Three contenders for gold and the pursuit of Ronaldo for the Immobile: what you need to know about the renewal of the Serie A season

Possible return of fans to the stands and softening of the medical protocol 

On Saturday, June 20, Serie A will resume. Italy became the last leading European football country to restart the national championship. Moreover, it is in Italy that the players will have the hardest time, because in one and a half months they will have to play 12-13 matches.

Meetings will be held almost daily. Teams will have to play three days later on the fourth, and sometimes two on the third. As part of the last three rounds, all fights will be played on the same day: the 36th round will be held on July 26, the 37th - on July 29, and the 38th - on August 2.

Initially, there were options that the Serie A season would not be brought to an end. The strict medical protocol adopted in May suggested that if at least one footballer falls ill with COVID-19, then the entire team would have to go into two-week quarantine, and the tournament could be stopped ahead of schedule.

However, the other day, the Minister of Sports Vincenzo Spadafora and the head of the Ministry of Health Roberto Speranza signed documents mitigating this protocol, according to which only the sick person should go to quarantine, and the rest of the team and staff will have to pass rapid tests for coronavirus.

The leadership of Serie A announced that in the event of a season stop before July 10-15, the champion will be determined through the playoffs. According to media reports, the clubs insisted on freezing the standings without identifying the champion and the teams leaving the top division, which was opposed by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), which was supposedly ready to veto it.

At the same time, the head of the federation, Gabriele Gravina, said that already in July, fans will have the opportunity to attend Serie A matches: “We took the last step to dispel any doubts about the end of the championship. I am happy, but one thing is still missing - the participation of fans. I hope they can return to the stands very soon - in early July or, at the latest, in the middle of the month. This will mean that Italy lifted the last restrictions, and this extremely difficult period for our country was left behind. "

One point between Juventus and Lazio and convenient Inter schedule

The decision to resume the season in Italy was welcomed by many football fans, because this year in Serie A there is an incredibly interesting battle for the title. Juventus for the first time in nine years runs the risk of being left without gold medals. Turins left for the break, having 63 points in the asset.

Just one point behind them, “Lazio”. The Romans won the Italian championship only twice in history, and the last time they succeeded 20 years ago. Now they are ready to repeat that achievement and interrupt the champion series of Juventus.

It is not necessary to discount “Inter”, which is nine points behind the first place, but has a match in reserve. Neradzurri had an excellent first part of the championship and were leading for 12 rounds. However, before leaving for a forced pause, the wards of Antonio Conte suffered a guest defeat from their main competitors. First, they lost to Lazio (1: 2), and then to Juventus (0: 2).

But Inter did not lose the chances of winning the first championship in ten years, especially since the team has a rather comfortable schedule of the remaining matches.

Until the match with Roma, in the framework of the 34th round, the black and blue will meet with outsiders and middle peasants. True, in the last two rounds they will face confrontations with Napoli and Atalanta, which may become decisive for the team.

Another defining fight in the fight for the title will also take place in the 34th round - Juventus will receive Lazio. This meeting will be the third for the teams this season, with the Romans being stronger in the previous two. In December, the “eagles” defeated the Turin with an interval of two weeks with the same score - 3: 1. First wards Simone Inzaghi got the upper hand in the championship, and then - in the Italian Super Cup.

As for the calendar of the remaining matches of the two main contenders for gold, none of them has a tangible advantage in this component. Of the teams fighting for a ticket to the European Cups, both Lazio and Juventus will have to meet with Milan and Atalanta. Serious trials await both teams in the last round. Juventus will play with Roma, and Lazio with Napoli.

Fourth place of Atalanta and unstable Roma

If the fight for the championship in Italy can drag on to the very finish, then the winner of the last ticket to the Champions League has almost decided. Atalanta is three points ahead of Roma and has a match in reserve. Given the instability of the Romans, it will not be easy for them to catch up with an opponent.

In turn, “Atalante” will not be easy to overtake Inter, coming off for six points. Thus, the Bergamaski can exchange last year's bronze for fourth place and be left without a direct ticket to the group stage of the Champions League. Inter is close to winning the medals of the Italian championship for the first time since 2011.

At the same time, Atalanta continues to play in the Champions League. In the first round of the playoffs, the team knocked out Valencia from the fight and will now take part in the Final of the eight tournaments to be held in August.

In the championship, the team of Gian Piero Gasperini is still waiting for matches with Juventus, Lazio, Inter, Napoli and Milan. One could say that, based on this, Roma will have the opportunity to compete with an opponent for a ticket to the Champions League, but the Romans are waiting for a meeting with the same opponents with the exception of Lazio.

Unexpected contenders for European competition and Fiorentina in the struggle for survival 

But a serious struggle will unfold for trips to the Europa League. Additionally, her victory “Napoli” in the Italian Cup sharpened. Thus, the Neapolitans guaranteed themselves participation in European competitions, and if they finish in sixth place, the seventh line will become the passing in the LE.

At the moment, it is occupied by Milan, which scored 36 points, but five teams are immediately located at a distance of five or less points from Rossoneri. Among them are teams that have not played in European competitions for many years: Bologna - 20 years, Cagliari - 26, Verona - 32. And Sassuolo limited itself to one participation in the Europa League.

“Milan” has to withstand the pressure of modest but ambitious teams that do not intend to miss the chance to go down in history. At the same time, the results of red-blacks in the current season do not differ in stability. So, in the last round, before the season stopped, they lost at home to one of the outsiders - Genoa - 1: 2.

And after the resumption of the season, Milan flew out of the Italian Cup, failing to beat Juventus (0-0) at home. At the same time, the club is torn by a power struggle. According to media reports, in the near future Stefano Pioli as the head coach of the team may be replaced by German specialist Ralph Rangnik. This, in turn, supposedly can lead to the departure from the club of sports director and legend of Milan Paolo Maldini. In early March, the director of the red-black Zvonimir Boban left his post.

In such circumstances, the Rossoneri will be hard to show a decent result in the championship, especially since they still have to play with Roma, Lazio, Juventus, Napoli and Atalanta.

Not the best times are going through another eminent Fiorentina club. Last season, the Florentines took only 16th place in the Series, and this year they are located on the 13th, only five points from the relegation zone. Wards Giuseppe Yakini risk for the first time since 2004 to leave the elite division.

At the same time, two teams departing from Serie A were almost determined. It will be difficult for "Brescia" and SPAL to maintain a place in the elite. The first team lags behind 17th place by nine points, and the second by seven.

But the team, located from 14 to 18 places, shares only three points. These include Udinese, Torino, Sampdoria, Genoa and Lecce.

Immobile in pursuit of Higuain and scoring achievements Ronaldo

With particular interest, fans will follow the Serie A scorers race. At the moment, Lazio striker Ciro Immobile is confidently leading the list of top snipers. The Italian has 27 goals, and he can become the 11th player in the history of the Italian championships, having chalked up 30 or more goals at the end of the season.

The performance record belongs to Gino Rossettini and Gonzalo Higuain, who scored 36 goals. The Argentinean repeated the achievement of the Italian in 2016. Now the bar will try to overcome the Immobile.

You should not discount Cristiano Ronaldo, who has 21 goals, since 16 of them scored in the last 12 matches of Serie A.

Thus, Ronaldo will compete with the Immobile until the end of the season, and at the same time will try to score 30 or more goals per season in the national championship for the eighth time in his career. Once he succeeded in this in England and six times in Spain. In the last season of the Italian championship, Cristiano recorded 21 exact hits on his asset.