Serie A roundup: Inter held by Genoa; managers see red in Napoli stalemate
The Serie A leaders Internazionale were held to a 1-1 draw away to Genoa as Marko Arnautovic’s first league goal for the club was cancelled out by a header from Radu Dragusin. Inter are top with 45 points but the result gives Juventus, second on 40 points, an opportunity to close the gap as they host Roma on Saturday.
Inter broke the deadlock after 42 minutes when Arnautovic found himself in the right place to tap home a rebound off the post following Nicolò Barella’s volley. The Austria striker opened his account for the club in Serie A after being sidelined for several matches due to a hamstring injury after his loan move from Bologna in the close season.
However, Genoa equalised in firsthalf stoppage time when Dragusin’s powerful header from a corner eluded Yann Sommer, despite the goalkeeper getting both hands on the ball. The match then fizzled out with few clearcut chances and both sides appeared content to end the year with a draw.
Napoli’s pursuit of a top-four spot took a hit as they were held to a 0-0 draw at home against Monza, who missed a penalty, after the hosts spurned several chances. Monza had the opportunity to grab the win from the spot following a handball by Juan Jesus but Matteo Pessina’s tame effort in the 68th minute was easily saved by Alex Meret.
The draw leaves Napoli in seventh place with 28 points, five points off the top four places and 17 adrift of leaders Inter. “I am not worried by the table, my focus is on getting my lads to play well and today that is what they did,” the
Napoli manager, Walter Mazzarri, told DAZN. “The only regret is that we failed to score a goal, but we deserved to win 2-0 or 3-0.”
Napoli missed the finishing of the suspended Victor Osimhen, who was sent off in their 2-0 loss at Roma last weekend. André-Frank Zambo Anguissa had a golden opportunity to break the deadlock shortly before halftime with a close-angle volley, but Michele Di Gregorio made a superb reaction save. Napoli’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia then struck a shot from just outside the box that missed the post by inches.
At the end frustration boiled over for Mazzarri, leading to his dismissal following an altercation, while the Monza coach, Raffaele Palladino, also received a red card in stoppage time for comments made to the referee.
“At one point, it looked like a game of rugby more than football,” Mazzarri said. “I went over to the referee and told him that Kvara was not allowed to play because he was systematically fouled. The rules have to be applied.”
Fiorentina moved up to fourth after a header by Luca Ranieri in the 83rd minute secured a dramatic 1-0 home win over Torino. Lazio recovered from a goal down to beat visiting Frosinone 3-1 courtesy of Valentín Castellanos, Gustav Isaksen and Patric in a 14minute spell late in the match. Maurizio Sarri’s side are eighth on 27 points.