🇮🇹⚽ The Tuesday Calcio Wrap-Up #11: Napoli and Inter's B team both win, Pisa are BACK and will Roma get UCL?
Welcome to this week's wrap-up, where I give my thoughts on all the ups, downs and round and rounds from a weekend of Calcio fun.
I recently released a reel on my Instagram predicting the run-in for both Inter and Napoli. Two games down, two correct. Napoli scraped past a very poor Lecce side and Inter rotated heavily and managed to see off Verona to keep the gap at three points. Elsewhere, Roma beat off Fiorentina to put them into 5th place, joint on points with Juventus and Lazio. The Champions League is crazy, too, because Vincnenzo Italiano and Bologna might miss out despite all their efforts, especially as Atalanta consolidated 3rd place. Elsewhere, we’ve got a nerazzurri and Inzaghi derby in the league next season as Pisa return to Serie A after a 34-year hiatus from the top division. All that and more as we wrap-up the past week’s calcio fun.
No slip-ups here, Napoli and Inter are going toe-to-toe
I thought Napoli and Inter would both see off their opponents this weekend, which was right. It’d have been very surprising if either succumbed to Lecce or Verona respectively because of how poor both those sides are. Napoli relied on a Giacamo Raspadori free-kick to secure the win, which will delight Antonio Conte who has a history of celebrating beating his hometown team. And Lecce fans haven’t forgot that, showcased by the heavy boos directed at the Italian coach when Napoli arrived at Via Del Mare.
Napoli played first, which meant the pressure was on Inter as they knew Napoli had gained three more points. They rested a LOT of players ahead of the Champions League semi-final second leg. Marko Arnautovic and Joaquin Correa started upfront, Piotr Zielinski started in midfield and there were no signs of Lautaro Martinez (who came off injured against Barcelona), Nicolo Barella, Alessandro Bastoni or Marcus Thuram near the starting XI or substitutions made. Regardless, Inter won 1-0 with a penalty goal from Kristjan Asllani in the 9th minute, keeping Napoli within three points. The race goes on…
Pisa are BACK in Serie A after 34 years
Pippo Inzaghi’s men lost 1-0 to Bari but despite that, Spezia losing 2-1 to Reggiana was enough to send I Nerazzurri back to the top flight of Italian football. They will finish runners up behind Sassuolo, making them the second and final team to gain automatic promotion. Spezia will have to settle for the play-offs. The celebrations following were a fantastic blend of joy, relief and excitement for what is to come for this project. The one thing many are discussing, too, is the Inzaghi debut next year as the two brothers will face each other in the league.
It’s beautiful to see Pisa back in Serie A. A passionate fanbase, a great potential and a stadium full of character that the Leaning Tower overlooks. Congratulazioni!
Who will it be: Roma, Lazio, Bologna or Juventus? The Battle for the Champions League is crazy!
Claudio Ranieri is up there for Manager of the Season. The work he has done to undo the mess Ivan Juric left behind is nothing short of extraordinary. Undefeated in Serie A in 2025, Roma find themselves very much in the battle for 4th place and Champions League football - something no-one would have said before Christmas. A 1-0 win over Fiorentina at the weekend all but knocks Raffaele Palladino’s men out of the race, leaving Juventus, Bologna, Lazio and Ranieri’s men as the likely four that’ll take the race to the wire. Bologna looked like a likely candidate a few weeks ago but find themselves in 7th place, one point behind the other three teams who are joint on 63. A draw to Juventus for Italiano’s team was good but not enough, especially following a 0-0 draw to Udinese the week before. It’s a very tough call to pick who will secure 4th place, especially as each team (baring Roma) are in similar form. Juventus still have Lazio left to play and Bologna have Fiorentina to play as well as a Coppa Italia final.
Serie B:
Cosenza are relegated! A miracle did not happen for the Lupi, and results in Serie B officially sent Cosenza down to Serie C. They became a staple of the 2nd division but will be playing Third Division football next season.
Serie C:
The play-offs have kicked off. Catania, Arezzo, Atalanta U23s, and Giana Erminio are among the teams who’ve progressed into the next round. The next round of fixtures kicks off on Wednesday (7th May). This is one of the most exciting tournaments in world football, and it is an all-for-one promotion place.
Amongst all the promotion fun, we’ve got relegation play-offs to look at as well. Triestina, Milano Futuro, SPAL, Pro Vercelli and Messina are all in action.
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