Whilst AS Roma were left conflicted and concerned by a major star’s injury, they also procured three crucial points. Napoli’s away trip to Cremonese proved fruitful, but Atalanta lost crucial points against Udinese, which keeps Napoli on top of the table with a two-point advantage.
Matteo Politano gave Napoli the lead against Cremonese through a well-converted penalty. They went into half-time with a 1-0 advantage, but soon after, Cyriel Dessers made it 1-1. The score remained the same until the final fifteen minutes began, and the tide shifted swiftly towards the visitors.
Giovanni Simeone kick-started the hosts’ downfall with a terrific header from close range. They entered the injury time with a slender lead, but caught Cremonese on the break twice in two minutes. Hirving Lozano and Mathias Olivera made it 4-1 for Napoli, who continued their stay at the top of the table with 23 points.
Their nearest challengers Atalanta dropped crucial points in a pulsating fixture against Udinese. Despite going 2-0 through goals from Ademola Lookman and Luis Muriel, Atalanta failed to hold their lead and conceded two important points.
Gerard Deulofeu ignited the comeback with a goal in the 67th minute when Nehuen Perez’s close-range header, assisted by Roberto Pereyra, levelled things for Udinese. The hosts pushed for an improbable comeback but it remained far apart.
The Giallorossi picked up an important victory against Lecce in their bid for the Italian title, but it came at a huge cost. Paulo Dybala, who scored the eventual winner on the day with a 48th-minute penalty, picked up a serious muscle injury and was taken off moments after his goal.
Earlier in the same game, Chris Smalling put AS Roma ahead by heading off a terrific cross from Lorenzo Pellegrini. Lecce were down to 10 men, with Morten Hjulmand receiving a straight red card just after 20 minutes, but they did get an equaliser from Gabriel Strefezza before Dybala restored Roma’s lead.
In other results, Salernitana won 2-1 against relegation-threatened Hellas Verona in a game that saw two red cards at the death. Boylaye Diya scored a 94th-minute winner to deny Verona a point as Salternitana push for a top-ten finish. Monza emerged victorious 2-0 against Spezia ,whilst Torino and Empoli played out a 1-1 draw.
