Unfortunately for calcio fans, Serie A will be taking a break for yet another international hiatus. Last weekend's batch of fixtures brought plenty of surprises, and although there were little changes in the league standings, there were still plenty of talking points.
Let's take a look at what happened in the last round of Serie A action.
It was bound to happen at some point...Juve finally slip up
Juventus may have gone the 2011/2012 season unbeaten, but it wasn't to be this time around. The Bianconeri were the last unbeaten side in Europe's "Big 5" leagues - at least until this Sunday, when they faced Genoa.
The Grifone notably held Juve to a 1-1 draw in Turin earlier this season, and had more in store for Massimiliano Allegri's side when La Vecchia Signora arrived at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris on Sunday afternoon. Allegri opted to leave star man Cristiano Ronaldo at home and rotate his squad - and it backfired miserably as Genoa secured a shock 2-0 victory. That makes them the first side to beat Juventus in Serie A this season, but nonetheless, Juve's lead on top of the table is more than secure.
The Derby della Madonnina still belongs to Inter
This Sunday also featured the latest edition of the Derby della Madonnina, and all the spoils went to Inter after an entertaining 3-2 affair at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza. In winning it, Inter remain in third spot, whilst Milan stay in fourth, and impressively, the Nerazzurri continued their strong streak in the Milan Derby - although they have some ways to go to matching a record set back in 1999:
6 - @Inter_en are unbeaten in their last six Serie A Milan Derbies for the first time since 1999 (10). Stracittadina. #MilanInter
— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) March 17, 2019
Making some major amends in a historical way
Bologna's Erick Pulgar certainly won't forget his team's match versus Torino in a hurry, as he was the star of the show - but perhaps for the wrong reasons after netting a brace. Unfortunately, one of those goals was for the wrong side. The other, fortunately, was for the Rossoblu as they rallied back from 1-0 down to secure a 3-2 lead.
The last time this happened in a top flight game in Italy was well over 20 years ago:
1 - Prior to Erick #Pulgar, the last player to score both an own goal and also a penalty goal in the same Serie A match was Giuseppe Pancaro in Cagliari vs Reggiana in December 1996. Detail.#TorinoBologna #SerieA
— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) March 16, 2019
Goals galore at the MAPEI Stadium
It seems like the MAPEI Stadium is a hunting ground for goals - especially for mid-table sides looking to add more to their tallies, and Sassuolo-Sampdoria proved to be no exception. A whopping eight were scored as the visitors picked up a 5-3 win over the Neroverdi. Curiously enough, eight is the most number of goals scored in any Serie A game so far this season, and all three have been at Sassuolo's home ground:
8 - Only in three games in the current Serie A campaign have been scored at least 8 goals in the match, and all have seen Sassuolo at Mapei Stadium (Sassuolo-Sampdoria, Sassuolo-Atalanta, Sassuolo-Genoa). Show.#SassuoloSamp #SerieA
— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) March 16, 2019
Unfortunately for Sassuolo fans, the Neroverdi have ended up losing 6-2 to Atalanta and 5-3 to Sampdoria, but they did manage to beat Samp's cross-town rivals Genoa 5-3 earlier this season.
DID YOU KNOW?
21 & 7 - Fabio #Quagliarella has now established both his goal record (21) and his assists record (7) in a single Serie A campaign. Legendary.#SassuoloSampdoria #SerieA pic.twitter.com/Cqr0colKMU
— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) March 16, 2019
The race for the Capocannoniere
Here's how things are shaping up after 28 rounds, with the evergreen and very impressive Sampdoria striker Fabio Quagliarella managing to inch ahead thanks to netting against Sampdoria. Cristiano Ronaldo, meanwhile wasn't able to add to his total after being rested during Juve's 2-0 loss to Genoa: