5 key stats from week 23 of Serie A
Osvaldo on his Juventus debut
1. Juventus let Verona back in
The Bianconeri looked to be cruising to their twentieth league victory of the campaign as Carlos Tevez struck twice inside the opening half-hour at the Stadio Bentegodi.
Juventus hemmed Hellas Verona in with 63% possession in the first half and didn’t let the hosts within sight of goal, not allowing a single shot to be taken.
But the champions relented slightly after the break and almost immediately paid the price, Luca Toni heading home on 52 minutes to set up a dramatic stoppage time equaliser from Juanito Gomez Taleb.
All told the Mastini reeled off 11 shots to hit the back of the net twice in the decisive second period – spending 7% of their time on the ball in Juventus’ box after being held off entirely prior to half-time.
2. No reward for Roma
Lazio have found new resolve under boss Edy Reja of late, and needed every bit of it to keep rivals Roma off the scoresheet on Sunday afternoon during the Rome derby.
The Giallorossi laid claim to 59% of the possession in typical style, dominating territory and restricting the Aquile to just three shots on goal.
But Reja’s men remained organised at the back, a compact defence limiting chances for penetration into the penalty area – as can be seen from Roma’s heat map.
Twelve key passes and 14 shots weren’t enough for Rudi Garcia’s charges – who had a Gervinho goal chalked off for offside – to break through, the second place side denied the opportunity to make up ground on leaders Juventus.
3. The Cuadrado factor
Juan Cuadrado had seen just 20 minutes of action over Fiorentina’s two previous Serie A contests, in which his side slumped to consecutive defeats without his influence.
The Colombia international was back in the starting eleven for Vincenzo Montella opposite Atalanta on Saturday and proved immediately just how important he is to the Viola cause.
Four successful take ons saw the winger make use of his vaunted dribbling skills to threaten the Orobici with regularity, forcing his adversaries to foul him four times as he completed 89% of his passes.
Cuadrado set up the winner by drawing Giulio Migliaccio into hacking him down for Josip Ilicic to net a curling free-kick, making the vital difference at a crucial stage in the injury-ravaged Tuscans’ season.
4. Benitez’s boss in midfield
Gokhan Inler – who revealed earlier this term that Rafael Benitez had wanted him during his tenure with Liverpool – had come in for a fair amount of stick after Napoli’s loss to Atalanta last weekend.
The Swiss international didn’t set the world alight midweek in the Coppa Italia against Roma either – but certainly made amends when the time came to face Milan.
He did absolutely everything in the centre of the park in the defeat of the Rossoneri, covering a vast amount of ground whilst making four interceptions and three tackles.
Inler opened the Partenopei account on the day with a long-range effort that took a deflection on its way in, then later conjured up four key passes (87% accuracy in total) to provide the assist for Gonzalo Higuain’s decisive headed strike.
5. Aerial superiority for Inter
The Nerazzurri had been without a win in Serie A since December 22 – a stretch of six encounters – ahead of Sassuolo’s trip to San Siro on Sunday evening.
Just two goals had arrived for Inter during this barren spell, but thankfully for boss Walter Mazzarri, the struggling giants needed just one to down the Neroverdi.
Walter Samuel took advantage of a defence that has conceded the second-most headers in the league to net a cranial strike for the winner just after half-time.
The Milanese outfit dominated in the air on the whole in claiming 20 of 31 total headed duels over the course of the contest.