Roma are at a crossroads after lurching from form side to crisis club in a matter of days, but Owen Diana sees this as a chance for the new owners to make their mark.
The dust has not settled in the Eternal City. After a convulsive week that included a demoralizing derby defeat and a farcical elimination from the Coppa Italia, Saturday’s wild 4-3 win over Spezia was a much-needed pick-me-up.
While that thrilling triumph will have given the Friedkins some crucial clarity regarding the next steps to take, it also presents them with a puzzling dilemma. Changes must be made in the dugout and on the pitch, but the question is when.
The Italian Super Cup Final could have gone either way and Lorenzo Bettoni believes both Juventus and Napoli learned an important lesson ahead of the decisive part of the season.
Upon the arrival of the team buses at the Mapei Stadium, Napoli fans in Reggio Emilia reminded us of how football used to be before the pandemic, lighting smoke bombs to welcome the Azzurri at the venue and, less remarkably, abusing Juventus players and staff on their way to the stadium.
Richard Hall argues Nicolò Barella is following in Lothar Matthaus’ footsteps at Inter and is proving to be the best midfielder in Italy right now.
“Perfect in every respect.” These were the words of Antonio Conte when referring to Nicolo Barella’s performance against Juventus.
The tenacious midfielder was unplayable against the Old Lady as his use of the ball, intelligent play and magnificent engine made his opposition counter parts look inadequate.
There is a long way to go in Serie A and no one will be ready to write Juve off just yet, but Elio Salerno believes the Inter defeat certainly feels more like a case of nine and out for the Bianconeri.
Following a disheartening defeat at San Siro on Sunday evening against bitter rivals Inter, Juve’s hopes of clinching a 10th consecutive Scudetto were left in ruin.
Sitting ten points off top spot – albeit with a game in hand – means Andrea Pirlo has a mountain to climb if he wishes to replicate the coaches that have gone before him.
Manuel Locatelli has been linked with moves to Juventus and Manchester City, and Kaustubh Pandey discusses which would be the best option to further develop in the future.
Watching Manuel Locatelli over the last two seasons has been an enriching experience as his development is an example of how a player can make it big despite leaving a big club.
The Italy international has taken quite a unique path since leaving Milan to move to the Mapei Stadium in the summer of 2018.
Clinging to a slim advantage atop the league table, Stefano Pioli’s Milan welcome several inexpensive, yet key, additions to reinforce the squad and forge ahead in their title chase, writes Matt Santangelo.
Whether it be injuries to key stars such as Zlatan Ibrahimović, Ismaël Bennacer, Simon Kjaer or recent positive COVID tests for Theo Hernandez and Hakan Calhanoglu, Stefano Pioli’s done extremely well keeping his first-place Milan squad hungry, motivated and ready for anything.
The Giallorossi went off the rails at this stage last season, and Owen Diana fears that something similar could happen this year.
History could be set to be repeat itself for La Lupa. A second straight strong start to the season under Paulo Fonseca could prove to be another false dawn after a damaging 3-0 derby defeat.
Friday’s meek surrender to archival Lazio is a major cause for concern, especially as it fits into a preoccupying pattern of poor performances against the Peninsula’s premier sides.
Manuel Lazzari and Luis Alberto played a key role in Lazio’s win against Roma in the Derby della Capitale and Vijay Rahaman believes this victory must be a turning point for the Biancocelesti.
The Italian and Spaniard stole the show at the Stadio Olimpico, as the Biancocelesti pulled out an outstanding 3-0 win over their fierce rival Roma.
It was a Derby della Capitale unlike any other, as it was the first to ever be contested on a Friday and behind closed doors. This doesn’t mean there was no passion, on and off the pitch. Fans of both Lazio and Roma escorted the team busses to the stadium amid songs and smoke bombs.
Juventus’ winning cycle began with Antonio Conte in the dug-out and Andrea Pirlo on the pitch. Ten years later the Inter coach has the opportunity to destroy what he created, writes Lorenzo Bettoni.
Ten years ago, Juventus were coming from two successive seventh place finishes in Serie A with Andrea Agnelli settling on Antonio Conte, a die-hard Juventus fan and a legend of the club, to return the Old Lady winning ways.
Of course, Conte couldn’t do it all on his own. Juventus signed Andrea Pirlo as a free agent from Milan and Arturo Vidal for €10m from Bayer Leverkusen.
Nobody expected Juventus to win the Scudetto ahead of Max Allegri’s Milan who could count on the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva, just to name a few.
The 18-year-old teenage sensation has now officially completed his €40m move to Manchester United and Vilizar Yakimov sees this as another tremendous piece of business by La Dea.
A few eyebrows were raised when Atalanta and Manchester United came to an agreement for the transfer of 18-year-old Amad Diallo back in October.
The Ivorian had barely made any appearances for La Dea’s first team since joining their academy in 2015, so despite his undisputed talent it really seemed bizarre that one of the Premier League’s powerhouses were ready to splash €25m plus additional €15m in add-ons for him.
