Napoli and Milan led Serie A as Inter endured a dismal February, while Italian clubs struggled in Europe and the race to beat the drop at the bottom of the table intensified, writes Stephen Kasiewicz.
Title rivals falter in Scudetto chase
Napoli joined Milan at the top of Serie A in a month of stunning upsets and shock results for the Scudetto contenders.
In an incredibly open title race, Fabian Ruiz netted a dramatic late winner at Lazio to lift the Partenopei into first place in the Classifica, as Milan and Inter both drew in the final two rounds of February fixtures.
Incredible Serie A Scudetto race: Napoli, Milan, Inter, Juventus, Atalanta
Luciano Spalletti’s side did not lose a league game throughout the month but were not always convincing. Boosted by the return of several key players from injury, not least captain Kalidou Koulibaly and striker Victor Osimhen, Napoli claimed victories away at Venezia and Lazio but stumbled in a tense stalemate away at lowly Cagliari and drew at home in an absorbing encounter with leaders Inter.
Milan were tied at the top with Napoli on 57 points and began the month in style, Olivier Giroud scoring a double in a superb 2-1 comeback win against rivals Inter.
The rest of the month was a struggle as despite defeating Sampdoria the Rossoneri could not find a way past bottom of the table Salernitana and Udinese in consecutive draws. Inter finished February in third just two points behind the leaders but lost the Derby della Madonnina after leading through Ivan Perisic’s strike at half-time.
In a bitterly disappointing month the Nerrazzuri claimed an away point at Napoli but were stunned by Sassuolo in a two goal reversal at San Siro and failed to break down a spirited Genoa side in a goalless stalemate at Marassi.
Juventus steadily made ground in fourth, seven points adrift of the top two, as January capture Dusan Vlahovic made a spectacular start to his career at the Bianconeri.
The Serbian scored on his debut as Juve defeated Verona and claimed a memorable double to ensure a 3-2 win at Empoli. Danilo’s late equaliser rescued a point at Atalanta and Torino surged back to draw in the Derby della Mole as Juventus pushed three points clear of La Dea in the standings.
Mixed fortunes for Italian clubs in Europe
Juventus claimed a vital draw at Villarreal to keep their ambitions of Champions League progress alive as Inter fell to a demoralising two-goal home defeat against Liverpool.
It took Dusan Vlahovic just 31 seconds to score a wonderful opener in the last 16 tie in Spain. However, the Bianconeri eventually succumbed after waves of Villarreal pressure as Dani Parejo netted a second-half equaliser with the return leg in Turin on March 16.
Inter outplayed Liverpool for long stretches at San Siro but were unable to convert their dominance into anything tangible. Substitute Roberto Firmino glanced home a well-placed header and Mohamed Salah’s deflected strike gave Liverpool a flattering victory. The Nerazzurri face a monumental task to turn the tie around at Anfield on March 8.
Champions League | Inter 0-2 Liverpool: Clinical finishing the difference
Atalanta progressed to the Round of 16 in the Europa League as Napoli and Lazio were eliminated. Gian Piero Gasperini again guided the Bergamo club into the latter stages of Europe as they overcame Greeks Olympiacos 5-1 on aggregate. Despite falling behind in the first leg play-off at the Gewiss Stadium they recovered to win as Berat Djimsiti hit twice in two second half minutes. The return leg in Piraeus was not as demanding, Joakim Maehle and Ruslan Malinovskyi (2) netted in a three-goal victory to set up a tie with Germans Bayer Leverkusen.
Napoli were thrashed 5-3 on aggregate despite a promising first-leg draw at Camp Nou against Barcelona. Piotr Zielinski gave the Partenopei hope as Napoli forced a 1-1 play-off stalemate in Spain but they fell apart in the return leg at San Paolo. Trailing 3-1 at half-time the tie was effectively over as Barca recorded a surprisingly easy 4-2 away victory.
Europa League | Napoli 2-4 Barcelona (3-5 agg): Barca simply too strong
Lazio also exited the competition in the play-off round losing 4-3 on aggregate against Porto. A 2-1 first-leg defeat in Portugal gave Mauricio Sarri’s side a chance to progress yet they drew 2-2 at Stadio Olimpico to bow out of Europe.
American investment at Atalanta
Atalanta unexpectedly joined a growing list of Serie A clubs to welcome American investors.
