Napoli remain top of Serie A after match week 13

 ROME - Napoli still lead Atalanta, Inter Milan, Fiorentina and Lazio by only one point after all five teams won three points in match week 13. The perilous proximity of these teams means that it still remains anyone’s title this year.

 Napoli faced Roma with their newly reappointed coach Claudio Ranieri. Napoli were not their normal clinical selves, missing good opportunities which if they do not take in the future may well harm their title chances. However, despite these misses Napoli were able to get the good of their opponents thanks to Romelu Lukaku’s goal in the 54 minute. Lukaku was able to get on the end of a cross into the Roma penalty box, tiptoeing the ball past the goalkeeper. Napoli’s next match is against Torino which should be an easier challenge.

 The match of the week goes to Inter Milan for their thumping 5-0 victory over struggling Verona. All of Inter’s goals were scored in the first half of the match, before the side seemed to cool things down a bit - probably a sensible idea given the fast-paced nature of the Serie A schedule this year. Joaquin Correa set the tone, scoring the first goal in the 17th minute thanks to some silky tiki-taka style football in the Verona penalty box. Marcus Thuram was then quick to score two more for Inter in the 22nd and 25th minutes, before Stefan de Vrij made it 4-0 in the 31st minute, and Yann Aurel Bisseck scored Inter’s final goal in the 41stminute. Inter will hope to keep their momentum going in their top of the table clash against Fiorentina on Dec. 1.

 Elsewhere, there were three draws all with different scorelines. AC Milan and Juventus shared the only goalless match, Torino drew with Monza 1-1 and Genoa and Cagliari drew 2-2. Fiorentina got the better of Como 2-0, Atalanta beat Parma 3-1, and Lazio beat Bologna 3-0.

 During all the games, players had red stripes on their cheeks, aimed at raising awareness surrounding physical and psychological abuse towards women in Italy.

 Things remain as tight as ever at the top of Serie A, as we still wait for one team to break the deadlock with two thirds of the season still to play.

tjpw