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Serie A Review: Three takeaways from a round full of surprises

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Matchday seven saw by far the biggest round of upsets this season, with Inter, Roma, Milan and Juventus all losing. There are also surprises in the standings, with Atalanta tied for first place and Udinese in third place.

By Matteo Bonetti, US Serie A expert

New low for Juventus

With Juventus now winless in their last five matches in all competitions, it seems the club has entered a new low. For the first time in their history, the Bianconeri lost their first two Champions League group stage matches. Even more disappointing is their current form in Serie A, where Juve drew against Salernitana last round and followed it up with another terrible performance against newly promoted Monza.

Once again, Juventus were completely outclassed by a team they should be easily taking care of – outshot and out-possessed even before losing Ángel Di María to a straight red card. Ironically, one of Monza’s starting midfielders is Bianconeri loanee Nicolo Rovella, who looked more than comfortable taking control of his new midfield. Juve has continued to back Allegri, saying that it’s a four year project that he’s working on. Whether or not this vote of confidence continues remains to be seen, as you figure things cannot possibly get any worse for a club with their expectations. This was opposition manager Raffaele Palladino’s first game in Serie A and he was able to beat Juventus – the team that has had Max Allegri at the helm for over fourteen months now. 

It’s hard to know which part of Juve’s game is the most troubling. Between lacking fitness, an identity or a coherent playing style, the club is an absolute mess at the moment. Just look at their midweek match against Benfica in the Champions League. The first twenty minutes were promising, then came a collapse where they could’ve conceded five goals if a bit more luck went the way of the Portuguese side. Sure, the excuse can be made that Juventus have injuries, but you need to compare the starting XI that Allegri still has at his disposal, to the one of Salernitana or Monza. There’s no excuse in the world that could justify those performances.

Atalanta’s best ever start

Every summer Atalanta is seemingly forgotten in the conversation about the top four. Apart from last season’s blip, they’ve been contending for a Champions League place since Gianpiero Gasperini took over the club in 2016 as manager and started this incredible run. Having no European competition midweek to bog them down has helped them fully focus on Serie A and getting themselves back into contention. It’s incredible when you consider Atalanta’s wage bill has usually been in the second half of the table. Their scouting department has been on a different stratosphere compared to most of the league. Atalanta’s reality is that they cannot go and buy the finished product from a top five European league, so most of their work has been in the smaller leagues that might not have as much attention placed on them by the state-owned superpower clubs. Take a look at some of their most important players – Teun Koopmeiners, who was in the voting for the August player of the month in Serie A, joined from AZ in the Dutch Eredivisie. Their big summer signing, the talented and promising Rasmus Højlund, came from Sturm Graz in Austria. 

This is a pattern you’ll see throughout the squad. Somehow, Atalanta have a knack for bringing over players that are ready to make the jump and actually raise their level once they get into the much tougher Serie A. Such a talented scouting network has allowed La Dea to sell the players that flourish and use that money to buy two or three new pieces who then go on to tenfold their value. Obviously it takes more than just buying the right players – the right system needs to be in place with a clear identity. That’s exactly what’s been happening with Gasperini, who is now the longest tenured manager in the league.

Atalanta have a distinct formation (3-4-3) that they don’t stray away from, with a style that can best be described as intense. They press very well and transition from attack to defence quickly. When they’re in possession, they can play vertically through their quick wide players and creative midfielders, or break you down with fast passing combinations. They’ve been one of the most aesthetically pleasing sides in the league, and this season they’re here to challenge for a top four spot.

Napoli’s personality

If there’s one thing we learned this weekend, it’s that Milan and Napoli are the two best teams in the league at the moment. The game at San Siro was proof of that. Luciano Spalletti’s side took a massive three points from Milan’s home ground in a closely contested game that could have gone the other way. Milan had better chances and missed some shots that they would normally put away, but had to deal with a Napoli side that once again showed plenty of personality. Luciano Spalletti’s done a brilliant job with a much younger and inexperienced team. They don’t seem to be intimidated by anyone – whether it’s Liverpool in the Champions League or the reigning Serie A champions from last season in a sold out San Siro. 

Napoli’s depth has been another strong point. Going from Andrea Petagna as Victor Osimhen’s backup to now two better options in Giacomo Raspadori and Giovanni Simeone, has proven to be the deciding factor once again. It was Simeone coming off the bench who was the catalyst for the winning goal, showing brilliant hold up play and then a world class glancing header to the back post that was impossible to save. The league’s player of the month in August, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was once again influential despite not having his best performance. The Georgian winger drew three yellow cards from nervous Milan defenders who man marked him throughout the entire game. This type of respect is rare to see for a 21 year old, but Rossoneri manager Stefano Pioli clearly had a plan to try and take Kvara out of the game with aggressive man marking. It was this type of defense that drew the penalty, as Sergino Dest (who had replaced the carded Calabria) put in a clumsy tackle inside the box on Kvaratskhelia.

Lastly, the midfield play has allowed Napoli fans to forget about the loss of their wonderful talent Fabián Ruiz. Zielinski has become one of the best midfielders in the league, while Zambo Anguissa is playing some of the most consistent football of his career as that box-to-box presence. The balance that Spalletti has been able to achieve with his midfield three has been deadly. Stanislav Lobotka sits as the holding midfielder and has been doing his best Marco Verratti impression, while Zielinski and Anguissa have done a terrific job of getting in between the lines and connecting with the front men.

I said last week I had Napoli as a dark horse pick for a Scudetto – one round later, they go and take three points from the defending champions in their home ground. Napoli’s first Scudetto since the days of Diego Maradona in 1992 might no longer be a pipe dream.

