorossi level within minutes. Edin Dzeko scored just his fourth goal of the campaign to restore the visitors’ lead in the 84th minute, with Mohamed Salah rounding off the scoring a minute later.
The win sees Roma climb above Inter and into fourth place in the table, leaving them just two points off Fiorentina in their chase of Champions League qualification.
Fellow European hopefuls, AC Milan, kept their dreams of returning to continental football alive with a 2-1 win over struggling Genoa. The ice-cold finisher Carlos Bacca opened the scoring with just five minutes on the clock. Keisuke Honda added to his recent run of form by doubling the Rossoneri’s lead after the hour mark. Alessio Cerci scored what proved to be nothing more than a consolation goal for the Grifone in the game’s dying moments, on his return to the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza.
Lazio put five past Hellas Verona in the round’s first fixture, sealing a 5-2 win, taking them into seventh-place. Alessandro Matri, Stefano Mauri and Felipe Anderson gave the hosts a comfortable 3-0 lead, before Leandro Greco and Luca Toni both scored within seven minutes to give the Biancocelesti some cause for concern going into the last ten minutes of action.
Keita Balde ensured their blushes were to be spared as he restored the two-goal margin, with Antonio Candreva clinching the points with a 90th-minute penalty.
Sassuolo‘s disappointing start to 2016 worsened with a 1-1 draw away to Chievo. Valter Birsa put the hosts ahead from the penalty spot, only to have his goal immediately forgotten as Nicola Sansone thumped a spectacular strike beyond Albano Bizzarri to level the scores just a minute later.
Frosinone bagged their second win in three matches, largely thanks to Daniel Ciofani who netted twice in a 2-1 defeat of Empoli. Riccardo Saponara was the standout performer and the former Milan man assisted Massimo Maccarone, however, their efforts could not save the Azzurri from avoiding defeat.
The romance of Ciro Immobile’s fairytale return to Torino continued on Valentine’s Day as he scored two of Il Toro’s three goals in their 3-1 away win over Palermo. Immobile’s first cancelled out Alberto Gilardino’s early opener. His two goals came either side of a Giancarlo Gonzalez own-goal, firing Giampiero Ventura’s side to all three points.
Roberto Donadoni’s Bologna earned yet another win, with Mattia Destro once again finding the net in their 1-0 win at Udinese. The Rossublu currently sit 10th in the table, having been in the relegation zone when Donadoni took charge.
Sampdoria failed to match Frosinone’s win earlier in the round as they and Atalanta played out a scoreless draw at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris. La Dea have now scored just four times since returning from the Christmas break and selling Maxi Moralez, leaving more question marks over their willingness to let German Denis leave for Independiente.
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Source: forzaitalianfootball.com