The Top 5 Stories of Serie A Round 38: Milan Euphoria, Napoli Heartbreak

AC Milan, Italian Football, Juventus, Napoli, Roma, Serie A, Serie A 2020-2021

Well, it wouldn’t be a Serie A season without a dramatic final-day. Napoli were – at least on paper – the favorites to seal a Top 4 spot, but a bottle job against Hellas Verona, allowed Juventus to complete a late resurgence, and book themselves a place in next season’s edition of the Champions League. Milan secured second spot with a crucial win over Atalanta, whilst Inter enjoyed their title celebrations after a 5-1 thrashing of Udinese. So here our Top 5 Stories for Serie A Round 38, which naturally is our last edition of the season.

Milan at Last!

There you have it, folks. Milan are finally back to their favorite competition. After leading the table for the majority of the campaign, missing out on Champions League football (again) would have been a disastrous outcome for Stefano Pioli’s men.

Nonetheless, the Rossoneri put on a solid shift against Atalanta, and were able to snatch second place from them thanks to two spot kicks from Franck Kessié.

Whilst their second half of the season was pretty underwhelming, their Top 4 finish remains fully-deserved, and one that will put a smile on the faces of nostalgia fans.

Life After Cristiano Ronaldo

Ahead of a crucial Round 38 encounter, resting the biggest footballing star in the world – who also happens to be the Serie A top goalscorer – sounds like a perfect plan, right?

Well, that’s exactly what Andrea Pirlo opted to do against Bologna, and hey, it absolutely worked!

Whilst the reasons behind benching Cristiano Ronaldo remain unclear, and whether or not Bologna were actually eager to put on a fight is also debatable, Juventus produced a big performance led by Paulo Dybala, Federico Chiesa and Alvaro Morata.

At the end of the day, the Old Lady dodged a bullet by securing 4th spot, and perhaps there really is a life after the eventual departure of the Portuguese megastar.

Only Themselves to Blame

This title sounds a little mean but, seriously, Napoli only have themselves to blame for their botched Champions League qualification.

It’s true that Hellas Verona decided to show up for some reason – perhaps unlike Bologna – but the Partenopei possess enough talent throughout their lines that should have secured them a decisive win at home.

Despite some late attempts, the southerners chose the wrong timing to have an off-night, and this ended up plaguing their entire campaign, which could have been much more successful.

Blessing or Curse

Thanks to Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s late 2-2 equalizer against Spezia in round 38, Roma will be the first Serie A club to participate in the newly established Europa Conference League – as if one lame continental competition wasn’t enough.

This practically means that José Mourinho’s stint at the club will begin with some qualifiers, and he’ll have to play some third-tier European fixtures throughout the season instead of focusing on developing his team during the week.

We’re not sure whether this new competition will be a blessing or a curse for the Special one, but he’ll have to take part in it all the same.

A Fun Ride

Well, covering the top stories from Serie A between round one and 38 has a been a big pleasure for us at the Cult of Calcio.

This season has been an extremely enjoyable ride, it was as fun as watching few drunkards fight at a bar (Disclaimer: we are by no means encouraging drunk bar fights).

Nonetheless, more quality is needed throughout the board, and hopefully we’ll begin to see some of it by next season, and witness our favorite Italian clubs go far in the European competitions (and we certainly don’t mean the Conference League).

Read More – Milan Want Brahim Diaz to Return While Mario Mandzukic Bids Farewell 

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