Round eight of Serie A Femminile did nothing to suggest that Lazio and Hellas Verona will be able to turn their seasons around and avoid the drop to Serie B, each continuing their poor starts to the 2021/22 campaign.
Lazio’s disappointing season since being promoted to Serie A has been documented more as they have lost all eight of their matches so far and endured some heavy defeats such as an 8-1 battering from AC Milan and a 6-1 loss to Fiorentina.
They still sit bottom of the table on zero points having lost one of the games that they will have marked out as a potential victory at the start of the season. Napoli avoided relegation on the final day last season so Lazio will have sniffed an opportunity for a precious three points to kickstart their campaign.
They fell behind after 11 minutes to an excellent strike from Kaja Erzen, but seven minutes later they were leading the game 2-1 thanks to an Adriana penalty and a skillful finish from Rachel Cuschieri.
They were pegged back after an hour by the kind of goal that a coach can’t legislate for. Eleonora Goldoni picked the ball up almost thirty yards from goal and fired it into the top corner to make it 2-2.
??? Il telecronista @TIM_vision ha ragione da vendere: è un gol cla-mo-ro-so! ??@Eleonoragoldo16 ?#SerieAFemminile #TimVision pic.twitter.com/ihqO5ezCDo
— FIGC Calcio Femminile (@FIGCfemminile) November 7, 2021
A second Adriana penalty gave Lazio their lead back, but four minutes later a penalty from Goldoni made it 3-3. The heartbreak that Lazio have become accustomed to came in the 93rd minute Maddalena Porcarelli fired in the winner from inside the box.
As for Hellas Verona, they have not fared much better than Lazio this season despite being a mid-table side in the previous campaign. They have amassed a singular point from eight games that came at home against Napoli at the end of September.
They were subjected to a 5-1 beating by an in-form Roma side who, after a little wobble, appear to have found their stride again. A wonderful flick from Paloma Lazaro opened the scoring and by the 76th minute it was 5-0 thanks to goals from Manuela Giugliano, Andressa Alves, Annamaria Serturini, and another from Lazaro.
Three teams go down to Serie B this season instead of two which feels cruel on Napoli given they are clearly a much better side than Hellas Verona and Lazio as they sit on seven points. Nonetheless, it seems a fight between the Azzurre, Empoli, Fiorentina, and Pomigliano will take place to see who joins the bottom two in relegation.
Sassuolo respond in the Serie A Femminile title race
Sassuolo were the side to stumble first in the two-horse title race that has materialised between themselves and Juventus. Their defeat against Roma last week meant a three-point gap was created, so a victory this week over Pomigliano was vital as Juve won 1-0 at Sampdoria.
We recently interviewed Sofia #Cantore… now she’s gone and done a madness. ????
— ForzaItalianFootball (@SerieAFFC) November 7, 2021
Goals from Benedetta Brignoli and Lana Clelland inside the first half-hour gave the Neroverde the perfect start against Pomigliano, but two goals at the start of the second half suddenly levelled the game at 2-2.
Sassuolo had to dig deep to stand any chance of keeping their title hopes alive, and they did just that. A penalty from Kamila Dubcova made it 3-2 with 10 minutes to play and then the points were secured when Sofia Cantore, who recently gave an exclusive interview to Forza Italian Football, dispatched an incredible lobbed effort from all of 40 yards.
Sofia Cantore is unstoppable at the moment. The Sassuolo and Italy forward’s form has the Neroverde in the unexpected position of being #SerieAFemminile‘s anti-Juve this season. She spoke to @ConJClancy for an exclusive interview. https://t.co/zFjZFd9IQ9 pic.twitter.com/liePtLqiJz
— ForzaItalianFootball (@SerieAFFC) October 29, 2021
The Neroverde remain three points behind Juve and they will almost certainly have to win when the teams face each other at the start of December.
Wins for the Milan sides
Milan beat Empoli 1-0 thanks to a second-half goal from Valentina Giacinti which keeps them just two points behind Sassuolo. The top two sides get Champions League qualification so the Rossonere will be desperate to pounce on any slip-ups from Sassuolo to see if they can snatch another attempt in the Champions League.
Inter continued to consolidate their place in the top half of the Serie A table by winning a dramatic match away at Fiorentina.
Inter went 2-0 up before La Viola had a player sent off. The Nerazzurri then surrendered their lead to two Daniela Sabatino strikes before Martina Brustia snatched the winner in the 93rd minute.
Serie A Femminile Round 8 Results
Sampdoria 0-1 Juventus
Fiorentina 2-3 Inter
Hellas verona 1-5 Roma
Sassuolo 4-2 Pomigliano
AC Milan 1-0 Empoli
Lazio 3-4 Napoli
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