⚽️🇮🇹 Pulisic breaks his own goalscoring record
In this week’s Italian soccer digest, we're looking at Scott McTominay's hot streak, we're checking in on the Capocannoniere race, and much more!
🔝 Scott McTominay sends Napoli to the top!
With four games remaining this season, Napoli has a three-point lead at the top of Serie A after a 2-0 win over Torino - in which midfielder Scott McTominay was the star of the show.
👏 McTominay scored both goals against Torino, bringing the Scot’s tally to five goals in Napoli’s last three games!
🎯 Seven of the former Manchester Utd star’s 11 league goals have come when the game was tied at 0-0. In other words, his goal contributions have been game-changing!
🏴 McTominay has become the top-scoring Scot in a single Serie A season, overtaking the legendary Denis Law, who scored 10 goals for Torino in 1961-62.
🤝 The 28-year-old is understandably adored by the Naples faithful, who have given him a number of nicknames. His favorite is ‘McFratm’, which riffs on a well-known meme and the Neapolitan word for ‘brother’.
😎 It’s the Neapolitan equivalent of calling him ‘McBro’ - and it’s his favorite local nickname!
Up next for Napoli 👉 Antonio Conte’s side visits relegation-threatened Lecce on Saturday (12pm ET, CBS Sports), while title rivals Inter hosts Verona later that day (2.45pm ET, CBS Sports).
🍿 Bologna and Juventus lead the battle for a top-four spot
Bologna hosts Juventus on Sunday (2.45pm ET, CBS Sports, FOX Deportes, and SiriusXM FC) with a spot in the top four on the line.
👉 Juve sits in fourth with 61 points, while Bologna are just a single point behind in fifth. The game may help determine which team achieves Champions League qualification next season.
👏 Bologna is coming off the high of reaching the Coppa Italia final for the first time in 51 years and is seeking Champions League qualification for the second consecutive season.
👍 Juve beat Monza 2-0 on Sunday to complete a ‘sorpasso’ into fourth place - keep reading to learn what this means in our Calcio Conversations section…
😲 It’s not just Bologna and Juve who are eyeing European qualification: only three points separate five teams going for fourth place. Roma, Lazio, and Fiorentina are also well within reach of a coveted top-four finish.
👉 Two additional teams vying for fourth will also meet on Sunday, as Roma hosts Fiorentina (12pm ET, CBS Sports and FOX Deportes). Roma’s unbeaten run stretched to an incredible 18 games last weekend, with their superb win at Inter that saw the Milanese side drop to second spot.
🔥 Inter shines in six-goal Champions League thriller at Barcelona
Inter scored three away goals and took a two-goal lead against Spanish giants Barcelona in a breathless Champions League semifinal first leg on Wednesday.
🤩 Marcus Thuram opened the scoring with a sensational backheel after just 30 seconds, for the fastest goal in Champions League semifinal history.
🤯 Denzel Dumfries doubled the advantage with an equally sublime overhead kick. The Dutchman earned the Man of the Match award for his efforts and also put in a world-class performance in the CBS studio!
👏 The sensational match, which ended 3-3, saw Inter bounce back in style from three consecutive defeats.
👉 Inter will be looking to reach the Champions League Final for the second time in three seasons when the semifinal resumes at San Siro on Tuesday (3pm ET, CBS Sports).
💜 Fiorentina is also in European contention today: they face Real Betis in the first leg of their Europa Conference League semifinal at 3pm ET (CBS Sports).
👏 Mateo Retegui is on course to make Atalanta history
Atalanta’s Mateo Retegui is leading the Serie A Capocannoniere (top scorer) race after finding the net for the 24th time this term in Atalanta’s 1-1 draw with Lecce.
⚽️ Retegui has now equalled the single-season goalscoring record for an Atalanta player, set by Pippo Inzaghi in 1996-97.
🇪🇺 The 27-year-old also notched three Champions League goals this season, bringing his total tally in all competitions to 27.
🙌 The Atalanta forward has a comfortable lead in the Capocannoniere race, with Fiorentina’s Moise Kean being his closest competitor on 17 goals.
