Serie A Roundup – Week 31

The matches of Week 31 of the Serie A were overshadowed by the tragedy of devastating earthquakes that killed around 230 people and injured many more in Central Italy. Matches across the country held a moment of silence out of respect for those that were affected by the quakes. All but 1 match was played on Saturday as Easter Sunday ceremonies took hold of the predominantly Catholic nation. That match was Udinese’s 2-0 road win over Reggina and it took place on Sunday because Udinese played a UEFA Cup quarterfinal match on Thursday.

The marquee match of the week featured 4th place Genoa and 2nd place Juventus. Genoa defeated Juve 3-2 as the home side got a brace from Ex-Barcelona midfielder Thiago Motta. However, the game winner was scored in the 88th minute by Raffaele Palladino as Genoa dropped La Vecchia Signora 10 points behind Inter for the Scudetto.

The Derby della Capitale was another heated affair with goals early & often and red cards late & often. 3 goals were scored in the 1st 10 minutes with Lazio’s Goran Pandev and Mauro Zarate scoring in the 1st 4 minutes to give Lazio an insurmountable lead that ultimately lead to a 4-2 victory. The victory snapped Lazio’s 3-game losing streak and pretty much ended Roma’s chances at a Champions League spot.

Here are the results and standings from Week 31:

Genoa 3 – 2 Juventus
GEN: Thiago Motta (29′ & 45′) & Raffaele Palladino (88′)
JUV: Alessandro Del Piero (pen 45′) & Vincenzo Iaquinta (84′)

Lazio 4 – 2 AS Roma
LAZ: Goran Pandev (2′), Mauro Zarate (4′), Lichtsteiner (57′), Kolarov (85′)
ROM: Philippe Mexès (10′) & Daniele De Rossi (81′)

Bologna 1 – 4 Siena
BOL: Massimo Marazzina (20′)
SIE: Emanuele Calaio (6′), Daniele Portanova (11′), Ghezzal (62′), Kharja (81′)

Fiorentina 2 – 1 Cagliari
FIO: Manuel Pasqual (53′) & Juan Manuel Vargas (85′)
CAG: Daniele Ragatzu (86′)

Inter Milan 2 – 2 Palermo
INT: Mario Balotelli (15′) &  Zlatan Ibrahimovic (pen 39′)
PAL: Edison Cavani (73′) & Davide Succi (76′)

Lecce 1 – 3 Sampdoria
LEC: Fabio Caserta (pen 59′)
SAM: Giampaolo Pazzini (11′) & Antonio Cassano (pen 30′ & pen 88′)

Napoli 0 – 0 Atalanta

Chievo 0 – 1 AC Milan
ACM: Clarence Seedorf (53′)

Torino 2 – 1 Catania
TOR: Rolando Bianchi (82′) & Cesare Natali (88′)
CAT: Jorge Martínez (85′)

Reggina 0 – 2 Udinese
UDI: (85′) Antonio Floro Flores (85′ & 90’+1)

STANDINGS