You could feel the tension in the air it was so tangible – and I am writing this some miles away from Milan, Parma and Lecce. For the penultimate weekend of the Serie A season had more permutations than any self-respecting SBOTOP writer could shake a stick at!
The Serie A 2025 highlights had actually all started on Friday night when Atalanta confirmed their place in the Champions League next season. Last season’s Europa League winners were 3-2 victors at Genoa and even had time to make history in the process.
Mateo Retegui was on target to secure the points away to his old club and that allowed him to consolidate his status as Capocannoniere (highest scorer in the top flight). His 25th goal of the campaign in Serie A broke the club record of 24 that had been set by Pippo Inzaghi in 1996-97. At the same time as he became the all-time Atalanta top scorer in a single Serie A season, he also became the first player since Alessandro Del Piero (Juventus in 2007-08) to have scored at least 10 goals with his left foot and 10 with his right in a single Serie A season. Ibrahim Sulemana and Daniel Maldini were his other team-mates on target on a night dedicated to celebration as Atalanta fought back twice against spirited opponents.
Of course, that game aside, Sunday night was where the spotlight was and a full programme of fixtures meant the Serie A 2025 betting odds were on almost as many tenterhooks as fans of clubs with prizes on the line: survival, European places and, in the case of Inter Milan and Napoli, a title race.
As far as the Nerazzurri was concerned, defeat for either them or Lazio in the San Siro would deal a potentially fatal blow to their respective ambitions. It would likely leave Inter out the title battle or Lazio vulnerable to falling out of the top-six picture entirely.
For Napoli, the picture was clear: win their final two games and a second Scudetto in three years was heading their way. Yet they had brought some unwelcome pressure upon themselves by slipping up at home to Genoa a week earlier to bring the title race to life. Against a Parma team fighting for their lives to avoid the drop, the tension would have been palpable on both sides.
Likewise in Milan, Inter had the advantage when Yann Bisseck gave them the lead on the stroke of half-time only to see his goal cancelled out by former Barcelona and Chelsea winger Pedro. With Napoli still stalemate in northern Italy, the pendulum swung once more when Denzel Dumfries restored the lead for the Champions League finalists with 11 minutes remaining.
There was still to be one more twist, though, and when a shot struck the arm of Bisseck as the clock reached 90 minutes, up stepped Pedro again to convert a penalty. In truth, the result did little to help either side as Lazio slipped to sixth place following victories for Juventus and Roma.
The damage is more telling for Inter though and the frustration was evident as respective managers Simone Inzaghi and Marco Baroni were sent off when tempers flared in the closing stages – they sat side-by-side from their new vantage point – before Marko Arnautovic was ruled offside after finding the back of the net for the hosts in stoppage time.
The upshot is, despite drawing their past two games, Napoli will win the Scudetto if they beat Cagliari on the final day. They will have to do so without manager Antonio Conte, who was also sent off during the closing stages in Parma. However, he will not care one jot if they succeed and he will no doubt raise a glass to Pedro, a player he managed at Chelsea, after his key contribution.
At the other end of the table, Venezia’s 3-0 defeat at Cagliari has left them on the brink of the drop and has allowed the Sardinians to secure survival with a game to spare.
Empoli have renewed life after a 3-1 win at already relegated Monza. The Tuscans went 1-0 down but scored three times in 10 second half minutes immediately after the break to jump to 31 points, the same as Lecce, who beat Torino 1-0 at home. It all now comes down to next Sunday afternoon and Empoli know they will have a real chance of safety if they can defeat Hellas Verona who, themselves, may be relegated with a loss.
Lecce need to win at Lazio to have any chance of survival, while Venezia must beat Champions League-chasing Juventus at home and hope other results go their way.
Parma, who travel to Atalanta, may also need a point to be certain of staying up.
The final word goes to Claudio Ranieri who was given an emotional send-off by Roma, who he came out of retirement to help in November when his beloved club were hovering just above the relegation zone.
A 3-1 victory over Milan, which confirms the Rossoneri will have no European football to look forward to next season, means he has taken the club from the capital to fifth spot in the standings, still with a chance of qualifying for the Champions League.
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