It was a weekend to focus on the lower half of the Serie A Femminile table as the race to avoid that final relegation spot took another big twist thanks to Napoli.
The table has largely taken shape now that the season is 14 games in but the second Champions League spot and the final relegation place remain hotly contested.
Napoli gain ground on Empoli
For a number of weeks now, it has been abundantly clear that Hellas Verona and Lazio will be heading down to Serie B, likely before we even reach the last two or three weekends of the season.
Lazio seemed as though they could take a point away at AC Milan which would have been an incredible achievement, but they conceded twice late on to goals from Nina Stapelfeldt and Sara Thrige.
As for Hellas Verona, they hosted Juventus and would likely have expected to be on the end of a battering. The Gialloblu held firm until early in the second half when Irene Lotti put through her own net.
Instead of that goal opening the floodgates, the game took another turn. Annahita Zamanian was shown a second yellow card with 25 minutes to go, giving Verona a glimmer of hope that they could get something from the game.
It wasn’t to be though and Verona remain rooted to the bottom of the table having amassed a single point.
Their’s and Lazio’s pain was compounded when Napoli managed to beat Fiorentina 2-0 away from home thanks to second-half goals from Sara Tui and Sole Jaimes. Whilst Napoli still sit in the third relegation spot, they are now eight points clear of Lazio, a gap far too big for the Biancoceleste to make up.
? RISULTATO FINALE!!!
? #FiorentinaNapoli 0-2
? Sara Tui 48′, Sole Jaimes 69′#cuoreAzzurro #NapoliFemminile #SerieAFemminile pic.twitter.com/Wk0smYGROG— Napoli Femminile (@NapoliFemminile) February 6, 2022
More importantly for Napoli though, is that Inter beat Empoli 3-2 and now there is just one point between Napoli and the team they must overhaul if they are to stay in the division.
Napoli and Empoli play each other on the penultimate day of the season and as things stand, it will be a winner takes all situation.
Roma keep on winning
After losing Lindsey Thomas and Agnese Bonfantini at the start of the campaign, it seemed Roma would have a limited chance of challenging for the Women’s Champions League places.
They had an expectedly slow start to the season but after an emphatic 5-2 win over Pomigliano on Saturday, they have now won eight straight Serie A matches. That is the longest run in their history and they are now a serious contender to hold onto second place.
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The longest winning streak in the league in our history … so far! ?#ASRomaWomen | #MondayMotivation pic.twitter.com/lXxtM1ACjx
— AS Roma Women ? (@ASRomaWomen) February 7, 2022
They sit on 34 points which is level with third-placed Sassuolo. The Neroverde also had a successful week as they calmly dispatched of Sampdoria with a 3-1 win.
Milan are just three points further back and with plenty of matches between the three sides coming up, the fight for that Champions League promises to be enthralling. Roma will have their work cut out if they want to increase their winning run as the Giallorosse’s next four matches are against Inter, Juventus, AC Milan, and Sassuolo.
The next set of Serie A Femminile fixtures promises to bring yet more drama as Sassuolo play host to AC Milan and Inter travel down to face Roma. At the bottom, Napoli have a winnable game at home to Verona whilst Empoli will be tasked with a match against Juventus.
Serie A Femminile Round 14 results:
AC Milan 3-1 Lazio
Roma 5-2 Pomigliano
Sampdoria 1-3 Sassuolo
Fiorentina 0-2 Napoli
Hellas Verona 0-1 Juventus
Inter 3-2 Empoli
