The Tuesday Calcio Wrap-Up #13 🇮🇹⚽️: IT IS GOING DOWN TO THE WIRE...
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.
We are right down to the wire now. The Scudetto race is going to the final day, with Napoli failing to beat Parma but being bailed out by Lazio (and VAR), keeping them one point clear at the top of the table. Both games on Sunday evening weren’t with our drama, either. Antonio Conte was sent off, as was his counterpart in the opposite dugout, Cristian Chivu. At San Siro, both Simone Izaghi and Marco Baroni saw red, too. Tensions are quite high, aren’t they?
Away from the title race, there’s so much going on in Serie A. The Champions League race is also going down to the wire, as is the relegation battle. Some key results fell in certain ways over the weekend, taking these battles down to the last game. Venezia lost whilst both Lecce and Empoli won, dragging Parma back into it as well. Juventus are in front as they fight for fourth, but Roma’s win against Milan kept them in the running. The final weekend of Serie A is certainly going to be one to tune into…
🏆 WHO WILL BE THE CAMPIONI?!
I am shouting because tensions are high and excitement is through the roof. The Scudetto wasn’t decided when Napoli faced Parma and Inter faced Lazio. With both teams drawing, things stayed relatively the same. We woke up on Monday, still with no Campione, and still none the wiser as to when the Serie A would schedule the fixtures. Luckily, they managed to come to a decision, albeit without the tantrums, as the meeting had to be paused due to heated arguments. Friday 23rd May is when both teams will play their last fixture, much to the anger of Inter and the fans. If needed, the play-off will be played on the following Monday, in what would be one of the most mental endings to a season ever. No Simone Inzaghi or Antonio Conte in the dugouts either, which is a huge shame for the neutrals out there.
Now, Inter also have a Champions League final to prepare for, which is why they were pushing for the final league game to be on Wednesday instead of Friday. Understandable. Throw in the fact that both goals conceded to Lazio were thanks to VAR interventions as well as other VAR issues throughout the season, and the Nerazzurri tifosi may start to feel hard done by. But I’m not here to get into the politics of how Serie A is run. Not right now, anyway. Napoli had a 96th-minute penalty overturned by VAR last night (incorrectly, I must say), too. Both teams could have made substantial movements towards the title last night, but didn’t. Missed opportunity? Maybe. More so for Napoli, as their game was definitely the easier of the two. And they have the easiest game of the two on Friday, as well, as Inter come up against a good Como side.
I can’t call it. I don’t know who is going to win. However, I would normally stay impartial on this newsletter, but given the magnitude of what is ahead, I think I’ll make my allegiances clear: FORZA NAPOLI SEMPRE.
👀 The rest of the league: Who gets fourth and who goes down?!
Roma beating Milan was a huge result, which would have been even bigger if Juventus hadn’t managed to get three points against Juventus. It keeps Claudio Ranieri’s side very much in the race for fourth going into the last game of the season. It also knocked Milan out of qualifying for ANY European football. Mass exodus at the Rossoneri inbound? It’s very possible. Juventus travel to Venezia and Roma to Torino, and with one point separating them, Roma will be hoping Venezia’s fight from relegation is enough to defeat Juventus at Stadio Penzo. They’d have to beat Torino, too, though.
And that relegation battle is as hot as the title race. Venezia were steamrollered by Cagliari last time out, losing 3-0. And this result was made much worse given the fact that Lecce beat Torino 1-0 and Empoli beat Monza 3-1. As it stands, Lecce are currently in 17th, meaning Empoli and Venezia join Monza in Serie B next year. Lecce play Lazio, and Empoli face Verona, putting Empoli as the most likely of the three to win. It’ll be a tight one, with some big performances needed. My prediction? Lecce and Venezia go down.
🤯 Sampdoria handed a lifeline? Brescia to go down? Serie B is thrown into disarray
In typical fashion, news broke AFTER Sampdoria had been relegated to Serie C that an investigation into Brescia had concluded and found financial irregularities and tax deadlines being missed, meaning they were to be deducted four points. It’s a similar situation that relegated Cosenza found themselves in earlier in the season. That means, if the four-point deduction is upheld after appeal, Brescia would go down in place of Sampdoria and i Blucerchiati would go into the play-out against Salernitana. Lifeline. If the appeal reduces the deduction to two points, Brescia would stay up and all would continue as normal. The graphic above shows the situation with and without the point deduction. Frosinone will also be hoping for the points to be upheld. As ever with Italian football, we now wait. And I suspect things will move relatively quickly. Or slowly. Who knows, really?!
Psst. I am keeping up with this saga on the Instagram or X. Follow me for more.
[Translation: The Other Championships]
Serie B:
🥶 Away from the chaos of the relegation play-out saga, the promotion play-offs are in full flow. Juve Stabia beat Palermo 1-0 and Catanzaro beat Cesena 1-0 to move to the next round. Next fixtures:
Wednesday 21st May (1st leg):
Catanzaro vs Spezia
Juve Stabia vs Cremonese
Sunday 25th May (2nd leg):
Spezia vs Catanzaro
Cremonese vs Juve Stabia
Serie C:
🏁 Just like Serie B, it’s all going on in the third division, too. Relegation and promotion play-offs are going full throttle, with some big moments occurring, too. We’re in the quarter finals of the promotion tournament. Pescara came from 2-0 down to beat Vis Pesaro 4-2, putting them in the driving seat for the 2nd leg. Vicenza are leading against Crotone as well.
Note: Next round of fixtures to be played on 21st May.
🏳️ Relegation-wise, there was one BIG team to note: Milano Futuro. This brand new project started a year ago to help Milan’s youth progression has proven to be a disaster after they lost their relegation play-off 2-0 to SPAL, sending them down to Serie D.