By Guilio Ricciardi
Serie A Round-Up: Defending Serie A champions Juventus thrashed Parma to secure their lead atop the league, Napoli defeated struggling Fiorentina to rise to third place in Serie A.
Juventus 7 – 0 Parma:
Italian giants Juventus secured an easy victory of Parma with a combined six goals from forwards Carlos Tevez, Fernando Llorente and Alvaro Morata. This was a clear showing of their authority at the top of the table and a message to rivals, Roma and Napoli.
Juventus came into this game with a shaky 3-2 win over Olympiacos in the Champions League. Despite winning the game, they were done for most of it and only managed a comeback by scoring two late goals in 60 seconds. In Serie A, Juventus also had a routine 2-0 victory over minnows Empoli. Similarly, Parma had a shocking 2-0 win against Inter Milan that gave them a necessary three points after a horrible start to the season. Parma, before this win, had only managed one win in 10 matches.
The game was relatively slow for most of the first half as Parma’s leaky defense, one that has allowed 30 goals in 11 games, managed to keep Juve at bay. But in the 24th minute, Juventus opened the floodgates with a tap in goal from forward Fernando Llorente. This led to two more goals in the first half for Juve from defender Stephan Lichtsteiner and Llorente. Juventus continued to put the pressure on Parma as forward Carlos Tevez scored two goals to further secure the result. To add insult to injury, Spanish forward Alvaro Morata scored two goals late in the game to finalize the result at 7-0.
Fiorentina 0-1 Napoli:
Argentinian forward Gonzalo Higuain scored the decisive second half goal to lead Napoli over Fiorentina away from home. After a slow start to the season, Napoli have now risen to third place in the league.
Fiorentina have struggled this season and so far have fell short of their expectations. A team that achieved a Europa League spot last season, it is clear that injuries have taken their toll. With explosive forward Giuseppe Rossi out with a knee injury, they have lacked the scoring touch they usually have. Napoli on the other hand have been successful so far this season. After struggling early on, it seems like they are back to their old ways. If they continue to push it is very possible to see Napoli as Serie A champions at the end of the year.
Napoli, despite dominating the first half of this match, were unable to put a goal in the back of the net. Multiple chances were wasted by Napoli midfielder Marek Hamsik and Higuain. In the second half, Higuain finally managed to break the deadlock as he capitalized off a poor clearance by Fiorentina defender Tomovic to secure the victory.
