Serie A 2019-20: Summing up the season so far during this break
As we sit at home with no football on for the foreseeable future (thank you coronavirus), we might as well take a quick look at the season so far. So here's what has happened so far this Serie A season with about 12 games left for all the teams.
Title race
Like every year for quite some time now, Juventus are ahead of everyone else. But thankfully, we seem to have a race on our hands this year. Lazio are only a point behind and look like world beaters on their day. Antonio Conte's Inter might a fallen behind a bit but it would be very foolish to count them out.
Race for Europe
Juventus, Lazio and Inter seem to have locked in the UCL spots but the others are still up for taking. Atalanta and Roma look comfortable too but with the likes of Napoli and Milan seemingly resurgent, they can't afford complacency.
Relegation battle
Brescia and SPAL look certain to go down but there seems to be a lot of contenders for the last spot. Lecce currently sit 18th but teams like Genoa, Sampdoria, Torino and Udinese are not safe yet.
Overachievers
Chris Smalling- The butt of uncountable memes and jokes while at United, Smalling seems to have rejuvenated his career at Roma. Probably the best defender in Italy this season, several Premier League clubs, and certainly England manager Gareth Southgate, must be keeping an eye out for Smalling.
Theo Hernandez- Theo Hernandez is AC Milan's second top goalscorer and top assist-maker this season. Oh, and he is a left-back! Once a Real Madrid reject, the 22-year-old Frenchman has almost single-handedly carried Milan during certain stretches this season.
Luis Alberto- With 4 goals and 12 assists, Alberto has been one of the standout players in the league. The Lazio playmaker is one of their most important players for them and if they are to win the league, he has to maintain his rich vein of form.
Atalanta- Atalanta have been the most exciting team in Europe this season, bar none. Players like Ilicic, Gomez, De Roon, Zapata and Muriel have lit up both the Serie A and the UCL, playing delightful, attacking football along the way.
Several others like Immobile, Ronaldo, Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez have been excellent too.
Underachievers
Napoli- Though they have improved lately, this has been a poor, poor season for Napoli. They have led the chasing pack in recent times, but now that we have a title race finally, Gennaro Gattuso's men seem to have fallen behind.
Maurizio Sarri- Dubbed as 'Sarri-ball', the Juventus coach Maurizio Sarri's style of football had garnered a lot of attention while he was at Napoli. However, things haven't quite gone as per plan at Juventus. Under him, they look less dominant than usual, often relying on Cristiano Ronaldo's brilliance to get over the line.
Krzysztof Piątek- The Polish sharpshooter had exploded on to the scene last season and a lot was expected of him this time.However the striker flattered to deceive and Milan had to bring in a 38 year old to replace him after he moved to Hertha Berlin in the January transfer window.
Note: Italy is one of the hardest hit countries in the world by the coronavirus pandemic and tragedy has overtaken all aspects of life including sports.