(Images from IMAGO)

You can follow every match from the 2022/23 Serie A season live with FotMob — featuring deep stats coverage including shot maps, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Serie A Review: Three takeaways from a round full of surprises

Matchday seven saw by far the biggest round of upsets this season, with Inter, Roma, Milan and Juventus all losing. There are also surprises in the standings, with Atalanta tied for first place and Udinese in third place.

By Matteo Bonetti, US Serie A expert

New low for Juventus

With Juventus now winless in their last five matches in all competitions, it seems the club has entered a new low. For the first time in their history, the Bianconeri lost their first two Champions League group stage matches. Even more disappointing is their current form in Serie A, where Juve drew against Salernitana last round and followed it up with another terrible performance against newly promoted Monza.

Once again, Juventus were completely outclassed by a team they should be easily taking care of – outshot and out-possessed even before losing Ángel Di María to a straight red card. Ironically, one of Monza’s starting midfielders is Bianconeri loanee Nicolo Rovella, who looked more than comfortable taking control of his new midfield. Juve has continued to back Allegri, saying that it’s a four year project that he’s working on. Whether or not this vote of confidence continues remains to be seen, as you figure things cannot possibly get any worse for a club with their expectations. This was opposition manager Raffaele Palladino’s first game in Serie A and he was able to beat Juventus – the team that has had Max Allegri at the helm for over fourteen months now. 

It’s hard to know which part of Juve’s game is the most troubling. Between lacking fitness, an identity or a coherent playing style, the club is an absolute mess at the moment. Just look at their midweek match against Benfica in the Champions League. The first twenty minutes were promising, then came a collapse where they could’ve conceded five goals if a bit more luck went the way of the Portuguese side. Sure, the excuse can be made that Juventus have injuries, but you need to compare the starting XI that Allegri still has at his disposal, to the one of Salernitana or Monza. There’s no excuse in the world that could justify those performances.

Atalanta’s best ever start

Every summer Atalanta is seemingly forgotten in the conversation about the top four. Apart from last season’s blip, they’ve been contending for a Champions League place since Gianpiero Gasperini took over the club in 2016 as manager and started this incredible run. Having no European competition midweek to bog them down has helped them fully focus on Serie A and getting themselves back into contention. It’s incredible when you consider Atalanta’s wage bill has usually been in the second half of the table. Their scouting department has been on a different stratosphere compared to most of the league. Atalanta’s reality is that they cannot go and buy the finished product from a top five European league, so most of their work has been in the smaller leagues that might not have as much attention placed on them by the state-owned superpower clubs. Take a look at some of their most important players – Teun Koopmeiners, who was in the voting for the August player of the month in Serie A, joined from AZ in the Dutch Eredivisie. Their big summer signing, the talented and promising Rasmus Højlund, came from Sturm Graz in Austria. 

This is a pattern you’ll see throughout the squad. Somehow, Atalanta have a knack for bringing over players that are ready to make the jump and actually raise their level once they get into the much tougher Serie A. Such a talented scouting network has allowed La Dea to sell the players that flourish and use that money to buy two or three new pieces who then go on to tenfold their value. Obviously it takes more than just buying the right players – the right system needs to be in place with a clear identity. That’s exactly what’s been happening with Gasperini, who is now the longest tenured manager in the league.

Atalanta have a distinct formation (3-4-3) that they don’t stray away from, with a style that can best be described as intense. They press very well and transition from attack to defence quickly. When they’re in possession, they can play vertically through their quick wide players and creative midfielders, or break you down with fast passing combinations. They’ve been one of the most aesthetically pleasing sides in the league, and this season they’re here to challenge for a top four spot.

Napoli’s personality

If there’s one thing we learned this weekend, it’s that Milan and Napoli are the two best teams in the league at the moment. The game at San Siro was proof of that. Luciano Spalletti’s side took a massive three points from Milan’s home ground in a closely contested game that could have gone the other way. Milan had better chances and missed some shots that they would normally put away, but had to deal with a Napoli side that once again showed plenty of personality. Luciano Spalletti’s done a brilliant job with a much younger and inexperienced team. They don’t seem to be intimidated by anyone – whether it’s Liverpool in the Champions League or the reigning Serie A champions from last season in a sold out San Siro. 

Napoli’s depth has been another strong point. Going from Andrea Petagna as Victor Osimhen’s backup to now two better options in Giacomo Raspadori and Giovanni Simeone, has proven to be the deciding factor once again. It was Simeone coming off the bench who was the catalyst for the winning goal, showing brilliant hold up play and then a world class glancing header to the back post that was impossible to save. The league’s player of the month in August, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was once again influential despite not having his best performance. The Georgian winger drew three yellow cards from nervous Milan defenders who man marked him throughout the entire game. This type of respect is rare to see for a 21 year old, but Rossoneri manager Stefano Pioli clearly had a plan to try and take Kvara out of the game with aggressive man marking. It was this type of defense that drew the penalty, as Sergino Dest (who had replaced the carded Calabria) put in a clumsy tackle inside the box on Kvaratskhelia.

Lastly, the midfield play has allowed Napoli fans to forget about the loss of their wonderful talent Fabián Ruiz. Zielinski has become one of the best midfielders in the league, while Zambo Anguissa is playing some of the most consistent football of his career as that box-to-box presence. The balance that Spalletti has been able to achieve with his midfield three has been deadly. Stanislav Lobotka sits as the holding midfielder and has been doing his best Marco Verratti impression, while Zielinski and Anguissa have done a terrific job of getting in between the lines and connecting with the front men.

I said last week I had Napoli as a dark horse pick for a Scudetto – one round later, they go and take three points from the defending champions in their home ground. Napoli’s first Scudetto since the days of Diego Maradona in 1992 might no longer be a pipe dream.

(Images from IMAGO)

You can follow every match from the 2022/23 Serie A season live with FotMob — featuring deep stats coverage including shot maps, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.