As we reach the halfway mark of the Serie A season, Outside90’s Joshua Scarcella breaks down the biggest talking points to come out of matchday 19.
Away teams rule the round
Home ground advantage is something that has bearing on nearly every discussion, whether it be a regular season match, two-leg cup tie, the Champions League final or ever the World Cup. Playing at home was definitely not an advantage if the game in the Serie A over the past weekend though, as eight out of the 10 matches resulted in the travelling team taking all three points.
The feat equals the record set during the 20-team Serie A era on matchday 36 of the 2012-13 season and gives the league table a huge shake up in the process.
Lorenzo Pasciuti sets a national competition record
Those who manage to play their way through a promotion campaign are a rare commodity for any club, let alone a name who has the ability to compete through all five tiers of the professional system.
Lorenzo Pasciuti can place himself in that category though, to the delight at the board of Carpi and this weekend he was able to get a personal reward during the clubs third win of the season against Udinese. The midfielder became the first player to score in every tier of Italian football for a single club, a worthy reward for the loyalty he has shown to the Biancorossi.
1 – Lorenzo Pasciuti has now scored for Carpi in all categories, from Serie D to Serie A.Fidelity.
— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) January 9, 2016
Roma drop more points
Both Roma and Milan headed to the Stadio Olimpico in poor form and in desperate need of a win to assure fans their club was still a chance for silverware in 2016. The home fans were in raptures after just four minutes, however, this was the only joy they were to experience for the day.
Despite being undefeated in 34 out of their last 38 matches in Rome, the Giallorossi are the proud owners of a more worrying statistic that will not please Rudi Garcia, only managing to collect 11 points out of 27 in their last nine matches. The result sees them drop from first to fifth on the table, and seven points behind the top.
The board have shown an immense amount of faith in Rudi Garcia, yet after a long run of poor results both in Italy and Europe, his days Roma can only be numbered.
Sassuolo success at San Siro
Another week of unexpected results came from the Serie A as three of the top five all received unwanted results, this was especially surprising to I Neroverde.
Their match was filled with amazing goal scoring opportunities and equally amazing saves from Sami Handanovic and Andrea Consigli, who kept their respective sides in the match. A last minute penalty converted by Domenico Berardi gave Sassuolo their first win at the San Siro against Inter Milan and considering their current ladder position of sixth, a much welcomed one.
It is Sassuolo’s third season in the top flight and based on their current form, there can only be more records to tumble in the future with European football on the horizon.
Napoli become winter champions
The omen for being positioned atop of the Serie A table at the halfway point of the season is one welcomed by any club, as the switch to a 20-team competition in 2004-05 has guaranteed the winter champions go onto winning the Scudetto title.
Only once since the legendary Diego Maradona lead I Partenopei to glory in 1989-90 has Napoli reached the summit of the Serie A table, which happened to be on the first day of December in 2015 and with the team scoring at least two goals in 12 of their last 14 home matches, it is difficult to see them slowing down.
It is time to pencil in the 14th of February, where a rampaging Juventus could be the only team to mount a challenge against Maurizio Sarri’s men.
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Juventus make it nine
I Bianconeri began the current campaign with their worst ever start in any Italian national competition since it entered back in 1900, one point from three matches and lamenting in 16th position.
It seems like a million years ago since that point in time. With Massimiliano Allegri’s men collecting all 27 points on offer from their last nine matches, the challenge is mounting for the team to overcome the current winning record of 13 straight set only last season.
Juventus now find themselves in second position on the table and only two points behind Napoli. As the two clubs have European commitments commencing at the end of February, the next seven weeks are crucial for the Turin giants to not only continue their winning streak, but also keep the pressure on their Napoletano rivals.
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