Week 4 Serie A hot takes: Juventus' Luciano Spalletti in trouble; Franco Mastantuono to win MVP?

Meanwhile, Lazio need to be seriously considered as a candidates for the top four

Sep 14, 2026 at 2:04 pm ET • 2 min read

Another Serie A weekend is in the books. Napoli were able to secure their second three points of the season with a 1-0 win against Bologna while Franco Mastantuono led Fiorentina in their first win of the 2026-2027 season against Venezia after appointing Paolo Vanoli to replace Fabio Grosso on the Viola bench. Juventus were by far the most disappointing team of the weekend with a 3-2 defeat away against Sassuolo with a crazy end to the match, while USMNT star Christian Pulisic made his comeback on the pitch during the 2-2 draw against Lazio on Saturday, also delivering his first assist of the season. Now, time for some hot takes.

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Juventus to sack Spalletti?

I mean, what is going on at Juventus? After winning the first two matches of the Serie A season without really convincing, Luciano Spalletti is now facing his first challenging moment of the season after drawing at home against AC Milan and then losing 3-2 to Sassuolo over the weekend. Juventus conceded the opening goal but fought back to take the lead, with Edon Zhegrova scoring his first goal for the Bianconeri before finding the net again after Kieron Bowie's strike made it 2–1. However, Sassuolo staged a late comeback to secure a 3–2 victory, with former Juventus player Vasilije Adzic scoring the decisive goal to seal the win. Spalletti is now facing early pressure on the job despite Juventus CEO Giovanni Carnevali confirming his trust in the Italian coach, who will now have to deliver much better performances to avoid any kind of rumors in the near future. 

Mastantuono to be named MVP

The Fiorentina attacker delivered one of the greatest performances of recent years in Italy as Mastantuono became the youngest Argentinian player to score a hat trick in the top five European leagues, breaking the record of Lionel Messi with FC Barcelona. After three defeats and the sacking of Grosso as head coach, the new boss, Vanoli, not only delivered the first win of the season but players like Mastantuono himself, striker Mateo Pellegrino and new signing Beto immediately showed why Fiorentina wanted a different manager for their team.

Lazio are still flying 

Another positive match from Lazio in their home game against AC Milan on Saturday. Despite the Rossoneri's comeback in the second half led by Christian Pulisic and Belgian winger Diego Moreira who scored a brace in the second part of the match, the two opening goals scored by Matteo Cancelleri and Tijjani Noslin showed why the team led by Rino Gattuso need to be fully trusted after a positive start to the Serie A season despite the low expectations after the summer transfer window. Lazio, watch out for them.