The Serie A Femminile title race took some dramatic twists and turns this weekend as two more teams lost their 100 percent records.
The biggest drama came in Rome where it seemed like Juventus could lose for the first time in Serie A since March 2019. They were 1-0 down to Roma who had taken the lead in the first half thanks to a strike from Lucia Di Guglielmo. The Bianconere fought back in the second half knowing that even just one defeat could be terminal for their hopes of lifting the title for a fifth season running. They equalised just after the hour mark through Martina Rosucci.
Andrea Staskova’s dramatic winner then came with just three minutes of the 90 left to play, peeling off at the near post to head home.
It was a result that firmly reminds the rest of the division that this Juventus team is ridiculously difficult to beat, or even get a draw against. Their ability to churn out endless wins, despite a change of management, borders on frightening.
The last Italian team to beat them was in fact Roma, who knocked them out of the Coppa Italia Femminile on their way to winning the tournament last season. It would have been some achievement to repeat and maintain their own 100 percent record, but the Giallorosse will now have to keep winning and hope that others slip up along the way.
Sassuolo continue to match Juventus
Juventus’ victory meant that Roma can no longer boast a 100% record, and given Milan were beaten by Sassuolo last weekend and lost theirs, Joe Montemurro’s side will have been hoping that Lazio could pull off a miracle away at the Neroverde.
It wasn’t to be the case, as Sassuolo breezed to a 3-0 victory thanks to goals from Matina Tomaselli in the first half and Tamar Dongus and Sofia Cantore in the second.
Lazio had conceded 14 goals in their previous two fixtures before this match so they may feel that they got away with it against Sassuolo having only conceded three.
Sassuolo’s goal difference is one better than Juve’s so they actually sit top of the table after five games and show no signs of letting up their chase for the title. The fixtures between them and Juventus look like they will effectively be title play-offs as things stand.
Inter fade away
Four teams had a 100 percent record heading into this set of fixtures but only Juve and Sassuolo remain. Roma were of course beaten by Juve, but Inter suffered a surprising 2-0 defeat to newly-promoted Pomigliano on Sunday.
Inter were a lower-mid table side last season but have made an excellent start to the new campaign. This defeat suggests that they have frailties that will keep them from worrying those at the top for too much longer.
The first goal for Pomigliano was scored by Marija Banusic who moved to the club from Roma over the summer, and the points were secured by Dalila Ippolito.
Serie A Femminile Round 5 results
Fiorentina 4-2 Sampdoria
Empoli 3-1 Hellas Verona
Roma 1-2 Juventus
Napoli 0-1 AC Milan
Sassuolo 3-0 Lazio
Pomigliano 2-0 Inter
