The 2021/22 Serie A season may not be remembered as vintage but it proved as compelling as any Italian top flight campaign in the past decade.
A slight reduction in standards at the top made for a closer title race, while the bid to beat the drop went down to the final seconds and the bizarre sight of virtually everyone on the Salernitana bench looking at their phones rather than the contest in front of them is one that will live long in the memory.
Back in the top flight after an absence of 23 years, they managed to hold on at the expense of Cagliari who bowed out after seven successive seasons.
Of course, at both the top and bottom, Serie A highlights meant plenty of surprises and disappointments along the way.
At the start of the season, I tipped Juventus to win back the title they had relinquished to Inter Milan, especially with Max Allegri again at the helm.
The fact Cristiano Ronaldo left one game in hardly helped the Turin giants but the fact they were so far adrift in the final standings – despite an improved second half of the season – suggests even Ronaldo may have been hard pushed to help the class of 2022.
If Juve’s inconsistent form was a surprise for this SBOTOP observer, then so was the identity of the eventual champions.
AC Milan certainly defied many of the Serie A betting odds in what emerged as a straight fight between Milan’s finest.
Could Inter retain the Serie A title against the odds and clinch a league and cup double, something which seemed highly unlikely following key departures last summer, or would Milan dream and win the Scudetto for the first time in over a decade?
Ultimately, it was the latter on the final day as a hat-trick of Rafael Leao assists for Olivier Giroud’s brace and Franck Kessie ensured Milan had their first Serie A title since 2011.
While his Inter compatriot Simone Inzaghi can also be satisfied with his maiden season in charge at the San Siro – runners-up in the league and Coppa Italia winners – the decisive moment came a month ago at Bologna and was a setback from which they could not recover as their city rivals were handed the initiative.
If Milan and Leao were wonderful surprises, there were also genuine disappointments.
It may seem harsh to include Napoli in that category but, while Luciano Spalletti accomplished the primary objective of top four football, there was a ‘what if’ thought that Napoli could have finally had their hands on the Scudetto but for defeats to Empoli (twice), Spezia, and Fiorentina.
After winning 10 of their first 11 league games and triumphing at Milan before Christmas, was this a wasted opportunity?
Likewise, AS Roma.
The club from the capital certainly didn’t receive the immediate boost it expected when Jose Mourinho replaced Paulo Fonseca last summer and their two draws against Napoli were as good as it got in clashes with the league’s big boys as they lost every other encounter – the home defeat to Juventus a particularly low moment.
On that occasion, they were leading 3-1 with 20 minutes remaining – and seven minutes later were 4-3 down. Their misery was compounded by Lorenzo Pellegrini’s late penalty miss.
However, the club from the Eternal City still have something to build on, coupled with their victory in the inaugural Europa Conference Final.
Other surprises for me were Fiorentina with Vicenzo Italiano’s maiden season in Florence overseeing the elevation from a relegation battle to the top seven, despite losing Dusan Vlahovic mid-season.
While surprised Atalanta encountered their lowest league finish since 2016, I would not class them as disappointing given they have constantly punched above their weight during five years in the limelight.
The final word goes back to Salernitana who pulled off an escape act which seemed unlikely when they had just 11 points at the halfway stage.
They were though only five points from safety and, in Davide Nicola, had a master of survival. His confidence in what he wanted to do with the team took almost a month to bed in, but he was strong willed, trusted in his beliefs and stuck to the task at hand. The former defender actually played with an attacking style that entertained the fans even though they were struggling against relegation.
A triumph against the odds.
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