Up next for Atalanta 👉 Retegui will have the opportunity to become a record-breaking striker on Sunday, when La Dea heads to Serie A’s bottom side Monza (9am ET, CBS Sports).
🇺🇸 Christian Pulisic breaks personal goalscoring record
USMNT star Christian Pulisic opened the scoring in Milan’s 2-0 win at Venezia in Round 34, marking his 10th Serie A goal of the season.
👏 The American has now scored 16 goals in all competitions, breaking his personal record of 15 goals in a single season.
😯 Only Ademola Lookman and Lautaro Martínez have bettered Pulisic’s 50 goal contributions across the last two seasons.
🗣️ “I don’t know the numbers, we’re not competing, but it’s always good to score goals and get assists. That’s our job,” said Pulisic when reflecting on his stats.
🇺🇸 Pulisic faced fellow American Gianluca Busio in Venice, with the latter revealing the players had a friendly wager on the winner of the game.
👉 Milan currently sits in the ninth spot, six points shy of European qualification next season. However, if they win the Coppa Italia Final on May 14th (3 pm ET, CBS Sports), they will earn a spot in the Europa League.
Up next for Milan 👉 The Rossoneri is in action at Genoa on Monday (2.45pm ET, CBS Sports). The two sides have tied their previous two encounters.
🇺🇸 Is this America’s biggest Milan fan?
Paulo Sacco has some tough decisions to make when he goes to watch his beloved Rossoneri play in Miami, Florida: Which Milan jersey do you wear if you own almost every single one produced in the last forty years?
😲 Sacco - who was born and raised in Milan but moved to the U.S. as a child - has every jersey Milan has produced since 1987, with only a few exceptions.
🗣️ “I only have a few missing jerseys in the collection, such as the one worn in the 1989 Intercontinental Cup in Tokyo,” says Sacco.
😊 Sacco’s first-ever jersey was a 2003-04 home jersey bearing the name of legendary striker Andriy Shevchenko.
🗣️ “My favorite jersey is a Zvonimir Boban Champions League shirt from the 1993-94 season,” says Sacco. “I also really love the jersey we wore when we won the 2006-07 Champions League.”
🧐 So, what makes a good Milan jersey, according to the expert? “I like thin black and red stripes the most. The 1999-00 Centenary Edition jersey is a good example.”
📲 Follow Paolo on social media to see more of his collection.
Do you have an impressive Serie A jersey collection? Let us know!
💬 Calcio Conversations
There was a huge moment in the Serie A title race last weekend when Napoli completed a sorpasso over Inter at the top of the table!
🤷♂️ A what? This word is widely used in Italian soccer parlance when one team leapfrogs another in the standings. It literally means to ‘surpass’ or to overtake.
🧐 When was the last sorpasso at the top? Inter moved above Napoli into first place back on matchday 26 in February, when Lautaro Martínez’s strike sealed a 1-0 win over Genoa on the same weekend that Napoli fell to a 2-1 defeat in Como. But after eight weeks on top, the Nerazzurri are back in the runners-up spot.
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🚲 ICYMI: Rolando Mandragora’s sensational bicycle kick goal
Fiorentina’s winning goal against Tuscan derby rivals Empoli was an extraordinary acrobatic feat from midfielder Rolando Mandragora.
💫 La Viola will be hoping for more magic from Mandragora in today’s Europa Conference League clash in Seville! (As noted above, you can catch their match at Real Betis on CBS Sports at 3pm ET!)
📺 This weekend on CBS Sports, Paramount+, FOX Deportes, and SiriusXM
Friday, May 2nd
Torino v Venezia (2.45pm ET)
Saturday, May 3rd
Cagliari v Udinese (9am ET)
Parma v Como (9am ET)
Lecce v Napoli (12pm ET)
Inter v Verona (2.45pm ET)
Sunday, May 4th
Empoli v Lazio (6.30am ET)
Monza v Atalanta (9am ET)
Roma v Fiorentina (12pm ET, also on FOX Deportes)
Bologna v Juventus (2.45pm ET, also on FOX Deportes and SiriusXM FC)
Monday, May 5th
Genoa v Milan (2.45pm ET, also on FOX Deportes)
🇨🇦 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 🇺🇸
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