If there was any hype surrounding Round Nine of the 2014-15 Serie A season, it certainly lived up to it. The top half of the table became air tight during the mid-week clashes as this season continues to show potential to be a wild one.
The first matchup of the week saw Empoli and Sassuolo clash. It wasn’t a marquee matchup. Quite frankly, it was a battle between two lower-table squads. Sassuolo managed to come up with the 3-1 win and now sit in 13th with 10 points. They may seem out of it already, but don’t sneeze on the improbable just yet. Soon, you’ll see why.
On Wednesday, the action really picked up. Torino picked up a much-needed win over Parma. Parma has been absolutely dreadful this season with only one win in nine matches. Torino’s win helped them to max out at 11 points at the end of this round and jump into 12th. Now we have 13th with 10 points and 12th with 11 points.
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Palermo took care of Chievo in front of their home crowd to give them just their second win on the season. They are currently tied for 14th at nine points. Chievo has now lost four straight and will try to make their way out of the relegation zone.
It’s no secret Inter has been a shell of their former selves for a few years now. This season has been no different. They had a tough task taking on Sampdoria, the surprise team of Serie A this season. Mauro Icardi buried the only goal of the game in the 90th minute to give Inter their second straight win and propel them into a tie for seventh place with 15 points. One of two teams coming into Round Nine without a loss, Sampdoria falls to fifth, but is technically tied for third nonetheless.
Then Juventus, coincidentally the other undefeated team this season, traveled to Genoa. Luca Antonini decided to do Icardi one better and sunk a 90+4′ goal to shock the Italian Giants. Juventus had finally separated themselves from AS Roma going into this round and they completely blew the lead. Roma took care of Cesena to jump back into a tie for first place at 22 points.
Genoa now has 15 points and jumps into the tie for seventh.
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Fiorentina was coming off of their draw to AC Milan going into their game against Udinese, another team that has been a bit surprising with their form. Between Sampdoria and Udinese, the former has a better goal differential but the latter has scored more. Both of these teams will be looking to make a statement in the league. Sampdoria did just that with their previous draw with Roma, but Udinese has had a tougher time proving themselves. Losing 3-0 to Fiorentina didn’t help that and Udinese stalled at 16 points. They now find themselves in a tie for third place, while Fiorentina moves into 10th with 13 points.
After Milan, Cagliari, Atalanta, and Napoli had their respective draws, the Serie A table is as close as ever. This was solidified with Verona and Lazio drawing as well. At the top, you have Juventus and Roma duking it out. Six points behind, you have a four-way tie for third place. In fact, the only thing separating the third place team and the 10th place team is three points. Every team that looked like they would pull away either drew or lost, often leading to the team closer to the middle of the table gaining ground.
I am a big supporter of parity in these leagues so despite Milan (my favorite team) drawing in disappointing fashion to a team they should’ve beaten, this Serie A campaign is looking to make for exciting football. Even if it only lasts till about Christmas, the next few months should be fun.
Stay tuned to Playing for 90 for more Serie A coverage.