On the back of a wonderful season that kept us on the edge of our seats until its very last breath, we can only thank the Calcio gods for their great gifts. At the end of the day, it was Zlatan Ibrahimovic and company who celebrated with cigars and champagne as they lifted Milan’s 19th Scudetto title, while their crosstown rivals Inter were left to rue their missed opportunities earlier in the season. Elsewhere in the table, Fiorentina secured a long-awaited European return by landing 7th at the expense of Atalanta, while Cagliari failded to pounce on Salernitana’s heavy defeat to Udinese, as they take the heartbreaking fall to Serie B alongside Genoa and Venezia. So here are our tops and flops from Serie A Round 38.
Top (Player): Rafael Leao
Even though round 38 saw a host of fine displays by several Serie A stars who were adamant to sign off on a high note, one stood ahead of their rest. At the Mapei Stadium, Rafael Leao was simply unplayable.
The Portuguese only needed 36 minutes to put the match to bed with a hattrick of assists, allowing Olivier Giroud to score a personal brace and Franck Kessié to find the back of the net on his Milan swansong.
But more importantly, the former Lille striker managed to put his stamp on a match that will go down in history, as the Rossoneri lifted their first league title in 11 long years.
Leao has been the main driving force in the team’s last stretch, and it was only fitting that he crowns himself as the star of the season with one last brilliant display.
Top (Goalkeeper): Guglielmo Vicario
Although we don’t always mention the best goalkeeper of the round, Guglielmo Vicario is forcing us to add this category for the second week in a row.
After his stunning performance against Salernitana last week, the Empoli goalkeeper grabbed himself one last happy souvenir from what has been a superb campaign on a personal level by denying Duvan Zapata and the rest of the Atalanta bunch a spot in Europe with an incredibly hard-earned clean sheet.
Flop (Manager): Massimiliano Allegri
Speaking of Atalanta, their European chances were already doomed before stepping a foot on the pitch in round 38. La Dea had to beat Empoli and rely on Juventus to derail Fiorentina’s charge.
Nonetheless, Massimiliano Allegri and his men never intended to play football on Saturday as they took a beating a the hands of their Tuscan rivals. Now surely Juventus had already secured a top four finish, but their performances in the last three rounds have been shambolic for a club that totally ruled Italian football not so long ago.
Top (Manager): Stefano Pioli
On Sunday, Milan only needed a single point to be crowned champions in Sassuolo. While another manager would have adopted a cautious approach and concentrated on avoiding defeat, Stefano Pioli decided to grasp the match by its neck, leaving no room for doubt.
It was obvious from the get-go that the Rossoneri were adamant on finishing their business early on, and that is exactly how it unfolded, and the vastly popular tactician was already celebrating with the fans late in the second half.
Flop (Team): Atalanta
Even though their result didn’t matter at the end of the day, but Atalanta should have beaten an Empoli side that had little to play for in round 38, but instead, they succumbed to a shocking 0-1 defeat which saw them finishing 8th in the Serie A standings.
It has been an underwhelming season for the Orobici in general, and it remains to be seen if it will signal the end of their fairytale story.
Top (Team): Udinese
Kudos to Udinese who showed up at Salerno and displayed their best football despite not being involved in any meaningful battle. The Zebrette almost ruined Salernitana’s celebrations as they scored four unanswered goals, with fine displays from the likes of Gerard Deulofeu, Roberto Pereyra and the young Destiny Udogie.
Flop (Fans): Spezia and Napoli
Despite the fact that the match had little implications for either side, Spezia and Napoli supporters decided to have a go in the middle of the first half, halting the action on the pitch for more than ten minutes.
This is the type of scenes that we hope to avoid in the future.
Top (Fans): Genoa
On the other hand, we must pay homage for Genoa fans who stood by their side at the final whistle in spite of relegation.
As the oldest club in Italian football’s history, the Grifone and their solid band of supporters will surely be missed next season.
#Blessin e #Zangrillo parlano ai tifosi del #Genoa https://t.co/FLdbiEQy74
— Gianluca Di Marzio (@DiMarzio) May 21, 2022