The previous season had seen Juventus win the scudetto with a four-point margin over Milan. Udinese had surprisingly arrived third. The Rossoneri in March had a four point lead over the Bianconeri but a draw at Catania and a home loss to Fiorentina saw the Zebras overtake and extend their advantage when Milan drew at home against Bologna with five games to go.
In the summer transfer session Juve reinforced their squad with the arrival of Paul Pogba but had lost Alessandro Del Piero since the club had decided not to renew his contract. Milan went through a (financially) needed revolution and said goodbye to Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva, sold to PSG. Furthermore, contracts were not renewed for most of the old guard (Gennaro Gattuso, Alessandro Nesta, Gianluca Zambrotta, Pippo Inzaghi and Clarence Seedorf) in order to cut costs. Inter too went through a massive change with Maicon to Manchester City and Julio Cesar to QPR. Napoli sold Ezequeil Lavazzi to PSG and substituted him with the return of Lorenzo Insigne. Roma changed manager and chose Zdenek Zeman. Lazio chose relatively unknown Vladimir Petkovic as new head coach.
As a consequence, Juventus were the big favourites since all the other teams looked weaker on paper.
July-August-September
In July and early August Inter faced Hajduk Split in the third preliminary round of the Europa League winning 3-0 away but dangerously losing 2-0 at home. They however qualified for the play off.
In August Udinese faced the Champions League playoff against Sporting Braga losing on penalties, after both ties ended 1-1. The Bianconeri would play in Europa League. Inter and Lazio qualified for the group stage of the Europa League after eliminating Vaslui and Mura O5 respectively.
The Super Coppa took place in Beijing on August 11 between Juventus and Napoli, who had won last year’s Coppa Italia. Juventus won 4-2 in extra time.
The Sports judges, regarding last year’s Betting Scandal, decided that Siena would have a 6 point docking, Atalanta 2, Sampdoria and Torino one.
After the first six games of the season Juventus and Napoli took the lead. The Bianconeri thrashed Roma (home) and Udinese (away), Napoli beat Lazio at home and Inter lost at home to Roma. Milan were quite far behind.
In the first game of the CL group stage, Milan drew at home against Anderlecht and Juventus away to Chelsea. In Europa League Napoli thrashed AIK, Udinese drew at home with Anzhi, Inter with Rubin Zakan, and Lazio away with Tottenham
Juventus 16, Napoli 16, Inter 12, Lazio 12, Sampdoria 10*, Torino 8*, Roma 8, Fiorentina 8, Genoa 8, Catania 8, Milan 7, Bologna 7, Pescara 7, Parma 6, Udinese 6, Atalanta 5*, Palermo 4, Chievo 3, Siena 2*, Cagliari 2
October
Four games in October and Juventus already with a four point lead over Inter. The Nerazzurri won the derby, the Bianconeri beat Napoli, Lazio defeated Milan who were miles away and needed to react.
In the Champions League Milan beat Zenit St. Petersburg but lost to Malaga who topped their group with nine points. The Rossoneri were second with 4. Juventus drew both their games against Shakhtar Donetsk and Nordsjælland and were third behind the Ukranians (7 points) and Chlesea on 4.
In Europa League Udinese won in Liverpool but lost away to Young Boys and were second in their group. Napoli lost to both PSV Eindhoven and Dnipro and were third, one point behind the Dutch. Inter beat Neftci and Partizan and were tied at the top of their group with Rubin Kazan. Lazio beat Maribor and drew with Panathinaikos, thus now leading their group.
Juventus 28, Inter 24, Napoli 22, Lazio 19, Fiorentina 18, Parma 15, Roma 14, Cagliari 14, Udinese 13, Atalanta 12*, Catania 12, Milan 11, Torino 10*, Chievo 10, Sampdoria 10*, Genoa 9, Palermo 8, Pescara 8, Bologna 7, Siena 3*
November
The four games in November allowed the campionato to be a little more interesting. Juventus lost at home to Inter, drew with Lazio and lost to Milan. As a consequence Napoli crept forward and were now just two points behind. The Partenopei drew at home against Milan and Lazio won the Rome derby.
In CL Milan drew at home against Malaga but beat Anderlecht securing second place with one game to go. Juventus thrashed both Nordsjælland and Chelsea so they were now second in their group with 9 points, one behind Shakhtar Donetsk and two ahead of the Londoners before the final game.
In Europa League Udinese lost to both Young Boys and Anzhi and were out. Inter beat Partizan but lost to Rubin Kazan. They were already qualified as second, as were Napoli after beating Dnipro and AIK. Lazio beat Panathinaikos and drew with Tottenham and had a two-point lead over the Londoners. Final matches in December.
Juventus 32, Napoli 30, Fiorentina 28, Inter 28, Lazio 26, Roma 23, Parma 20, Catania 19, Milan 18, Atalanta 18*, Sampdoria 16*, Udinese 16, Cagliari 16, Torino 15*, Palermo 14, Genoa 12, Chievo 12, Siena 11*, Bologna 11, Pescara 11
December
Juventus solved their problems and flew off, with Lazio a surprise second. The Bianconeri won the Turin derby, Inter beat Napoli but lost to the Biancocelesti and Roma beat Milan. Very tight in the last positions. Siena doing what they could with a six point docking.
In CL Milan finished second to qualify for the Round of 16 where they would play Barcelona in February and March. Juventus beat Shakhtar Donetsk away to top their group and would play Celtic.
In Europa League the only game of any interest was Lazio’s and they beat Maribor to top their group. Also qualified were Napoli and Inter. Udinese never really got over the CL elimination and put in a poor performance in EL. In the Round of 32, Inter would face Cluj, Lazio-Borussia Mönchengladbach and Napoli- Viktoria Plzen.
