The Serie A title race continues at pace this weekend and Juventus kept the pressure on leaders Inter Milan with a hard fought 2-1 victory away to Frosinone.
Juventus are the chief chasers in the race and they closed the gap at the top of the table to a single point, and the Bianconeri fans will be watching the Serie A 2023 updates with interest as Inter Milan play away to Lecce in the late Saturday afternoon kick-off.
18-year-old attacking midfielder Kenan Yildiz gave I Bianconeri a 12th minute lead on his full league debut and it was a brilliant goal to get the visiting fans on their feet. He took a pass from Filip Kostic and managed to hold off three defenders before firing a fierce shot into the bottom corner. It was a fantastic introduction to the young Turk, and it looks like head coach Max Allegri may have unearthed a gem.
Uruguay winger Jaime Baez levelled for Frosinone just after the break when he beat Wojciech Szczesny from a tight angle and Juventus had to go again. They were without key striker Federico Chiesa who is struggling to shake of a tendon injury and Dusan Vlahovic has been out of sorts, with just one goal from his last ten games, but he climbed off the bench to score the winner, heading in from a Weston McKennie cross on 82 minutes.
The Serie A 2023 betting odds here at SBOTOP rate the Old Lady as second favourites to win the Scudetto at a price of around 4.00. A fit Chiesa, the return to form of Vlahovic and the emergence of the exciting Yildiz might just give I Nerazzurri something to think about.
Rossoneri almost catch a cold in Salerno
Milan missed a chance to keep the pressure up on the top two and they stay eight points behind Inter Milan after drawing 2-2 away to bottom club Salernitana. But for Luka Jovic’s 90th minute leveller it could have even worse for Stefano Pioli’s men after they had squandered an early lead. I Rossoneri were boosted by the return of long term absentee Ismael Bennacer who has recovered from knee ligament surgery and he lasted 70 minutes, and Davide Calabria was back from suspension. And it was all looking rosy when Fikayo Tomori headed in a 17th minute opener.
The hosts got their leveller, just before the break, when Federico Fazio powered in a header; and then there was a double blow for Milan as Tomori went off injured in the aftermath of Salernitana’s second goal when Antonio Candreva squeezed his shot past Mike Maignan at his near post. It looked like the bottom club was about to earn an unlikely and vital win but the hosts’ hearts were broken when Olivier Giroud climbed to nod down a Calabria cross and Jovic fired home on the half-volley. It was a cruel blow for the valiant hosts and not a great outcome for Milan.
Lazio sneak into the top half at a cost
After a second placed finish last term Maurizio Sarri’s Lazio have made no impact on the title race this season and have only just climbed into the top ten after an impressive win away to Empoli. The hosts are fighting a relegation battle and they gave Lazio a tough game and, while Matteo Guendouzi and Mattia Zaccagni both scored well taken goals, the visitors lost two key men to injury as both Ciro Immobile and Luis Alberto went off in the first half.
Immobile was injured shortly after Guendouzi’s first goal in Serie A, when he tried to tee the former Arsenal man up for a second, midway through the first period. Luis Alberto followed Immobile down the tunnel only three minutes later when he picked up a muscle strain. Empoli threw all they could at Lazio, winning the shot count by 21 to 14 but they were undone when Zaccagni smashed home the second…at his third attempt.
Despite their troubles in Serie A, Lazio have progressed to the knockout phase of the Champions League, coming second to Atletico Madrid in Group E. Sarri’s men have been drawn against Bayern Munich in the Round of 16 and won’t give the German’s an easy time.
Ferguson wins six-pointer for Bologna
The race for the top four in Serie A is really competitive and two of the chasing pack came face to face on Saturday afternoon in Bologna. I Rossoblu were entertaining Atalanta and they have given themselves a good chance of improving on their ninth place from last season after they edged this game thanks to a late goal from Scottish midfielder Lewis Ferguson. Both teams came into the match with back-to-back league wins but a third on the bounce has lifted Bologna up to fourth place while La Dea stayed in seventh.
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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