And then there were 5. That's the number of games remaining in the current Serie A season, including upcoming round 34. Round 33 is nearly over, with Roma taking on Pescara later today, and the Giallorossi will be keen on picking up all three points against the bottom-ranked Delfini.
Juventus wrapped up a good week with a resounding win, whilst Crotone are refusing to give up in their battle to avoid the drop. Let's have a quick look at what happened across Italy this weekend.
1. Mario Mandzukic = Juve's good luck charm?
Maybe. The Croatian hasn't scored as many goals as he usually does, but has still played a vital part in Juve's success this season. Many had concerns as to how Massimiliano Allegri could play Mandzukic, Gonzalo Higuain, and Paulo Dybala at the same time, but he certainly has figured it out by converting the ex-Atleti and Bayern man into a winger of sorts, which allows him to help out on defense whilst contributing to the attack.
The well-traveled attacker has received plaudits for his industrious approach, and grabbed himself a goal during the team's 4-0 rout of Genoa. And when he scores, Juve win. No, literally:
20 - #Juventus have won all the 20 games (all competitions) in which Mario #Mandzukic scored. Good. #JuveGenoa
— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) April 23, 2017a
2. Draws? Not the order of the day in Serie A
Here's a pretty stunning stat: Ligue 1 has the highest number of stalemates. The league with the fewest?
Serie A. The top two sides, Roma and Juve, have drawn just five in total, and overall, Italy's top flight is ahead of the other members of the "Big 5" in this regard:
21% - Serie A has the lowest % of games drawn among the top-5 European leagues this season. Imbalanced. pic.twitter.com/AFvx3O9iPk
— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) April 24, 2017
3. The Aquile are truly flying
Goals, goals, and more goals. The Lazio vs. Palermo tie had plenty of that on store, and the Aquile set an interesting record in the process:
5- Before Lazio today, the only team to score 5 goals in the first 26 mins of play in a Serie A game was Juve (vs Fiorentina, 1938). Hand.
— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) April 23, 2017
4. Nine's the magic number
Whilst both Fiorentina and Inter suffer from leaky defenses, no one had expected the nine goal thriller fans were in for this past weekend.
We've seen eight goals scored in a game, but nine is truly a rarity:
9 - The previous Serie A game with 9+ goals scored was Parma-AC Milan (4-5) in September 2014. Fireworks. #FiorentinaInter
— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) April 22, 2017
5. Atalanta's double-duty defenders
Atalanta have had an impressive season and are looking good to qualify for the Europa League. La Dea have scored a solid 56 goals, but one will be surprised to hear that their defenders are also getting in on the action:
16 - Atalanta have scored the most goals (16) with their defenders among the top-5 European league this season. Key. #AtalantaBologna pic.twitter.com/RRaEE1dzqR
— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) April 22, 2017
How the race for the Capocannoniere is shaping up...
It's still a close battle between Roma's Edin Dzeko and Torino's Andrea Belotti. Dzeko, of course, can temporarily overtake Belotti should he score against Pescara later today:
Assist Kings
Can't have those goals without assists! Here's how the top providers compare:
Serie A Matchday 33 rankings:
Here's how things are shaping up in Serie A after 33 rounds...will there be more changes after matchday 34 this coming weekend?
Pos. | Team | MP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | P | Form | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Internazionale | 29 | 24 | 4 | 1 | 71 | 14 | +57 | 76 | DWWWW | |
2 | Milan | 29 | 19 | 5 | 5 | 55 | 33 | +22 | 62 | WWWDL | |
3 | Juventus | 29 | 17 | 8 | 4 | 44 | 23 | +21 | 59 | DDLWD | |
4 | Bologna | 29 | 15 | 9 | 5 | 42 | 25 | +17 | 54 | WLWWW | |
5 | Roma | 29 | 15 | 6 | 8 | 55 | 35 | +20 | 51 | WDWWW | |
6 | Atalanta | 28 | 14 | 5 | 9 | 51 | 32 | +19 | 47 | DLLDW | |
7 | Napoli | 29 | 12 | 9 | 8 | 44 | 33 | +11 | 45 | DDWWD | |
8 | Fiorentina | 28 | 12 | 7 | 9 | 41 | 32 | +9 | 43 | DDWDL | |
9 | Lazio | 29 | 13 | 4 | 12 | 36 | 33 | +3 | 43 | WLLLW | |
10 | Monza | 29 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 32 | 36 | -4 | 42 | WWLWW | |
11 | Torino | 29 | 10 | 11 | 8 | 28 | 26 | +2 | 41 | WDDLL | |
12 | Genoa | 29 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 31 | 36 | -5 | 34 | DLLWD | |
13 | Lecce | 29 | 6 | 10 | 13 | 26 | 45 | -19 | 28 | WLDLL | |
14 | Udinese | 29 | 4 | 15 | 10 | 28 | 44 | -16 | 27 | LWDLD | |
15 | Hellas Verona | 29 | 6 | 8 | 15 | 26 | 39 | -13 | 26 | LWWLD | |
16 | Cagliari | 29 | 6 | 8 | 15 | 29 | 50 | -21 | 26 | LWWDD | |
17 | Empoli | 29 | 6 | 7 | 16 | 22 | 43 | -21 | 25 | LLLWD | |
18 | Frosinone | 29 | 6 | 6 | 17 | 37 | 60 | -23 | 24 | LLDLL | |
19 | Sassuolo | 29 | 6 | 5 | 18 | 33 | 56 | -23 | 23 | LWLLL | |
20 | Salernitana | 29 | 2 | 8 | 19 | 23 | 59 | -36 | 14 | LLDLL |