Serie A matchday 9: Lazio score six, Inter win on two own goals, Bologna beat Milan 4–2

Lazio won 6–2 at ten-man Sassuolo on Tuesday and Inter won 2–0 at Venezia on Wednesday with two own goals, so the leaders are still level on 25 points after the midweek round, and level on goal difference too. AS Roma came from behind to beat Cagliari 4–2 and are four points behind, with Como a point further back after three late goals at Torino. AC Milan lost for the first time, 4–2 at home to Bologna, three days before the derby. Matchday 9 brought 43 goals in ten matches: three home wins, five away wins and two draws, and ten of the goals came from the 80th minute on.

Tuesday

Sassuolo 2–6 Lazio was 3–1 to Lazio after 16 minutes. Kenneth Taylor scored on 2, Josip Šutalo's own goal levelled it on 7, and Gustav Isaksen, from Mattia Zaccagni, and Romano Floriani Mussolini, from Taylor, scored on 13 and 16. Kristian Thorstvedt was sent off on 31 for a foul on Zaccagni, according to Reuters. Sebastiano Esposito pulled one back on 43 from Simone Cinquegrano's pass, and Zaccagni scored on 45+1 from Isaksen's pass. Tijjani Noslin scored twice, on 55 from Zaccagni's pass and on 65 from Fisayo Dele-Bashiru's. Lazio missed two penalties, Zaccagni on 50 and Davide Frattesi on 61, both saved by Stefano Turati, Reuters reports. Lazio had eight shots on target; Sassuolo had one. Gennaro Gattuso said afterwards that neither he nor many of his players were used to looking at the table, Reuters reports.

AS Roma 4–2 Cagliari began with M'Bala Nzola's penalty for Cagliari on 10, after a VAR check. Emanuele Lulli equalised on 15 from Nahuel Molina's pass, and Niccolò Pisilli, from Lulli, put Roma ahead on 21. Daniel Maldini made it 2–2 on 81 from Adam Obert's pass, but Rodrigo Mora, from Daniele Ghilardi, scored on 85 and Donyell Malen on 87. Both sides had eight shots on target, and Roma's goalkeeper made six saves.

Torino 1–3 Como turned in the last ten minutes. Che Adams scored on 24 from Kian Fitz-Jim's pass, and Torino led until Jacobo Ramón equalised on 81 from Nico Paz's pass. Paz, from Yan Couto, scored on 87, and Martin Baturina added a third on 90+2. Como had 72 per cent of the ball and 18 shots. Torino had been chasing a fourth win in a row, Reuters notes.

Wednesday

AC Milan 2–4 Bologna was Samuel Mbangula Tshifunda's match. He scored on 8 from Nadir Zortea's pass, his first goal for Bologna, according to Sky Sport. Alphadjo Cissè scored twice for Milan, on 14 and on 27 from Fikayo Tomori's pass, his first goals at San Siro, Sky Sport notes. Tomori was injured late in the first half and was replaced by Luka Modrić at the break, Sky Sport reports. Davide Bartesaghi's own goal made it 2–2 on 60, and Mbangula scored again on 62 from Juan Miranda's pass and on 86 from Jens Odgaard's. Milan had 66 per cent of the ball but three shots on target to Bologna's five. It was Milan's first league defeat of the season; Sky Sport lists eight players missing for Rúben Amorim's side, Rabiot, Gila and Loftus-Cheek among them.

Parma 0–0 Udinese turned on a missed penalty: Adrián Bernabé García's spot-kick on 69 did not go in. Udinese had 20 shots, five on target, and Parma's goalkeeper made four saves. It ended Udinese's run of six defeats.

Venezia 0–2 Inter was goalless until the 79th minute, when Matias Moreno turned the ball into his own net. Redouane Halhal scored a second own goal on 82, from a Hakan Çalhanoğlu corner, according to Sky Sport. Venezia had a goal by Lion Lauberbach ruled out by VAR for offside on 29. Inter had two shots on target and Venezia four. Sky Sport notes that Inter were the first side to benefit from two own goals in one Serie A match since April 2021, and that 25 points is Inter's best total after nine rounds in the three-points era.

