Five things we learned watching Serie A this week-end
In what was the biggest scoreline in Serie A so far this season, Napoli trounced struggling Cagliari 5-0 in Sardinia as their recent upturn in form continued; Dries Mertens once again showing his worth with a sensational hat trick.
After a dismal November, which seen the partenopei draw four of their five fixtures in all competition and register just a single victory, Napoli have now smashed eight goals past their domestic opponents and conceded none as well as secure Champions League progression as group B winners; all without a recognised striker.
The loss of Gonzalo Higuain and Arkaduisz Milik, to Juventus and severe injury respectively, were constantly cast up when Napoli suffered from poor form or had a bad result. A look at the League table however shows that, despite too many draws hindering their campaign thus far, Napoli are four goals better off than the same stage last season and have scored just 3 goals less than league leaders Juventus; 35 to 32, and let's not forget that Napoli actually drew level on goals scored prior to the bianconeri's 3-1 win over Torino.
The ever present Jose Callejon leads the way with seven of those goals, followed closely by cult hero Dries Mertens on six, but it is the spread of goals across the entire Napoli squad which is most impressive, especially when taking into account Sarri's extensive rotation thus far.
Marek Hamsik has weighed in with five goals while summer signing Piotr Zielinski has hit the goal trail with two strikes in as many weeks against Inter and Cagliari. Lorenzo Insigne has slowly returned to something near his best with four goals as he went into the weekend fixtures looking to score in a fourth consecutive Serie A match.
Even the centre backs have contributed with Kalidou Koulibaly, Nikola Maksimovic and Vlad Chiriches all netting one apiece, showing just how much Napoli's players have managed to spread the weight of responsibility of not having a focal point to their attack.
In the end, Napoli have not suffered from the lack of a striker. They have merely suffered what all clubs do at some point or other in a league campaign, they have had a blip. One has to wonder though, with 32 goals scored already, just where Napoli would be had Milik not sustained his injury or even if Gabbiadini had taken his gilt edged opportunity rather than wilt under a combination of pressure and low confidence.
Palermo look doomed as Chievo legend nets his 100th Serie A goal.
You have to feel sorry for Palermo supporters who, having watched their side miraculously survive relegation by a single point last season, surely couldn't have thought things would get much worse.
Well, they have. To say that club owner Maurizio Zamparini likes to change his manager is something of an understatement but when your team have officially had more managers than wins in the space of a calendar year, there is genuine cause for concern.
Since January 2016 until now, Palermo have registered just 6 wins in Serie A; beating Hellas Verona twice, Udinese, Frosinone, Sampdoria and Atalanta. During that time Zamparini has hired and fired eight managers; Davide Ballardini, Fabio Viviani, Giovanni Tedesco, Giovanni Bosi, Giuseppe Iachini, Walter Novellino, Davide Ballardini (again), Roberto De Zerbi and now current incumbent Eugenio Corini.
Palermo currently sit rock bottom of Serie A with a single win from 16 games this season and on Sunday lost their 9th consecutive game, this time to Chievo who from the relative safety of mid table had their own cause for celebration.
Chievo's veteran striker and captain, Sergio Pellissier, scored his side's second and his personal 100th Serie A goal in a 2-0 win; a fantastic achievement for a man who has dedicated the vast percentage of his career to a single club. It's quite the story for Pellissier who has been at the club since 2000 and who has stuck by his side through the lows of relegation and the highs of promotion and qualification for the UEFA Europa League and Champions League qualifiers.
In the modern game where players control the ever revolving door in and out of clubs for ever expanding sums of money, it's nice to recognise one of the lesser acknowledged bandiera's left in the Italian game.
Derby win shows just why Juventus broke the bank for Higuain.
Juventus 3-1 win over Torino in the Derby della Mole wouldn't have surprised many onlookers.
Despite the form of striker Andrea Belotti, Torino have been left weakened at the back due to the departures of Kamil Glik and Nikola Maksimovic and the bianconeri took full advantage in a derby game which was a great advert for the Italian game.
Gonzalo Higuain scored a brace to take his Serie A goal tally to 80 in 120 games, however it was the manner in which he was once again in the right place at the right time to capitalise on defensive errors which showed just why Juventus paid what they did to bring the Argentine international to Turin from Naples. Higuain struck when Juventus were 1-0 down, turning the game around and effectively winning it for his side, and not for the first time this season.
Since his move north Higuain has not just scored goals, but he has scored decisive goals. There are numerous occasions where Higuain has found the net in the middle of 3-0 or 4-0 wins, but there are three further matches which stand out where Higuain has contributed to effectively seal the points; coming off the bench on the opening day of the season to score the winner in a 2-1 win over Fiorentina, the 3-1 over Sassuolo where he scored a brace in the opening ten minutes as well as the winning goal against former club Napoli in another narrow 2-1 victory.
Twelve points from four games, nine of which were rescued from a losing position; that's what €90m buys you.
Milan pay the penalty as Niang miss proves costly.
In Monday nights big game Roma took on AC Milan at the Stadio Olimpico. With Napoli and Lazio now within 3 points of both sides prior to kick off, the pressure was on both sides to produce the win that would keep them within touching distance at the top of Serie A. While Milan have already taken down Juventus this season, for Roma it's arguable that the game held slightly more importance for them given that they play Juventus next weekend and a win over Milan would give them a platform and opportunity to cut the gap to a single point.
Roma secured a narrow 1-0 win, a long range strike from Nainggolan on 62 minutes enough to separate the sides, yet it was Milan who missed a glorious chance to take the lead in a relatively equal first half after Gianluca Lapadula was brought down for a penalty kick on 26 minutes; the second time in successive weeks. And, just like last week, Mbaye Niang stepped up only to miss the kick and enrage the rossoneri support.
Last week against Crotone, Lapadulla got his team mate out of jail with a late winner to secure a 2-1 victory, but there was no repeat this time around as Roma took control of a game which seen them finish with 57% possession and create twelve chances to Milan's six and keep themselves within 4 points of the champions.
Inter secure vital win in spite of fan boycott.
Inter's support staged another demonstration this weekend, this time via a silent sit in; their only words coming via a banner aimed at the players, demanding those who do not love Inter should leave in January. On the pitch however, Inter got back to winning ways with a relatively comfortable 2-0 victory over Genoa at the San Siro with goals either side of half time by Marcelo Brozovic.
In what is a congested mid-table battle to break into contention for a Europa League place, Inter could ill afford to lose to a side just 1 point behind them and, with Chievo and Udinese picking up maximum points, three points here would mean the difference between finishing week 16 in 9th place or 12th.
However the antics off the field continue to distract from the need for results on it, and there are no signs that promises made by Suning Holdings chairman Zhang Jindong, where he said, "We are going to make Inter Milan stronger and more splendid", will be followed through.
Despite the upheaval behind the scenes and in the dugout, Inter somehow only find themselves 7 points off the Europa League places and with games against Sassuolo and Lazio to come before the winter shutdown, there is hope yet for Inter fans that European football can be secured this season.
James McGhie (@jrmcghie) is the founder of @SemprePodcast,the original & best SSC Napoli podcast for English speaking supporters across the world.
