Juventus ended up Serie A as champions for the ninth consecutive season, meaning all other teams would swap places with them in the blink of an eye, but by their own compelling standards The Old Lady have been below average.
Below Juventus, Inter Milan have made a late run to take second place, while Atalanta and Lazio are rewarded for superb campaigns with Champions League places. Roma, Milan and Napoli had mixed fortunes, but all qualified for Europe.
Entering the break imposed by the coronavirus, Juventus were only one point ahead of Lazio, with Inter up close. Since the return, they have looked faltering and suffered four losses – their total of seven is more than in any of their recent title-winning campaigns – but have come out on top thanks in large part to their challengers’ failures.
Juventus manager Maurizio Sarri was supposed to play Juve in a more expansive and attractive style, but the pragmatic approach used by Massimiliano Allegri seemed very little different, other than the fact that they seemed less solid defensively.
Still, finishing at the top of the table is no small feat and, to Cristiano Ronaldo, they had a difference factor, as evidenced by his incredible tally of 31 league goals.
Atalanta on the other hand, it was another breathtaking season for Gian Piero Gasperini’s side, and if they hadn’t dropped so many points in the first half of the campaign, they could have made a real challenge for the title.
It was speculated that Atalanta would fail to repeat their stunning third place finish from the previous campaign and their task was made more difficult by juggling Serie A and Champions League football.
Lazio, meanwhile, had 21 games unbeaten, one point behind Juventus and with all the momentum going before the break, but lost five of their first eight games on the restart.
