Juventus’ rare defeat against AC Milan hints at potentially thrilling Serie A Femminile title race

Matchday 7 in Serie A Femminile proved to be one of the most dramatic in recent memory, primarily due to the fact that Juventus Women were beaten by AC Milan in a dramatic game on Saturday.

That was amplified by the fact that fellow title hopefuls AS Roma Women picked up another three points, whilst Inter managed to salvage a late point to remain unbeaten in 2022/23.

It was AC Milan’s victory over Juventus that stole all the headlines. For context, Juventus lost one game last season on their way to a fifth consecutive title. That defeat came away at Empoli and it ended a 54-match unbeaten run in the league.

Last season, they only drew two games. Compared to last year, they have already used up lives having lost once and drawn two in the first seven.

Juventus powerless to stop AC Milan

There was a lot of fear for AC Milan coming into this game. They had just been thrashed in the Derby della Madonnina the week before, and there is no worse team to face when you need to bounce back than the reigning champions and their abundance of quality players.

Milan bucked the trend though and beat Joe Montemurro’s side 4-3 in what was a simply thrilling encounter at AlbinoLeffe’s stadium just outside Bergamo.

Kosovare Asllani has cemented herself as Milan’s best player this season and she started the game by scoring twice in the 24th and 25th minutes. Unfortunately for Juventus defender Matilde Lundorf, she had a very bad couple of minutes and had to take some blame for both goals.

There was then a lightning finish from Agnese Bonfantini to get a goal back for Juve, but another lapse in concentration allowed Martina Piemonte to make it 3-1 before the break.

Not long after the break, Malgorzata Mesjasz made it 4-1 and apart from that lingering feeling that Juventus are never down and out, it seemed the contest was over. That lingering feeling grew rapidly when Cristiana Girelli scored a tap-in with 20 minutes to go, but her second and Juve’s third came in the 95th minute and there was no time left for a dramatic equaliser.

Serie A Femminile could be set for a real title race

This weekend’s results mean that Juventus sit in fourth place in the Serie A Femminile table. They are four points behind the leaders and whilst there is a hell of a long way to go, it is almost uncharted territory for the Bianconere.

AS Roma had Valentina Giacinti to thank once again as she gave them a 1-0 win over Como this weekend. The Giallorosse are now top of the table and four points ahead of Juve. They are top thanks to Inter only managing a 1-1 draw with Sassuolo.

The Neroverde looked set for their first win of the season but Tabitha Chawinga’s 92nd-minute goal made it 1-1.

Roma did a superb job last season but still ended up five points behind Juventus by the end. This season so far, we have Roma and Fiorentina on 18 points, Inter have 17, and then Juventus are on 14.

Considering Roma and Juventus have started their UEFA Women’s Champions League campaigns and have at least five more games to juggle there, the ingredients are absolutely in place for multiple teams to be in a title fight for at least the next couple of months.

Juventus are still an absolutely superb football team, which means this change in dynamic is likely down to the overall growth in quality that many teams in the division are showing, which can only be a good thing.

The next Serie A Femminile fixtures

Serie A Femminile is straight back again this weekend and it should be a thriller as the top four will all be facing each other. Inter will host AS Roma, whilst Juventus welcome Fiorentina to Turin.

AC Milan will be looking to capitalise on those teams dropping points as they are away at Pomigliano. Como host Sassuolo and Sampdoria will be at home against Parma.

Serie A Femmininile Matchday 7 results

Serie A Femminile table after Matchday 7 results