Race for the Scudetto: Martinez unstoppable, Milan draw thriller & Atalanta win again
PLAYER OF THE WEEK - LAUTARO MARTINEZ
There is no one like him. The Argentine continues to score at an impossible pace for all other strikers in the league. He scored another goal, this time on Sunday night against Fiorentina.
It was a complicated match for the Nerazzurri, with Vincenzo Italiano's boys playing a very good game, but as usual, they struggled inside the penalty area when it was time to hurt Inter (as evidenced by Nico Gonzalez's missed penalty).
Inter won again on Sunday and did so, as always, thanks to their captain, thanks to Lautaro Martinez. This time the Argentine scored with a great header at the near post, making any save by Pietro Terracciano impossible. He attacked his teammate's cross, it was a corner kick, and beat everyone to the punch - opposing defenders and the goalkeeper, like a relentless lightning bolt he struck the ball and sent it into the net.
It was his 19th goal in Serie A, yes you read that right, it is not a writer's mistake, but also the goal that sends Inter back to first place in the standings, safe from a possible overtaking by Juventus. Right now he is undoubtedly one of the best strikers in the world and Simone Inzaghi is enjoying him.
MATCH OF THE WEEK - AC MILAN vs BOLOGNA
Another Milan match, another match full of emotions, goals and events. On Saturday night, Stefano Pioli's boys and Thiago Motta's lads faced each other and it turned out to be a mouth-watering match, full of emotions and twists and turns, as was to be hoped for in the lead-up.
There is never a dull moment with Milan this year, that's clear by now, but no one could expect a match with three penalty kicks, two of which were missed (both by Milan). Pioli found again a deluxe-format Rafael Leao, with the Portuguese being the absolute protagonist of the match with many goal chances created, while Motta enjoyed the as usual phenomenal Josh Zirkzee, Bologna's star.
It was he who scored the first goal of the match, at the end of a beautiful team action, which he himself initiated. Milan, however, did not lose heart. On the contrary. A fine one-two by Ruben Loftus-Cheek had put Milan ahead. The former Chelsea player is becoming more and more central for the Rossoneri and these two goals proved it.
In the 92nd minute, it all seemed to be over, with the Rossoneri convinced that they now had the three points in their pockets, but suddenly a penalty kick came for Bologna, who never stopped attacking and trying, thanks in part to a sumptuous performance by Zirkzee, who performed incredible football every minute he was on the field. Riccardo Orsolini took the responsibility to shoot the penalty and signed the equalising goal with a perfect shot - 2-2. A fair result and an entertaining game.
SURPRISE OF THE WEEK - JUVENTUS vs EMPOLI
When you least expect it, a halt comes for Juventus. The Bianconeri lost the top of the standings and gave way to Inter, but much of the credit belongs to Empoli and, above all, the foolishness committed by Arek Milik, who was sent off in the first half (after 18 minutes!) in a very delicate and important match.
Max Allegri probably should have given another chance to his rising star Kenan Yildiz. Between the Bianconeri and the Tuscans it was 1-1. The first goal was scored by Dusan Vlahovic, by now he has become a goal machine and the difficult moment seems to belong to another era, then there was Tommaso Baldanzi's spectacular goal.
The young midfielder drew the wild card and with a precise and venomous right-footed shot stopped Juventus' Scudetto run, at least for now. Finally, Baldanzi was back in the limelight in an Empoli jersey - the rumours of Roma's interest in him probably did him good.
TEAM OF THE WEEK - ATALANTA
Aleksey Miranchuk and then Gianluca Scamacca struck for Atalanta's 2-0 win over Udinese.
Lele Cioffi's boys played well, at times perhaps even deserving a draw, but it is with matches like this that you can change the seemingly most complicated seasons and that's exactly what Atalanta did.
The Gasperini-coached team is now fourth in the standings - a sign of maturity and growth is winning games that people expect you to win. Atalanta is growing in this aspect, and in the match against Udinese, it took little to make their quality count.
One fact should not be forgotten - for all these latest matches Gian Piero Gasperini could not count on his top player, namely Ademola Lookman. That's the right path and Atalanta fans are now enjoying the team's progress.
