⚽️🇮🇹 Inter and Napoli's top-of-the-table clash
In this week’s Italian soccer digest, we're also looking at the Turin Derby, Christian Pulisic's continuing superb form, and much more!
🔝 Inter and Napoli fight for Serie A top spot
The marquee fixture this weekend sees defending Serie A champions Inter host current league leaders Napoli at the San Siro (Saturday, 2.45pm ET, CBS Sports, FOX Deportes, and SiriusXM FC).
😮 Napoli sit one point clear of Inter going into the match, after a shocking 3-0 home loss to Atalanta on Sunday.
👉 It marked the Partenopei’s first league loss since the opening day and is only the second time Antonio Conte has lost a home game by such a big margin.
🗣️ Napoli defender Alessandro Buongiorno issued a warning ahead of the crunch tie this weekend: “We’ll be ready.”
💪 Lautaro Martínez’s goal made the difference as Inter earned a 1-0 win over Venezia on Sunday.
🇪🇺 Simone Inzaghi’s side beat Arsenal by the same margin at the San Siro last night.
💫 Pulisic and Musah star as Milan conquer Real Madrid in Champions League
After scoring directly from a corner in his last Champions League outing, Christian Pulisic assisted the opener from a corner as the Rossoneri earned an incredible 3-1 victory over the reigning champions Real Madrid.
🤯 Pulisic now has seven goals and four assists across 14 games in all competitions this season.
🇺🇸 His American teammate Yunus Musah also started in midfield for his tenth appearance of the season in all competitions. Coach Paulo Fonseca explained how Musah is a vital component in giving Rafael Leão more freedom to attack.
🗣️ Fonseca also praised Milan’s fearlessness after the game in Spain: ”We won because the players had the courage to come here and not be afraid of anything, playing the game we wanted.”
🙌 Elsewhere in the Champions League, Atalanta booked a 2-0 win at Stuttgart and, as noted, Inter pulled off an excellent 1-0 win over Arsenal.
🛑 Inter and Atalanta are the only two Champions League teams who have yet to concede a goal in the competition.
👉 Bologna is yet to score a goal after four Champions League matches following a late loss to Monaco, but the Rossoblù were delighted to welcome captain Lewis Ferguson back, after 203 days out with an ACL injury.
🇺🇸 US stars primed for this weekend’s Turin Derby
USMNT stars Weston McKennie and Tim Weah should both be available for selection for Saturday’s local rivalry match with Torino, also known as the Derby della Mole (2.45pm ET, CBS Sports and FOX Deportes).
🏟️ The derby is taking place at Allianz Stadium, which is situated less than six miles north of the home of their city rivals, the Olympic Grande Torino Stadium.
🤔 Why is it called the Derby della Mole? It’s a reference to the most iconic monument in the city of Turin, the towering Mole Antonelliana. Named after its architect, Alessandro Antonelli, the 550-foot building was completed in 1889, 26 years after construction began, and currently houses the National Museum of Cinema. If you think you recognize it, that might be because it features on the €2 coin in Italy.
👉 After a promising start to the season, Torino has lost six of its last seven games in all competitions. The most recent Derby della Mole in April ended in a tie, but Torino hasn’t won the fixture since April 2015.
👏 Weah and McKennie both featured in the Bianconeri’s win over Udinese last weekend, and their Champions League draw at Lille on Tuesday.
👍 For his impressive performance in the Udinese win, Weah was named Player of the Weekend in The Athletic’s USMNT player tracker.
🦅 Marco Baroni recognized for Lazio’s strong campaign
Before Lazio’s 2-1 win over Cagliari on Monday, coach Marco Baroni was presented with the Philadelphia Coach Of The Month award for October.
😀 With 10 wins in 14 games in all competitions, Baroni has enjoyed a better start to the season than any coach in Lazio’s history.
👉 The Biancocelesti sit in fifth place, just three points behind league leaders Napoli. If results fall their way this weekend, they could climb to the summit of the table.
👋 Monday’s win over Cagliari saw captain Mattia Zaccagni return from injury, coming off the bench to convert the winning penalty.
