Napoli took another historic step closer to Serie A glory with a confident 2-0 victory at Empoli, carving out an 18 lead at the summit of the league.
AC Milan capitalised on their rivals’ misfortune at Bologna to draw level on points with Inter, cruising past Atalanta with a 2-0 win.
But what else happened this week in Serie A? Sportsmail takes a look at 10 things we learned during the fifteen round of the Italian top flight.
1 – OSIMHEN IS EMERGING SERIE A’S PERFECT HITMAN
During his first few months in Italy, some fans may have looked on Osimhen like an ungainly and inelegant gazelle. But today, he is resembling the grace of a swan, blessed both with great technical and acrobatic skills.
The former Lille star has got to grips with the tactical demands of the centre forward role and is staking a claim as one of the top strikers in the world.
Striker Victor Osimhen has broken Napoli scoring records and is now coming for league ones
His physical prowess allows him to knock back defenders at will and the power behind his right foot detonates shots like dynamite. Netting against Empoli, Osimhen scored for the eighth consecutive match in Serie A, firing home 10 in that time.
Now the striker is honing in on a record-breaking Serie A campaign. The longest streak of consecutive games scored in Serie A belongs to Gabriel Omar Batistuta of Fiorentina, who broke the record in 1994-95 scoring in 11 successive matches, and his feat is followed by Fabio Quagliarella in 2018-19 and Cristiano Ronaldo in 2019-20.
According to ‘Opta Data’, Osimhen is the second youngest striker to score in eight consecutive games at 24 years and 58 days in Serie A.
2 – MAIGNAN RETURNS FOR MILAN
On 18 September 2023, Mike Maignan suffered a calf injury and hasn’t returned to the field since, also missing the opportunity to play at the World Cup in Qatar with France.
After the injury in September, the goalkeeper’s hopes of a return were squandered again due to a niggling injury which held him back for several months.
The calf is the same as in the first injury, but the location of the muscle injury is different and Stefano Pioli has to do without his No 1.
The return to action against Atalanta was a major boost and allowed Maignan to return to the limelight after an unfortunate start to Serie A.
Maignan’s return to the starting eleven handed Milan a clean sheet, and this success cannot be considered a coincidence. Maignan offers security to the whole team and makes concentration on the defense less stressful.
Mike Maignan’s first return to action since September came with a clean sheet for AC Milan
Riccardo Orsolini’s goal for Bologna killed off Inter Milan’s hopes to secure this Serie A title
3 – ORSOLINI KILLS INTER
Inter’s trip to Bologna was supposed to be the match of Romelu Lukaku’s definitive rebirth, but it became the match that definitively ousted the Italian giants from the race to win the Scudetto.
Riccardo Orsolini’s goal allowed Bologna to beat Inzaghi’s side, who fell to 18 points from first place in the standings.
Orsolini continues to be Bologna’s best player and his record of four goals and two assists in less than a month has condemned Lukaku’s Inter, who appeared weighed down by physical and emotional disappointment.
On this occasion, Simone Inzaghi failed to make the right substitutions and perhaps asked to much of Matteo Darmian, who was asked to become the third central defender in Inter’s back line.
This terrible defeat has a decisive symbolic value for the Nerazzurri who have most likely reached the end of their successful mini-cycle started by Conte and ended by Inzaghi.
Many players are about to conclude their journeys at the club.
4 – OFF DAY FOR PALLADINO AT MONZA
Raffaelle Palladino decided to leave his charismatic leader Michele Di Gregorio on the bench against Salernitana, handing Alessio Cragno a shot as starting goalkeeper.
It emerged a very questionable decision, considering his old first choice goalkeeper had showed charisma and fight in Serie A so far – while the ex-Cagliari goalkeeper had looked rusty.
He also chose to rest Andrea Petagna, a decision which led to a severe lack of potency in attack.
Monza now has 29 points after the 3-0 defeat, and without the arrogance shown by their coach against Salernitana, they could at least already be on 30.
Mistakes by Monza manager Raffaele Palladino cost them a valuable point against Salernitana
5 – IBRAHIMOVIC IS THE OLDEST PLAYER TO STAR FOR AC MILAN IN SERIE A
Ibrahimovic’s return to the field took place this week after nine months out. There are 274 days in which Zlatan has been sidelined by various physical problems. His last appearance with the Milan shirt was in the Scudetto match on May 22, 2022.
In the 74th minute of the big match against Atalanta, Piolo decided to let Ibrahimovic experience a new exciting moment in his career.
The Italian coach replaced Giroud with Ibrahimovic, who was greeted with thunderous applause by the home support. In this moment, the Swedish striker born in 1981 became the oldest player to star in a Serie A match for Milan during the three-point era.
He also became the oldest outfield player ever in club’s history.
According to Opta, Ibrahimovic – aged 41 years and 146 days old – surpasses Billy Costacurta, who held the previous statistical record with 41 years and 25 days.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic became AC Milan’s oldest ever outfield player when he was used on Sunday
6 – NZOLA OR MBOMA?
