Serie A 2019-20: 3 most improved and declined teams of the season
A Serie A season ending with a title win for Juventus has become the norm now. In 2019-20, the Old Lady from Turin won the Serie A title for the ninth time in a row. They were challenged by the likes of Inter Milan, Atalanta and Lazio but in the end, the Bianconeri proved too strong.
Cristiano Ronaldo enjoyed another fine season, scoring 31 Serie A goals, but that wasn’t enough for him to win the Golden Boot. The Portuguese superstar lost out to Lazio’s Ciro Immobile, whose record 36 goals gave him his third Capocannoniere award.
Two of the three promoted Serie A sides – Lecce and Brescia - returned straight back to Serie B and were joined by SPAL whose three-year stint in the Italian top division came to an end this season.
In this article, we review the 2019-20 Serie A season, comparing teams’ performances and standings from the previous season to find out the three most improved and declined teams.
Also read: Premier League 2019-20 review: The most improved and declined teams of the season.
Three most improved and declined teams in the 2019-20 Serie A season:
#1A: Improved – Inter Milan
2019-20 Serie A Standing - 2nd (82 points).
2018-19 Serie A Standing - 4th (69 points).
Giants of Italian football, Inter Milan and Antonio Conte enjoyed a step in the right direction. Their Serie A campaign could get even better if they manage to lift the Europa League trophy.
Inter achieved their highest points total (82) since Jose Mourinho’s treble-winning 2009-10 season, finishing just a point behind champions Juventus. The one-point gap at the top was more due to Juventus’ lack of focus towards the end, picking up just eight points from their last eight games, yet it was a season of improvement for the Nerazzurri.
Champions League qualification was much smoother for Inter Milan this season, as they picked up 13 more points and scored 24 more goals than they did last season.
The attacking partnership between Lautaro Martinez and Romelu Lukaku worked like a treat, with the latter banging in 23 goals, finishing only behind Ciro Immobile and Cristiano Ronaldo in the season's Serie A scoring charts.
With a strong defensive backbone and a good attacking frontline, Conte’s men can genuinely challenge Juventus next season.
#1B: Declined – Napoli
2019-20 Serie A Standing - 7th (62 points).
2018-19 Serie A Standing - 2nd (79 points).
Much was expected of Napoli and Carlo Ancelotti this season. After all the club had finished second to Juventus in Serie A last year, performed decently in Europe and managed to keep big names like Kalidou Koulibaly and Lorenzo Insigne at the club.
Napoli spent money on strengthening their squad, as was evident in the arrivals of Mexican and PSV star Hirving Lozano and defender Kostas Manolas from Serie A rivals AS Roma. However, a disappointing start ensued and the club lagged behind in seventh place when they decided to part ways with Carlo Ancelotti and appointed Gennaro Gattuso in his place.
Despite struggling in the beginning, the former Milan star managed to stabilise the Napoli ship, helping the club to a Copa Italia triumph and subsequently Europa League qualification.
Overall, it was a disappointing campaign for the Partenopei, who slipped five places and 17 points from last season, but the Copa Italia proved to be the saving grace and helped them qualify for Europe once again.