The race to become Serie A's top scorer this season is up and running, with Gonzalo Higuain favorite to retain his title.
Higuain scored 36 goals last campaign for Napoli to break a 66-year-old Serie A record and could even surpass that mark after his 90 million euro ($99 million) transfer to Juventus.
Higuain netted twice in Juventus' 3-0 win at Empoli on Sunday to take his tally to six for the season, after seven rounds. Serie A leader Juventus moved four points clear of Napoli, which fell to a surprise 1-0 defeat at Atalanta.
The Argentina forward scored his first in the 67th minute with a powerful shot from outside the area, and doubled his tally three minutes later following a mistake from Empoli defender Marco Zambelli.
Paulo Dybala, who had scored in Tuesday's 4-0 win at Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League, broke the deadlock in the 65th for his first league goal of the season.
Dybala, who is also Argentinian, finished a distant second in the scoring charts last season, with 19 goals.
Inter forward Mauro Icardi is also on six goals, having scored all but two of the Nerazzurri's goals this season, and he can add to his tally at Roma later.
Carlos Bacca is one of three players with five goals. His AC Milan side hosts Sassuolo later, while Andrea Belotti will spearhead Torino's attack against Fiorentina.
Napoli forward Jose Callejon is the other player with five goals.
Here's what else happened in Serie A:
___
ATALANTA 1, NAPOLI 0
The match in Bergamo was supposed to be about Napoli forwards Jose Callejon and Arkadiusz Milik, instead it was Atalanta's Andrea Petagna who grabbed the headlines. Previously the only side unbeaten in the league, Napoli lost for the first time this season in all formats.
The 21-year-old Petagna capitalized on defensive errors in the ninth minute as Papu Gomez's cross sailed over Kalidou Koulibaly. It ricocheted off Faouzi Ghoulam's face for Petagna to fire home.
It was his third goal from as many shots on target this season.
Atalanta could have doubled its lead as Boukary Drame's effort crashed off the crossbar.
___
OTHER MATCHES
Giovanni Simeone scored his second goal in as many matches to help Genoa win 1-0 at Bologna, in a game which saw three players sent off.
The 21-year-old Simeone is the son of current Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone, who scored more than 30 goals in Italy.
Bologna was reduced to 10 men two minutes from the break when Daniele Gastaldello was sent off for dissent. Teammate Blerim Dzemaili followed him in the final minutes, shortly after Genoa defender Santiago Gentiletti was dismissed for two yellow cards.
Genoa coach Ivan Juric was also sent to the stands in the first half.
Crotone, which is in its first ever season in Serie A, looks increasingly likely to go straight back down after its sixth defeat in seven matches, losing 2-1 at Cagliari.
Elsewhere, Bruno Fernandes scored with the last kick of the match to snatch a 1-1 draw for Sampdoria at home to 10-man Palermo.
from The Malta Independent http://ift.tt/2dBMfDQ
via IFTTT
No comments:
Post a Comment