Serie A Roundup: Matić rises from ruins to save Roma
Roma - Torino 1-1
Amidst a scandal surrounding the now estranged defender Rick Karsdorp, the Giallorossi faithful put on a unified front ahead of their meeting with Torino. It looked like there would be cause for celebration midway through the first half, when referee Antonio Rapuano pointed to the spot following a handball from Torino’s Samuele Ricci. Cheers swiftly turned to jeers inside the Olimpico, as the decision was overturned following a VAR review.
Such a reprieve would eventually prove beneficial for the visitors, who after coming close on a number of first-half occasions, took the lead via a Karol Linetty header 10 minutes after the restart. Leaping high to reach Wilfried Singo’s clipped cross, the Polish midfielder, who this week was left out of Czesław Michniewicz’s World Cup squad, guided a flicked header beyond Rui Patrício and into the Roma goal.
Looking to avoid creating a piece of unwanted history, José Mourinho turned to his substitutes for reinforcements, bringing ex-Torino stalwart Andrea Belotti off the bench, before being sent off for protests at the referee. A scorer of over 110 goals for Il Toro, substitute Belotti had the chance to rescue a point for the hosts from the spot in added time, but with the weight of Italy’s capital on his shoulders, struck the outside of the post from 12 yards out.
Down, but not beaten, it would be Matić who popped up at the death to save Roma from embarrassment. Rifling home from outside the box, the Serbian international’s strike denied Torino a famous victory, while marking just the first draw in this fixture since November 2015.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Paulo Dybala (AS Roma)
See stats from the match at Flashscore
Monza - Salernitana 3-0
The hosts played on the front foot from the first whistle as they looked to start digging themselves out of the shackles of a relegation scrap in the lower reaches of Serie A. They were rewarded for their pressure before the half-hour mark when Dany Mota picked out Carlos Augusto with a superb backheel pass, and the forward dispatched his effort past onrushing goalkeeper Luigi Sepe to open the scoring for Monza. Mota followed up his stylish assist by snatching a goal of his own to double the Biancorossi’s lead 10 minutes before the break, when a defensive mistake allowed the striker to get in behind to slot home past the goalkeeper.
Monza continued to express themselves in the second period and looked more likely to extend their lead than to allow the deficit to be cut in half. With a boisterous home support behind them, Raffaele Palladino’s men smothered their Salerno counterparts and looked to kill the game. Their pressure told in the final 20 minutes when Antonio Candreva took Mota down in the box, and the referee awarded the hosts a penalty. To make matters worse, the referee brandished a second yellow card for Candreva on the day to send the Italian packing and relegated Salernitana to 10 men for the remainder of the game.
The subsequent spot-kick was coolly dispatched by Matteo Pessina to extend Monza’s lead to three. This was a lead that Salernitana were far too outgunned to climb back from, seeing Davide Nicola’s side extend their winless streak to three consecutive games after a superb run of form in the autumn.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Dany Mota (AC Monza)
Seen stats from the match at Flashscore
Verona - Spezia 1-2
Verona looked more comfortable on the ball than their counterparts, with forward Kevin Lasagna threatening first, sending back-to-back attempts flying narrowly past the woodwork, before Darko Lazović struck an effort inches wide of the post to keep the visitors on their toes.
Gialloblu forward Simone Verdi eventually made Spezia pay for their defensive shortcomings with a well-taken chipped finish into the bottom corner on the half-hour mark. To make things worse for the visitors, goalkeeper Bartłomiej Drągowski was stretchered off before the break following a clash in the box. Perhaps filled with energy following the terrible setback experienced by their Polish teammate, the Aquilotti ended the half on a high note, keeping Lorenzo Montipò busy between the posts at the other end.
Luca Gotti’s side found their footing after the restart, managing to level proceedings through M’Bala Nzola’s timely finish that shocked the hosts. Verona found themselves suddenly playing second fiddle, with Bastoni forcing Montipò into a brilliant save, before Nzola completed the turnaround with a lovely header. A superb cross by Mehdi Bourabia found the Angolan loitering in the box, as he rose high above the opposition defence to put the visitors back in the driving seat.
Mourabia almost turned goalscorer minutes later with a first-time effort, before Federico Ceccherini wasted a huge opportunity at the other end by skying a point-blank shot from a wonderful cross. Salvatore Bocchetti’s men ultimately collapsed, with no other team in Europe’s top-five leagues on a longer losing streak. They linger at the bottom of SA, winless and pointless since early September. Meanwhile, Spezia ended a run of seven league games without a win, opening up a six-point gap to the relegation zone in the process.
Flashscore Man of the Match: M’Bala Nzola (Spezia)
