Serie A Femminile Week 12 Round-Up: Juventus, Sassuolo and AC Milan run riot, Inter held and Lazio and Verona sink deeper into abyss
Reigning champions Juventus mantained their 100% record when they thrashed Pomigliano 5-0 away on Sunday.
The visitors opened the scoring in the 30th minute through an own goal by the home goalkeeper Sara Cetinja before Swedish forward Lina Hurtig made it 2-0 in the 42nd minute.
Midfielder Valentina Cernoia made it 3-0 in the 53rd minute from a free kick 25 yards out before forward Barbara Bonansea put the match beyond the hosts with a strike six minutes later to make it 4-0. Defender Sara Gama made it 5-0 in second half extra time to complete the rout.
“A good performance . . . we did very well; this is a championship in which you can never give up”
Juventus midfileder Martina Rosucci had her 14th minute penalty saved by Cetinja whilst teammate Annahita Zamanian also had her 76th minute penalty saved.
The hosts finished the match with 10 women after 72nd minute substitute midfielder Gaia Apicella was shown red two minutes after coming on for a foul on forward Andrea Stasková in the box which led to the visitors’ second penalty.
Juventus coach Joe Montemurro expressed satisfaction with his team’s showcase, saying that the performance was good.
“A good performance, which brings us closer to our playing principles, we did very well; this is a championship in which you can never give up. The penalties saved? It happens, but what matters is the game and the match we played”, Montemurro told the club’s official cahnnels.
The defeat was Pomigliano’s seventh of the season whilst the win was Juventus’ 12thin 12 matches.
Elsewhere, Sassuolo routed Fiorentina 6-1 away at the Stadio Gino Bozzi in Florence.
Forward Daniela Sabatino opened the scoring for the hosts two minutes into the first half before Sassuolo forward Lana Clelland equalised in the 42ndminute. Clelland scored her second in the 53rd minute to make it 2-1 before completing her hattrick two minutes later to make it 3-1.
“I am absolutely not happy of course. The girls I saw were all very sorry, but we have an obligation not to make such figures.”
Defender Davina Philtjens made it 4-1 in the 74th minute before Clelland returned with her fourth goal of the match to make it 5-1. The Scottish International is now the second top scorer on the current Serie A Femminile scoring charts with eight goals.
Midfielder Kamila Dubcová made it 6-1 with an 89th minute strike as Sassuolo registered their biggest score line so far this season.
Fiorentina coach Patrizia Panico said the huge defeat was disappointing. She also said that she was disappointed in the manner in which her team handled themselves against Sassuolo.
“A defeat that hurts us because of how they started the game. After half an hour we crumbled. Especially after taking the equalizer at the end of the first half, we were a bit scared, but above all the second goal totally blew us away.
“I am absolutely not happy of course. The girls I saw were all very sorry, but we have an obligation not to make such figures.
“With Juventus it will be a very difficult game, because like Sassuolo, they are now high-level teams from different class. We will have to play a different game, especially from a physical point of view, but also from a mental point of view, because today I saw the team in difficulty . . . I don't want a team like that”, Panico told the Italian media after the match.
The big margin win saw the visitors climb to second place on the log above AS Roma on goal difference whilst Fiorentina remain on seventh place.
AS Roma edged Empoli 2-1 at home at the Stadio Tre Fontane on Saturday.
The visitors opened the scoring in the 39th minute through striker Chanté-Mary Dompig and the hosts went to half time trailing by 1-0.
The match looked set to end on that note, but Roma finally broke the visitors defence six minutes before the end of regulation time with a strike by Norwegian midfielder Mina Schaathun Bergersen to make it 1-1.
The home side were awarded a penalty in the eighth minute of second half extra time when Empoli midfielder Melissa Bellucci fouled forward Paloma Lazaro in the box. Defender Elena Linari put the spotkick beyond Empoli goalkeeper Gloria Ciccioli to give the hosts a crucial 2-1 victory.
AC Milan routed Hellas 6-0 away at the Stadio Aldo Olivieri on Saturday.
Forward Valentina Bergamaschi opened the scoring for the visitors in the 12th minute before forward Miriam Longo doubled the lead in the 26th minute.
Recent signing, former Atletico Madrid defender Alia Guagni made it 3-0 in the 29thminute before midfielder Linda Tucceri made it 4-0 with a strike in the 37thminute and the match went for half time.
French midfielder Lindsey Thomas made it 5-0 with a strike three minutes into the second half before second half substitute forward Nina Stapelfeldt struck in the 64th minute to make it 6-0.
The crucial win saw the Milan side rise to fourth place on the standings with 25 points whilst Verona remain bottom of the log with one point from 12 matches.
Inter Milan were held to a one-all draw at home by Napoli on Sunday.
The home side opened the scoring through French midfielder Ghoutia Karchouni in the 25thminute before Napoli midfielder Claudia Mauri equalized in the 36thminute.
The draw saw 23-point Inter slip from fourth to fifth place on the standings whilst Napoli remain 10th on eight points.
Sampdoria edged Lazio 2-1 at home on Saturday.
Defender Giorgia Spinelli opened the scoring for the hosts in the fourth minute before French defender Sabah Seghir doubled the lead in the 54th minute.
Lazio recent signing, 22-year-old French midfielder Chloé Le Franc pulled one back for the visitors with a strike eight minutes into the second half but it would not be enough to inspire the Roma based side to their second win of the season.
19-point Sampdoria remain sixth on the standings despite the win whilst Lazio remain 11thdespite the loss.
RESULTS (Saturday): AS Roma 2 — 1 Empoli; Sampdoria 2 — 1 Lazio; Hellas Verona 0 — 6 AC Milan
(Sunday): ASD Pomigliano 0 — 5 Juventus; Fiorentina 1 — 6 US Sassuolo; Inter Milan 1 — 1 Napoli CF
(Photo by Andrea D'amico/LiveMedia/NurPhoto via Getty Images)