11 goals in Serie A, 6 goals and 1 assist in the last six appearances. Nzola is a powerful and technical striker who, after so many years of criticism for his strong personality, finally seems to have found the right balance in the center of the Spezia attack.
In this Serie A 2022/2023 only Victor Osimhen has brought more points to his team in Serie A and unlike the Nigerian forward Nzola he has achieved this high number of goals in a small club fighting not to be relegated to Serie B. His excesses they are now a distant memory and today Nzola is the idol of the Spezia fans.
No one would have ever imagined seeing Nzola exceed 10 goals in Serie A and yet this season the number 18 of Spezia is surpassing every personal record that projects him towards the role of protagonist in the summer transfer market.
His valuation is around 20 million euros, and according to ‘Tuttosport’, Torino will present an offer for the Angola-born striker at the end of the year.
Due to his physical characteristics, he is very reminiscent of Mboma, the Cameroon striker who lived several seasons between Cagliari and Parma, even if unlike the former African Ballon d’Or, Nzola has less speed.
M’Bala Nzola has proved his value to Spezia this season, scoring against Udinese on Sunday
7 – HOJLUND MUST RECOVER SERENITY
Danish striker Hojlund risks falling into the media trap that suffocates Atalanta’s young players. Zapata’s legacy was difficult to metabolize but the great performances of the young Scandinavian jewel from the seas of Northern Europe had boded well for the rapid maturation of his talent.
Probably running the 100 meters under 11 seconds represents a very important physical quality, but at this moment in his career Hojlund should experience his debut in the Italian championship with greater light-heartedness.
Against Milan, he was crushed in Tomori and Thiaw’s grip, remaining trapped in an anonymous match without flashes of quality.
His great physical quality allows him to be very daring in physical duels but in the big match against Milan Hojlund showed tactical immaturity.
He suffered the suffocating pressure of the midfielders and defenders of the team coached by Pioli, getting stuck in movements that were not very useful for Atalanta’s game.
Hojlund was gagged and rendered harmless, tamed without even too much effort, obtaining an insufficient vote in the first real big match in the presence of a Serie A top club in this 2023.
Danish striker Rasmus Hojlund must recover his serenity while playing for Atalanta
Roberto Maximiliano Pereyra has shown himself on his return to Serie A, scoring for Udinese
8 – SECOND YOUTH FOR PEREYRA
When he left Juventus to move to Watford, few would have thought a return to Italy would have been on the cards. Yet Pereyra returned to Serie A to become one of the best midfielders in the Italian top-flight.
Pereyra is a reliable choice for Udinese and he covers as much, if not more, kilometers than his team-mates despite being 32 years old.
Pereyra’s goal against Spezia was not enough for Udinese to beat Leonardo Semplici’s side but he helped earn his team a draw and an all-important point.
The Argentine midfielder’s contract expires in June 2023, and according to ‘Gazzetta dello Sport’, the Argentine player could become Beppe Marotta’s first signing for Inter in 2023/2024 season.
Inter have reportedly registered an interest in signing Pereyra after being impressed with the 32-year-old following his return to Italy.
He has scored three goals and registered seven assists in 22 appearances for the Serie A side.
Lassana Coulibaly is a star man in Paulo Sousa’s Salernitana midfield after Monza victory
9 – COULIBALY IS A STAR IN PAULO SOUSA’S MIDFIELD
Salernitana’s 3-0 victory over Monza was a fair result and Paulo Sousa’s decision to leave the forward Boulaye Dia on the bench was rewarded.
Meanwhile, Coulibaly deserves credit for the opening goal of the game on Sunday. His impressive strike resembled goals scored by Alessandro Del Piero and Lorenzo Insigne, the 2 historic number 10s of Juventus and Napoli.
Coulibaly – who is currently on loan from Ternana – has finally found his feet within the team. He is thriving at the young and ambitious club.
The Senegalese midfielder is known for his work rate and causes his opponents all sorts of issues by running in behind their back line.
10 – FERGUSON IS A BOLOGNA SILENT TALENT
The story of a Scottish midfielder who grew up in Glasgow has captured the attention of Juventus – who will be looking to strength their midfield line during the summer transfer window.
Lewis Ferguson’s intensity was instrumental in the middle of the pitch during Bologna’s victory over Inter. As a result, Juventus are keeping tabs on the Serie A talent.
According to ‘Tuttosport’ the Bologna star would be at the top of Massimiliano Allegri’s preferences for the next championship.
Ferguson comes from a family of professional footballers. His father Derek played for Sunderland while his uncle Barry represented Rangers and Scotland. His uncle was also awarded a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 2006.
Bologna’s Lewis Ferguson is reportedly of interest to Juventus after his strong performances
Ferguson grew up idolosing Frank Lampard and is looking to create his own legacy. The first major step on that journey could come this summer.
The 23-year-old come become the heir to Rabiot, who most probably won’t renew his contract with Juventus.
Against Inter, Ferguson was the best in Bolognese midfielder and showed he was capable of handling the pressure of playing against the Serie A side.
The box-to-box midfielder dictated play in the middle of the park and caused issues for Brozovic, Calhanoglu and Barella.