The Bergamo club, owned by the Percassi family, agreed to sell a 55 per cent stake to a group led by Boston Celtics co-owner Stephen Pagliuca.
In what was branded a partnership deal, Pagliuca became the new co-chairman of the club while Antonio and Luca Percassi kept 45% of La Dea and remained as chairman and CEO respectively.
The Percassi family had previously denied they would sell any part of the club but followed Milan, Roma, Fiorentina, Genoa, Spezia and Venezia among others in brokering a deal with American investors.
Elsewhere, Major League Soccer (MLS) club Toronto FC continued to scour Serie A for new recruits.
Not content with the incredible pre-contract capture of Napoli captain Lorenzo Insigne, the Canadian club were also planning moves for the Genoa duo of Domenico Criscito and Mattia Destro.
Veteran left-sided defender Criscito could move to Toronto before the end of the Serie A season, while forward Destro will remain with the Rossoblu until the climax of the current campaign.
Bid to beat the drop intensifies
Cagliari moved out of the relegation zone after an impressive unbeaten run in February.
Veteran coach Walter Mazzarri guided the Sardinian club to 17th place in the standings and three points clear of Venezia in a month to remember.
Cagliari upset both Atalanta and Torino, recording unexpected 2-1 away victories in both games and picked up a point at Empoli before scaring the life out of high flying Napoli in a 1-1 stalemate at the Sardegna Arena.
Venezia fell into the bottom three after sustaining defeats against Napoli and Verona.
Despite an excellent away victory at Torino and draw with Genoa they dropped to 18th place just three points behind Cagliari.
Salernitana made their second coaching change of the season in a desperate bid to avoid relegation.
Davide Nicola replaced Stefano Colantuono and immediately picked up a creditable point in a thrilling 2-2 home draw against Milan.
Salernitana added another crucial point, drawing 1-1 against Bologna at Stadio Arechi but remained rock bottom of the table on just 15 points.
A rejuvenated Genoa registered four draws under new coach Alexander Blessin yet still occupied the second relegation spot. Blessin’s high tempo pressing style led to improved performances but no wins as the Rossoblu were just two points ahead of Salernitana in 19th position in the table.
De Zerbi stranded in Ukraine, Conte struggles at Tottenham
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine left Shakhtar Donetsk coach Roberto De Zerbi temporarily stuck in a Kyiv hotel with his players and staff.
The former Sassuolo coach initially vowed to stay in the country before eventually escaping Kyiv as the Ukrainian Premier League was suspended amid the chaos of war.
De Zerbi had guided Shakhtar to the top of the league after 18 games but football was forgotten as thousands of citizens attempted to flee Ukraine following a brutal Russian offensive.
FIFA and UEFA suspended Russian clubs and national teams from all competitions as football united against the war.
The Italian Football Federation took the decision to delay every kick-off in Italy by five minutes to highlight the dire situation in Ukraine, including all-round 27 matches in Serie A. Clubs and players throughout Italy joined to denounce the Russian invasion.
Ukraine international Ruslan Malinovskyi displayed a message on his t-shirt condemning the war after he scored for Atalanta at Olympiacos in their Europa League play-off match. Napoli and Barcelona players held up a banner that read ‘STOP WAR’ before the second leg of their Europa League play-off tie, while Milan and Sampdoria were among several clubs who urged for peace on social media.
Meanwhile, Tottenham Hotspur coach Antonio Conte appeared ready to quit the London club after a dismal away loss at relegation-threatened Burnley.
In a typically emotional post-match outburst, the former Italy, Juventus and Inter coach questioned his own ability as Spurs slumped to a series of defeats culminating in a desperate reversal at Turf Moor. Conte was slightly more upbeat as Tottenham ended February with a thumping four goal stroll at Leeds in a topsy turvy month which also included a stunning 3-2 victory at English Premier League leaders Manchester City.
Inter are out of the race. Napoli (hopefuly) or Juventus will win
scudetto. Save this my comment. 😛
Blooming Conte again. Is no article denied his mention
De Zerbi’s situation is a lot more important than Conte’s losing streak..
Spurs mentioned again lol.
Looks like the title will be won by the least worst of a bad lot.
@interFan75
Juve is fighting for top four with Atalanta Lazio and the likes. If you guys gifts us the league title, that won’t hurt in an iota.
@interFan75
Juve is fighting for top four with Atalanta Lazio and the likes. If you guys gifts us the league title, that won’t hurt in an iota.