⚽️🇮🇹 Why Como is buying beers!
In this week’s Italian soccer digest, we're looking at penalty saving and hat-trick scoring heroes, a Serie A club offering to get the beers in, and much more!
🧤 De Gea’s jaw-dropping penalty heroics
Fiorentina’s new signing David De Gea produced a sensational performance by saving no less than two penalty kicks during a thrilling 2-1 win over AC Milan!
👊 The Spanish stopper was in formidable form as he saved penalties from Theo Hernandez and Tammy Abraham either side of half-time in Florence.
😲 According to Opta, De Gea became the first goalkeeper to save two penalties in a single Serie A match since Lazio’s Federico Marchetti against Carpi in May 2016. Incredibly, there was also a penalty save at the other end when Mike Maignan denied Moise Kean in the 22nd minute.
⚜️ The former Manchester United star is quickly becoming an important player for La Viola, and his eye-catching start is made all the more impressive by the fact that he joined the club as a free agent this summer after spending a full year out of the game without a club. “Started in Spain, made in Manchester, loving it in Italy,” De Gea wrote on social media afterwards.
👏 Fiorentina have certainly found imaginative ways of celebrating their new hero - including a new take on Michelangelo’s statue of David!
⚡ Milan’s defeat wasn’t for a lack of trying by USMNT star Christian Pulisic, who was on target yet again, netting a clever volley to take his tally for the season to five goals in seven league games.
Up next for Fiorentina 👉 After the international break, La Viola travel to Lecce on Sunday, October 20 (9.00am ET, CBS Sports). Expect the net to ripple in that game: there have been nine goals in their past two meetings.
🇮🇹 The Azzurri are back in action - with a familiar name
International football is back this weekend as Luciano Spalletti’s Azzurri prepare to face Belgium and Israel in a UEFA Nations League double-header. And you might have spotted a legendary surname on the squad list…
👏 Monza winger Daniel Maldini was one of five uncapped players to earn a call-up and could become the third generation of his family to represent the country.
👨👨👦 Daniel’s late grandfather Cesare played for and coached the Italian national team, while his father Paolo is Italy’s third-most capped player ever with 126 appearances - only Gigi Buffon (176) and Fabio Cannavaro (136) have more.
🗣️ The 22-year-old, a former Milan player, scored a superb goal against Fiorentina in September. “My family has always been close to me, but we haven’t talked much about the call-up,” he said. “We usually talk about other things. I know my dad is happy, like everyone else. This is the important thing.”
💪 Spalletti said: “Let’s see what effect being here has on him. I am convinced that being here can push him on. He will be encouraged to be more consistent because sometimes he dips out of games. I like talking to him because the possibilities are endless for him.”
🙌 Four other uncapped players earned call-ups: Roma youngster Niccolò Pisilli, Milan defender Matteo Gabbia, Juventus goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio, and Leicester City center-back Caleb Okoli.
🔥 Striker Moise Kean was forced to pull out through injury and Udinese’s Lorenzo Lucca has been drafted in to replace him. But all eyes will be on Mateo Retegui after the Atalanta man’s run of electric form - more on that later…
🔜 Italy face Belgium at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico tonight at 2.45pm ET (Fubo), before hosting Israel in Udine on Monday at the same time.
📈 The Azzurri made a superb start to their Nations League campaign last month, earning a superb 3-1 win away against France before beating Israel 2-1.
🍻 The beers are on Como!
Como came out second best when they were beaten 3-1 by league-leading Napoli on Friday night, but the lakesiders were far from bitter about the defeat.
🍺 In an incredible gesture, the club announced that they were so grateful for the sportsmanship of the opposing supporters that they will offer a beer to every traveling Napoli fan at the return leg at the Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia in February 2025.
🗣️ “Como 1907 would like to extend sincere thanks to SSC Napoli and its fans for the beautiful display of sportsmanship following the match on Friday evening,” the club wrote. “The atmosphere at the Maradona stadium and reaction of both fans after the game was second to none. This is why Como 1907 will be buying a beer for every traveling Napoli fan at the return leg.”
🤝 Scott McTominay gave Napoli the lead inside 25 seconds before Gabriel Strefezza scored a stunning equalizer on the brink of half-time. But a Romelu Lukaku penalty and a late David Neres strike wrapped up three points for Antonio Conte’s side.
🥇 Napoli sits at the top of the standings on 16 points going into the international break, two clear of Inter below them. Como, who were promoted from Serie B this season, are 14th with eight points.
Up next for Como 👉 Cesc Fabregas’ side hosts another newly-promoted side, Parma, when domestic football returns on Saturday, October 19 (9.00am ET, CBS Sports). The Crociati are breathing down Como’s neck in 15th, two points behind them.
🔥 Hat-trick heroes race to the top of scoring charts
The capocannoniere (top scorer) race is alive and kicking! Inter striker Marcus Thuram and Atalanta star Mateo Retegui are leading the way early on after both scored superb hat-tricks over the weekend.
💯 France international Thuram has been in sensational form for the champions this season, and netted all three of his side’s goals in a 3-2 win over Torino to put him first in the top scorers list on Friday night.
😮 He didn’t stay there for long, though; Retegui banged in a fantastic tripletta the following day in a 5-1 thumping of Genoa to join him on seven goals overall.
🎯 USA star Christian Pulisic is right behind them with five goals, alongside Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic, with both those players again on target at the weekend.