🗓️ The Laziale were keen to see the release of the dates for the first two rounds of 2025, which includes the next edition of the Rome Derby (Sunday, January 5, 3.45pm ET, CBS Sports).
Up next for Lazio 👉 Baroni’s side will be in action at Monza on Sunday (12pm ET, CBS Sports). The points have been split between the sides in each of their last two meetings.
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🫡 Social post of the Week: Francesco Totti is a Roman Gladiator
Roma legend Francesco Totti is nicknamed Il Gladiatore in the Eternal City and had a tattoo of a Roman combatant after winning the scudetto in 2001. On Friday, the 48-year-old dressed in full gladiatorial regalia and greeted fans…
🎥 Totti’s dress-up choice wasn’t Halloween-related - he was appearing at the Lucca Comics Festival in the city, as part of a promotion for the movie Gladiator II.
💬 Calcio Conversations
You may hear Italian soccer fans discussing players who have ‘come from the Primavera.’ So what are they talking about?
🤷♂️ What is the Primavera? It’s the name for a youth team incorporating players aged 20 and under. There is a 20-team Primavera championship for the best youth teams in Italy, which is played during the regular season, and Sassuolo is the current champion. The Primavera age limit was set at under-20 for the 2024/25 season - that is, players born from January 1, 2005 onwards.
🤔 What does Primavera mean? It is the Italian word for ‘springtime’. It’s therefore quite a vivid way of describing a league featuring young players whose careers are set to blossom.
🤷♂️ Why Atalanta had just one fan supporting them at Napoli game
As noted above, Atalanta secured an incredible 3-0 victory at league leaders Napoli last Sunday… but the visitors had just one fan supporting them in the away end!
🎟️ Why was La Dea’s support so lonely? Local officials banned sales of tickets to fans in the Lombardy region for security purposes, which meant the Atalanta faithful were not permitted to travel for the game.
👉 The restriction, however, did not apply to a supporter named Steven, who traveled from Scotland to witness the game!
😂 “Napoli stewards were amazing with me,” posted Steven on social media, while sharing pictures that showed he was thoroughly outnumbered by the security detail in his section.
🏴 Steven noted that he had a great time at the game, where he was able to see performances from his countrymen Billy Gilmour and Scott McTominay.
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👀 All eyes are on the bottom half of the table this weekend
With eleven rounds of the season played, only a single point separates Parma in 14th and Lecce in 20th position. This weekend, four of those eight teams play each other.
🔜 Today, Genoa host Como (2.45pm ET, CBS Sports) in a game where Mario Balotelli may make his second appearance for Il Grifone, after making a late cameo in his new side’s 1-0 win over Parma on Monday.
👉 Gianluca Busio’s Venezia will have the chance to escape the relegation zone when Parma visit on Saturday (9am ET, CBS Sports).
👍 Lecce can move away from the bottom of the table on Friday when they host Empoli, who are only six points ahead in the 11th spot.
😮 Monza, meanwhile, is welcoming high-flying Lazio on Sunday (12pm ET, CBS Sports). As noted earlier in the newsletter, Alessandro Nesta’s side face a tough challenge, but they have taken points from the Roman side in their last two meetings.
📺 Tonight and this weekend on CBS Sports, Paramount+, FOX Deportes, and SiriusXM
Thursday, November 7th
Genoa v Como (2.45pm ET)
Friday, November 8th
Lecce v Empoli (2.45pm ET)
Saturday, November 9th
Venezia v Parma (9am ET)
Cagliari v Milan (12pm ET, also on FOX Deportes)
Juventus v Torino (2.45pm ET, also on FOX Deportes)
Sunday, November 10th
Atalanta v Udinese (6.30am ET)
Fiorentina v Verona (9am ET)
Roma v Bologna (9am ET)
Monza v Lazio (12pm ET)
Inter v Napoli (2.45pm ET, also on FOX Deportes and SiriusXM FC)
🇨🇦 Watch ALL Serie A games live on Fubo - and select games with Italian-language commentary on TLN 🇨🇦
🇺🇸 Watch select games with Spanish-language commentary on FOX Deportes and English-language commentary on SiriusXM 🇺🇸
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