Serie A Gameweek 3 Recap – Derby della Mole takes the spotlight

Paul Pogba (L) celebrates with coach Antonio Conte after scoring

Another week concluded in Serie A with yet another derby to entertain fans. This time it was the Derby della Mole featuring Torino and Juventus at the Stadio Olimpico.

Il Toro haven’t had a lot of success against their city rivals over the last decade or so. In fact, since 2002, not only have they failed to win against Juve, they haven’t even scored a goal! They were determined to change that on Sunday, with Andrea Pirlo being rested and no Mirko Vucinic up front to partner the red-hot Carlos Tevez.

The first half lacked quality as the hosts looked nervous and were conceding possession constantly as they looked to clear their lines and maintain a strong defensive position. However, the Bianconeri men did little to trouble keeper Daniele Padelli during the interval.

It was actually the Granata that had the better of the first half opportunities, mainly from set pieces, with the Old Lady largely restricted to two shots from distance from Paul Pogba and Claudio Marchisio.

On 36 minutes, Carlos Tevez skipped away from Ciro Immobile and with no chance at reaching the ball, he lunged at the Argentinean’s right calf and should probably have received more than the yellow shown. Early in the second half, Juventus finally created a clear opening with some clever one touch passing. Sebastian Giovinco was within eight yards with just Padelli to beat but the diminutive striker struck the ball into the legs of the Italian.

Moments later the visitors did take the lead after a corner was headed towards goal by Leonardo Bonucci and as it struck the shoulder of an offside Tevez, the ball ricocheted off the crossbar only for Pogba to stoop and head home from close range. After scoring the goal the Bianconeri dominated the next 20 minutes forcing Il Toro to sit back and defend more out of necessity than as a long-term tactical plan, but with time running out the hosts began to pressure Conte’s side to appease a frustrated home crowd.

The arrival of Mirko Vucinic for Giovinco brought the only other clear goal scoring opportunity for Juventus as he carefully steered a volley towards the Torino net that Padelli saved acrobatically to deny the Bianconeri a two goal cushion.

The Granata finished the match without recording a single shot on target, but the rivalry didn’t end at the full-time whistle.

Both teams’ Twitter accounts started a war over the social media site, with each side countering each other’s insults with some clever remarks. Never a dull moment in the Derby della Mole.

Other Talking Points

• Roma made quick work of Bologna at home, winning 5-0 on Sunday. The Giallorossi have now won six in a row to start the campaign and are all alone at the top of the Serie A table. April 2010 was the last time they were at the top of the mountain in Italian football.
• Napoli emerged victorious 2-0 over Genoa on Saturday. Goran Pandev earned a brace, maintaing the Partenopei’s perfect start to the season. They remain two points back of Roma in second place.
• AC Milan scraped by Sampdoria 1-0 at the San Siro. Without Mario Balotelli for two more games, the Rossoneri will need to dig deep in order to win more convicingly, especially with Juventus coming up.
• Cagliari earned a draw against Inter. Both sides fought to a 1-1 tie after Nerazzurri boss Walter Mazzarri rotated his squad following a Thursday affair against Fiorentina. The black and blue side of Milan remain undefeated despite the slip-up.
• Just a week after being demolished 7-0 against Mazzarri’s men, Sassuolo earned their second point in a row. They drew 2-2 at home to Lazio as they continue to rebound from that embarrassing loss.
• Fiorentina dropped points yet again, succumbing to a 2-2 draw against Parma. The news went from bad to worse for the Viola as Giuseppe Rossi had to leave the match due to an injury.

Other results: Atalanta 2-0 Udinese; Catania 2-0 Chievo; Hellas Verona 2-1 Livorno