The big teams joined the Coppa Italia in the round of 16. The only surprising result was Napoli being knocked out by Bologna. Lazio only just made it, beating Siena on penalties.
Juventus 44, Lazio 36, Fiorentina 35, Inter 35, Napoli 34, Roma 32, Milan 27, Parma 26, Catania 25, Udinese 24, Atalanta 22*, Chievo 21, Torino 19*, Bologna 18, Sampdoria 17*, Pescara 17,Cagliari 16, Palermo 15, Genoa 14, Siena 11*
January
In the first four games of the year, Juventus lost a little bit of ground and Napoli went back to second place by winning all their matches. The Partenopei crushed Roma who later drew with Inter.
In the Coppa Italia quarter-finals, Inter, Roma, Lazio and Juventus eliminated Bologna, Fiorentina, Catania and Milan. All except Lazio won after extra time. The semi-finals, Roma-Inter and Juventus-Lazio were also played in January. Roma won the first leg 2-1 at home and the second 3-2 qualifying for the final where they would play Lazio who after drawing 1-1 in Turin beat Juventus at home 2-1 in injury time. It will be the first Roman derby in a final.
Juventus 49, Napoli 46, Lazio 43, Inter 40, Milan 37, Fiorentina 36, Catania 35, Roma 34, Udinese 33, Parma 31, Chievo 28, Torino 27*, Sampdoria 24*, Atalanta 23*, Bologna 22, Cagliari 21, Pescara 20, Genoa 18, Palermo 17, Siena 14*
February
After the four February games, Juventus now had a six point lead over Napoli despite losing to Roma. Lazio drew with the Partenopei, the Milan derby ended in a draw and now the Rossoneri were in a much better position. The Giallorossi sacked Zeman and substituted him with Aurelio Andreazzoli.
In the first leg of the Round of 16 Champions League, Milan beat Barcelona 2-0 at home and Juventus won 3-0 against Celtic away. Good chances for qualification for both teams. In Europa League Inter won at home against Cluj 2-0 and 3-0 away and were through to the Round of 16 as were Lazio who drew 3-3 with Borussia Mönchengladbach in Germany and won 2-0 at home. Napoli were eliminated by Viktoria Plzen having lost both legs. Lazio would face Stuttgart and Inter-Tottenham.
Juventus 58, Napoli 52, Lazio 47, Milan 45, Inter 44, Fiorentina 42, Catania 42, Roma 40, Udinese 37, Sampdoria 32*, Parma 32, Torino 31*, Cagliari 31, Bologna 29, Chievo 29, Atalanta 27*, Genoa 26, Siena 21*, Pescara 21, Palermo 17
March
Juventus extended their lead to nine points, drawing the clash in Naples 1-1 but beating Inter away. Lazio lost ground, losing to Milan. Behind Siena were just one point off safety, Pescara in deep trouble.
Milan were crushed in the second leg of the Champions League Round of 16 by Barcelona 4-0 and eliminated. Juventus won 2-0 against Celtic and qualified. They would play Bayern Munich in April.
Lazio eliminated Stuttgart in the Europa League Round of 16 winning both ties and would face Fenerbahce in the quarter-finals. Inter were eliminated by Tottenham on away goals after extra time.
Juventus 68, Napoli 59, Milan 57, Fiorentina 51, Lazio 50, Roma 47, Inter 47 (1), Catania 45, Udinese 42, Parma 38, Cagliari 38, Sampdoria 36* (1), Bologna 36, Torino 35*, Chievo 35, Atalanta 34*, Genoa 27, Siena 26*, Palermo 24, Pescara 21
(1) Inter and Sampdoria one game in hand
April
After the four April games, Juventus’ lead was now 11 points and the scudetto was virtually theirs. The Bianconeri beat Lazio, the Rossoneri and won the derby. Fiorentina and Milan would battle for third place, Inter and the Biancocelesti both collapsed. The Rome derby ended in a draw, as did Milan-Napoli. Behind, Palermo, Genoa and Siena were fighting to avoid relegation, Pescara were virtually in Serie B
In the Champions League Juventus lost both legs 2-0 and were eliminated by Bayern Munich. Lazio lost the first leg to Fenerbahce in Europa League 2-0 (terrible refereeing) and were unable to overcome the deficit in the return match.
Juventus 80, Napoli 69, Milan 62, Fiorentina 61, Roma 55, Udinese 54, Inter 53, Lazio 52, Catania 48, Cagliari 42, Bologna 40, Parma 40, Atalanta 39*, Chievo 39, Sampdoria 38*, Torino 36*, Palermo 32, Genoa 32, Siena 30*, Pescara 22
May
The final four games in May gave Juve their 29th title, followed by Napoli. Fiorentina lost at home to Roma giving Milan a four-point lead which was reduced to two with one game to go, but a win in Siena in the last game guaranteed a Champions League spot. Genoa beat Pescara and drew against Torino and Inter hence avoided relegation.
After Serie A finished there was the Coppa Italia final. Lazio beat Roma 1-0 to take the last Europa League place and have a place in history.
Juventus, Napoli and Milan qualified for the Champions League, Fiorentina, Udinese and Lazio for the Europa League.
Palermo, Siena and Pescara were relegated. Sassuolo, Verona and Livorno promoted to Serie A.
Edison Cavani was Serie A top scorer with 29 goals ahead of Antonio Di Natale (23).
Final table: Juventus 87, Napoli 78, Milan 72, Fiorentina 70, Udinese 66, Roma 62, Lazio 61, Catania 56, Inter 54, Parma 49, Cagliari 47, Chievo 45, Bologna 44, Sampdoria 42*, Atalanta 40*, Torino 39*, Genoa 38, Palermo 32, Siena 30*, Pescara 22
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