🇮🇹 Retegui is expected to lead the line for Italy in their upcoming Nations League games - although he almost had some explaining to do in training when one of his shots almost took out coach Spalletti!
🗣️ “I’m happy when I see players like Retegui developing,” Spalletti said. “He had already proven himself as a reliable goalscorer, but now he is a strong and experienced player, also for the national team. If players come here (to the Italy camp) after a few goals, things come easier as they have more trust.”
🚀 ICYMI: De Roon channels his inner Zidane
It’s safe to say Marten de Roon isn’t known for his goalscoring, but the Dutch midfielder produced a spectacular volley on the weekend that took everyone by surprise - even himself!
😂 De Roon is no stranger to a hilarious social media post, and this time he likened his goal to one of the greatest volleys of all time - French legend Zinedine Zidane’s effort in the Champions League final of 2002 for Real Madrid.
👌 The Dutchman’s strike was his first in more than a year and only his 16th in 277 Serie A appearances.
🇺🇸 Motta waxes lyrical about McKennie
Juventus drew 1-1 at home to Cagliari on Sunday, where Razvan Marin’s late penalty equalizer ended a remarkable run of six successive clean sheets in Serie A.
🇺🇸 USMNT midfielder Weston McKennie was picked out for praise by coach Thiago Motta before the game after recently establishing himself as a regular starter for the Bianconeri and impressing with a decisive intervention in last week’s Champions League win over RB Leipzig.
🗣️ “The tackle McKennie made [against] Leipzig might be more beautiful than [Francisco] Conceição’s goal,” said Motta. “That play says everything you need to know about Weston. It’s worth more than the goal. The way he won the ball back was marvelous to watch as his coach. I’m so happy to have Weston in the squad, he’s helping us out a lot.”
🙏 McKennie came on as a second-half substitute in Sunday’s early kick-off, on a day that will be remembered for a moving tribute by the squad to team-mate Gleison Bremer, who Dusan Vlahovic dedicated his goal to after the defender underwent knee reconstruction surgery for an anterior cruciate ligament injury.
🐂 Sadly, Bremer wasn’t the only one to suffer a serious injury setback. Juve’s city rivals Torino lost striker Duvan Zapata to the same injury during their defeat to Inter. “Torino FC embrace Duvan with affection and hope to see him back on the pitch soon,” Torino tweeted.
💬 Calcio Conversations
Thuram and Retegui hogged the headlines this weekend after both netting a wonderful tripletta. But neither of them managed to go one step further by bagging a poker…
🃏 Like the card game? Yes. But in the world of Italian football, a poker refers to scoring four goals. It can be used in either a player or a team context - just remember that a poker means four.
♠️ Where does it come from? In Italian, 'poker’ isn’t just the name of the card game, but the name used for ‘four of a kind’, one of the best hands you can play. And four goals is a pretty good hand!
🦅 Pedro rolls back the years
It’s not just been a week to remember for the young guns. Lazio veteran Pedro is enjoying a sensational run of form, scoring spectacular efforts in Europe and Serie A to continue Marco Baroni’s superb start as coach of the Roman club.
😍 The former Barcelona and Chelsea star, aged 37, hammered home the opener in a rampant 4-1 UEFA Europa League win over Nice on Thursday, before coming off the bench to score the winner in a 2-1 victory against Empoli.
🎯 That saw Empoli’s remarkable unbeaten run come to an end, while Lazio sit top of the 36-team Europa League table and fourth in Serie A after a four-game winning streak.
🙌 “Pedro is an extraordinary guy, a constant reference point for everyone,” Baroni told DAZN. “I always tell the players to watch him, even when he’s just in the locker room putting his boots on.”
🇪🇺 There were mixed fortunes for Italian clubs in last Thursday’s European results: Lazio’s crosstown rivals AS Roma fell to a shock 1-0 defeat at Elfsborg, while Fiorentina opened their Conference League campaign with a 2-0 win at home to TNS.
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🏆 EA Sports FC Supercup details revealed
The full details for the 2024/25 EA Sports FC Supercup have now been announced, with four teams set to battle it out for silverware in Saudi Arabia.
🇸🇦 Serie A champions Inter, runners-up AC Milan, and Coppa Italia winners Juventus and Atalanta will face off in Riyadh in January.
⚔️ Inter take on Atalanta in the first semi-final on January 2, 2025, before Juventus and Milan go head-to-head on January 3.
🏟️ The winners will meet in the final for the trophy on January 6, with all three games set to be staged at the Kingdom Arena, home to Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal.
🏆 Previously a one-off game between the winners of Serie A and the Coppa Italia, the Supercup was expanded to a ‘final four’ format last year to include the runners-up of those two competitions (this year Milan and Atalanta, respectively).
🐍 Inter are defending champions and aiming to win a fourth straight title to join Juventus on nine as the joint-most successful team in the competition. Last year, they defeated Lazio 3-0 in the semi-final before a stoppage-time winner from Lautaro Martinez sealed a 1-0 victory over Napoli in the final.
The Serie A calendar has also been set up to the end of 2024 after the dates and times of fixtures from game weeks 14 to 18 were announced.
📺 This week’s Azzurri fixtures
Thursday, October 10th
Italy v Belgium (2.45pm ET, Fubo)
Monday, October 14th
Italy v Israel (2.45pm ET, Fubo)
🇨🇦 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 🇺🇸
👋 Grazie e arrivederci!
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