For his first exercise in Serie A, Romelu Lukaku made an excellent copy: he broke his record for goals in a season (29 goals – in all competitions) and finished on the second step of the podium, behind the unbeatable Juve, thanks to a valuable victory of his on the lawn of the Atalanta of Timothy Castagne. A duel between the second (Inter – 79 pts before the kick-off) and the third (Atalanta – 78 pts) which therefore pitted two of our Devils against each other and took on the air of a “small” final.
Although this silver medal is only honorable in Italy (since the final ranking has no financial or TV rights influence), the Inter took Atalanta to the throat of entry: on A corner kick from Ashley Young Danilo D’Ambrosio deflected a header into the net by Pierluigi Gollini (1st). Atalanta’s disastrous start to the match then quickly turned into nightmares when Gollini had to leave the pitch, injured.
Twenty minutes later, Ashley Young turned into a scorer: with a nice curled shot, the Englishman doubled the bet for the Nerazzuri (20e).
Stunned and deprived of its titular goalkeeper, the team of Timothy Castagne practically proposed in the first period and had to wait for the 55th for his first shot on target. However, Gian Piero Gasperini’s men had gotten into the habit of feasting offensively this season and could even become the first team to score 100 Serie A goals since 1950-1951.
The silence of Atalanta’s forwards therefore testifies to the defensive solidity shown by the interist rearguard last night.
Lukaku could have improved his goal record, but Diego Godin lacked lucidity and sent a ball too rough in the large rectangle (76th). Big Rom was nevertheless ideally placed. Ten minutes later, the Belgian made speak his power and his speed by striking in the axis before unleashing a heavy strike from 20 meters which spun just above the opposing goal (87th).
For his part, Timothy Castagne was powerless and had to give way to Hans Hateboer on the hour mark. He will have to settle for a bronze medal.
Assist, Dries Mertens plays Lazio
The Devil delivered two assists in the victory of his team against Lazio.
When Dries Mertens doesn’t score, he scores! Back from suspension, the Devil was one of the main architects of Napoli’s victory over Lazio, in particular by delivering two assists and obtaining a penalty.
At the start of the match, served in the axis by Mertens, Fabian Ruiz opened the scoring on the first Neapolitan foray by opening his left foot at the entrance to the surface. Helped by a deviation, the strike of the Spaniard loba Thoma Strakosha.
History then wanted Ciro Immobile to equal Gonzalo Higuain’s record by planting his 36th rose of the season in the league, with a flat foot on a strong cross from Adam Marusic.
A few moments after returning from the locker room, Lorenzo Insigne found Mertens in the large rectangle. The Belgian landed a strike just before being mowed down by Marco Parolo. The referee pointed to the penalty spot and Lorenzo Inisgne confidently converted it.
Just before the final whistle, Mertens punctuated his meeting with a second assist. The Louvanist served Matteo Politano with a shrewd exterior. The Italian only had to conclude.
If the victory allows the Neapolitans to end the campaign on a good note, they still lose Lorenzo Insigne to injury… one week before the match against Barcelona in the Champions League.
–
