Serie A

Why The Best Free Kick Of João Pedro’s Life Didn’t Count

In some ways, you have to feel bad for João Pedro. In others, you can’t help but laugh at the Cagliari striker for not knowing better. After the João Pedro free kick fiasco against Lazio on Thursday, either reaction is appropriate.

Early in Cagliari’s visit to Lazio, the referee blew his whistle for a foul about 30 yards from Lazio’s net. João Pedro stepped up and smashed the free kick straight into the back of the net. 

It was a flabbergasting shot, rifled straight into the upper 90.

And it didn’t count.

Still Scoring Goals For Fun, Zlatan Nets Two In 2-1 Win

Veteran forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored twice in the first half to give AC Milan a 2-1 win at 10-man Sassuolo on Tuesday as they remained unbeaten since the restart of the season and guaranteed a place in the Europa League.

The 38-year-old Swede got in front of his marker to head in from Hakan Calhanoglu's cross in the 19th minute and latched on to a through ball before rounding Andrea Consigli to add the second in first-half injury time.

Cristiano Ronaldo Reaches 30-Goal Milestone, Triggering All Sorts Of Records

Cristiano Ronaldo reached the landmark of 30 goals this Serie A season during Juventus’ 2-1 victory over Lazio on Monday. Only two players had ever reached the 30-goal milestone in Italy’s top division since 1960 — Luca Toni and Gonzalo Higuaín — but, remarkably, Monday’s match saw both Ronaldo and Lazio's Ciro Immobile hit that mark.

Ronaldo scored goal number 29 from the spot (his 12th successful penalty of the campaign) before adding number 30 after Paulo Dybala set him up for a tap-in. 

Napoli’s Matteo Politano Scores Game-Winning Wonder Goal In Stoppage Time

Napoli forward Matteo Politano scored deep into stoppage time to give them a 2-1 win at home to Udinese on Sunday, minutes after defender Kalidou Koulibaly had rescued the hosts with a dramatic goal-line clearance.

Udinese forward Rodrigo De Paul looked set to score in the 85th minute when the ball ran loose to him with only goalkeeper David Ospina to beat. He dinked it over the Colombian but Koulibaly managed to get his knee to it and deflect it onto the crossbar.

Instead, Politano curled in the winner for Napoli, his first goal for the club, in the 95th minute.

Thanks To Empty Stadiums, We Can Finally Determine Which European Club Has The Best Fan Base

Every fan base believes it is the loudest, the most loyal and the most involved in its club's success. They will point to statistics like crowd size, decibel level and home record to show that their crowds are superior to all others. But what if, instead of looking at games with crowds, we actually studied matches without fans.

Led By An Electric Attack, Atalanta Pushes For Its Highest Serie A Finish Ever

Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio, known by fans simply as Atalanta, derived its name from the Greek myth of a virgin huntress who refused to marry a man who could not outrun her in a footrace. Much like the club's namesake, Atalanta has been running away from much of its competition in Serie A this season.

La Dea (the goddess) finished third in Serie A last year, its best ever position, and qualified for the Champions League for the first time ever. The team also led Serie A with 77 goals scored. 

No One Understands The Current Handball Rule — At Least We Can Agree On That Much

Players and coaches around Europe are becoming increasingly perplexed by the current handball rule which one has said is best suited to foosball. 

Forwards have seen goals chalked off for almost imperceptible handballs while defenders have conceded penalties for unintentional ones in innocuous situations because their arm was seen as making the body "unnaturally bigger."

Watch: Zapata Commits War Crime On De Ligt’s Man Parts

Duván Zapata scored the first goal for Atalanta in a 2-2 draw with league-leading Juventus on Saturday. Moments later he added injury to insult in quite possibly the worst way imaginable with the Zapata stomp on Matthijs de Ligt.

Zapata, a 29-year-old Colombian striker, gave Atalanta the lead when he brushed past Rodrigo Betancur to reach a pass from Papu Gómez, firing a low shot past Wojciech Szczesny in goal.

Tracking The Number Of COVID-19 Cases Per Football League Around The World

The number of COVID-19 cases per football league is a question on everyone’s mind these days. The ebb and flow of the virus around the world has left our leagues in different states of recovery.

Here we’ve made a list of the number of COVID-19 cases per football league and the number of COVID-19 cases in their respective regions of the world. 

The list of the number of COVID-19 cases per football league comes in no particular order, but we will save the best for last, so be ready.

AS Roma Pays Tribute To The Genius Of Legendary Film Composer Ennio Morricone

Born in Rome on Nov. 10, 1928, legendary composer Ennio Morricone died in Rome on July 6, 2020, at the age of 91. Morricone composed over 400 scores for cinema and TV, but it’s his score for The Good, the Bad and the Ugly that’s considered “one of the greatest and most original” in film history.

For our younger readers, you’ll likely recognize one of the tracks — “The Ecstasy of Gold” — from the introduction to Jackass Number Two.

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