Genoa 2–0 Juventus was settled in the first half. Kingsley Ehizibue scored on 12 from Tommaso Baldanzi's pass, and Baldanzi scored himself on 28. Juventus had 63 per cent of the ball and nine corners but four shots on target. It was Genoa's first Serie A win over Juventus since May 2022, Sky Sport notes, for Daniele De Rossi's side against Luciano Spalletti's.

Monza 1–4 Napoli was level at half-time. Rasmus Højlund scored on 10 from Giovanni Di Lorenzo's pass, and Gustavo Varela equalised for Monza on 43 from Jay Robinson's, his eighth league goal. Matteo Politano scored on 48, set up Rafael Marín Zamora on 62, and Kevin De Bruyne, from Noa Lang, made it four on 67. Napoli had seven shots on target.

Thursday

Frosinone 5–1 Lecce was settled well before the end for Frosinone. Matteo Cichella scored on 25 from Farès Ghedjemis's pass, and Giacomo Calò converted a penalty on 45+1. Antonio Raimondo, from Giorgi Kvernadze, scored on 59, and Daniel Birligea, from Romano Schmid, on 72 after a VAR check. Joel Almada Monteiro pulled one back for Lecce on 82 from Olaf Gorter's pass, and Birligea scored again on 90+4. Frosinone had 26 shots, nine on target, and ten corners.

Fiorentina 2–2 Atalanta gave Fiorentina a point. Charles De Ketelaere put Atalanta ahead on 41 from Nicola Zalewski's pass, Alieu Njie equalised on 53 from Álex Jiménez's, and João Mário, from Njie, put Fiorentina ahead on 61. Zalewski, from De Ketelaere, made it 2–2 on 74. Fiorentina had 26 shots but four on target; Atalanta had five.

The table after matchday 9

#	Team	P	W	D	L	GD	Pts
1	Inter	9	8	1	0	+15	25
2	Lazio	9	8	1	0	+15	25
3	AS Roma	9	6	3	0	+15	21
4	Como	9	6	2	1	+9	20
5	AC Milan	9	5	3	1	+7	18
6	Frosinone	9	5	2	2	+8	17
7	Napoli	9	4	2	3	+6	14
8	Juventus	9	4	2	3	+1	14
9	Torino	9	4	1	4	0	13
10	Cagliari	9	4	1	4	−5	13
11	Bologna	9	3	2	4	0	11
12	Atalanta	9	3	2	4	−1	11
13	Genoa	9	3	1	5	−5	10
14	Lecce	9	3	0	6	−9	9
15	Sassuolo	9	2	2	5	−8	8
16	Monza	9	2	1	6	−6	7
17	Udinese	9	1	2	6	−9	5
18	Fiorentina	9	1	2	6	−10	5
19	Parma	9	1	2	6	−10	5
20	Venezia	9	1	0	8	−13	3

Inter and Lazio are level on 25 points and on goal difference, +15, with Inter ahead on goals scored, 25 to 22. Roma are four behind on 21, and the three are the only unbeaten sides left. Como, a point behind Roma, have moved past Milan, who are seven off the top. The points race shows Inter and Lazio level after every matchday but the fourth, Roma level with Inter until the fifth, and Como climbing from a draw on the first. At the bottom, Udinese, Fiorentina and Parma have five points and Venezia three.

Numbers to know

• 43 goals in ten matches, ten of them from the 80th minute on.
• Three penalties were missed: Zaccagni's and Frattesi's for Lazio, and Bernabé's for Parma.
• Varela leads the scorers with eight, one ahead of Malen and Raimondo.
• Lazio have conceded seven goals in nine matches, the fewest; Sassuolo and Monza have conceded 22, the most.
• Venezia have lost eight of their nine matches.

Next up

Matchday 10 starts on Saturday 31 October with Bologna v Monza at 14:00 UTC and Udinese v AS Roma at 17:00 UTC, and AC Milan v Inter, the derby, at 19:45 UTC. On Sunday 1 November, Como v Venezia kicks off at 11:30 UTC, Frosinone v Torino and Lazio v Cagliari at 14:00 UTC, Lecce v Genoa at 17:00 UTC and Juventus v Napoli at 19:45 UTC. On Monday 2 November, Sassuolo v Fiorentina kicks off at 17:30 UTC and Atalanta v Parma closes the round at 19:45 UTC. The full round is on the Serie A page.

Sources for the context: Reuters, Sky Sport, Sky Sport, Sky Sport.