Three takeaways from Serie A Matchday 9

Roma’s comprehensive 4-1 thrashing of Palermo was exciting for a number of reasons – Edin Dzeko continuing his scoring run and maintained his lead in the Serie A goal charts, while sheer number of players who got on the board and the manner in which the team responded to some late adversity hinted at a greater maturity to the side.

In a wider context, too, Week 9 proved to be a fantastic one for Roma - thanks to the often bizarre and ever-changing landscape of Serie A.

1. The race for first just got a lot more interesting

Vincenzo Montella did his old side a massive favor by leading Milan to a 1-0 victory over Juventus at the San Siro. For the second time this season, a side from Milan toppled the league leaders; when the dust settled on Sunday, Maximiliano Allegri’s men stayed first, but had their lead cut to just two points.

Roma and Milan follow, with Napoli a further two points behind and the duo of Torino and Lazio just six off the pace. There’s little breathing room for the top spots in the league, and for the first time in quite some time, it seems like there may be a proper title race in the cards.

2. Late goals are here to stay but draws are becoming increasingly more common

Late goals have been a staple of the league this season, and Matchday 9 was no different: eight goals were scored across the ten matches in the 80th minute or later, with five of those changing the outcome of the match. Draws, however, were rarer in the late days of summer but as autumn comes into its own and teams sharpen both tactically and technically, games seem to be decided on the tightest of margins. This weekend’s ten games featured three draws – one a 0-0 – and four victories decided by a single goal.

Calcio remains a slugfest, with 70% of games this weekend featuring more than three goals. Put altogether, the pattern seems clear; if goals are going to be scored at a frantic rate, it’s the side that makes the fewest mistakes that can come away victorious. In other words, if every defence seems porous, then the side that capitalises on leaky backlines the most walks away with all three points – a far cry from the days of Serie A where most matches were decided on razor thin margins because defences were so stringy.

3. No time to lick wounds… or celebrate

Thanks to a condensed schedule, teams will quickly need to refocus for a midweek round of matches. That’s fantastic for the sides who’d rather forget quickly how this weekend went – think Inter losing late to bogey team Atalanta, or Manolo Gabbiadini’s expulsion nearly causing Napoli to lose a two-goal lead late against Crotone, or even Juventus themselves.

For the likes of Roma, Fiorentina, and Udinese, however, comprehensive victories can’t be celebrated for long, either. Roma have little more than 36 hours between matches before traveling away to Sassuolo on Wednesday.

So what does it all mean for the Giallorossi?

The capital club are clearly trending in the right direction; conceding one goal off a wicked deflection aside, they showed the poise and know-how to break down a team willing to sit back and defend with numbers to obtain a point.

Sassuolo are known for a more free-spirited approach to football and will want to add to their points tally in a home match to bound towards the upper echelon of the table. Luciano Spalletti will need his men to continue moving through the gears if they are to continue this winning run.