Topic: Italian League Prediction Thread (Serie A) - page 506. (Read 848044 times)

After Luciano Spalletti left Napoli they could never get back to the good form we saw from them before and they totally failed in the games during this season. Even the superstar players they had like Osimhen couldn't help Napoli to have a better performance and they still failed to find a replacement for Luciano Spalletti.
You saw even in the last summer Osimhen had many offers that were not just because of the performance of this player but that was because of the good teamwork they had and Osimhen was just a part of the plan.
While during this season he couldn't have a good performance anymore and it seems Osimhen is even about to leave Napoli if they have the same bad performance they had during this season.

Salernitana played carefree in today's match which I think is a good condition where they don't really care about the result which makes them free to do whatever they want in the 90 minutes of the match but it backfired on Milan.

Indeed, today's match did not have any impact on the two clubs because Milan remained the same as being in the Champions League zone next season and Salernitana could not improve their situation by remaining in the relegation zone but indeed with the results shown by Salernitana this season at least we understand how serious Salernitana showed in the match.

Their defense is still very weak in this case but indeed the positive thing they show is the unyielding spirit that makes the last 5 minutes for this match more interesting to watch.

The end of the season in football often brings a mix of anticipation. While some clubs secure their positions early on and sometimes choose to ease off in their final matches, others are still fighting hard for every little point that they can grasp. This creates a fascinating atmosphere where outcomes can be influenced by the mindset and strategy of the teams involved. Thiago Motta's approach with Bologna shows this, where despite their secure position, the need to increase performance to maintain their place in the top 5 is essential.
 
 The significance of the top 5 clubs in Serie A securing Champions League qualification is not lost, especially as new teams like Bologna and Atalanta promise to inject fresh energy into the competition. However, it's essential to acknowledge the aspirations of clubs like Roma, who may be out of the running for a top 5 spot but continue to strive for excellence. While the current point difference might seem unchangeable, it's these final matches that often define a team's character and set the path for future campaigns.

 Looking ahead, there's an expectation for Serie A representatives to step up their performance in the Champions League. While Napoli, Lazio, Milan, and Inter Milan may have fallen short this season, there's optimism for improvement in the coming campaigns. As the European football continues to evolve immensely, Serie A clubs have an opportunity to showcase their talent and challenge the traditional powerhouses for continental glory. With each season bringing new challenges, the stage is set for Italian football to make its mark on the greatest European contests.


 

Milan vs Salernitana ended in a draw.
This time, quite disappointed with Milan. How is it possible that they can only draw from the bottom club in the standings? Yes, even though they are not chasing any more points, but as a close season match, the result should be good, especially against the lowest clubs. It's quite embarrassing to see the results, Milan could concede 3 goals even though they were ahead, very superior. Are Milan too underestimated or did they actually give Salernitana a draw? Because Salernitana is not that good either. only, Milan played pretty bad.

But never mind. Milan is essentially still in second place even though the final result of this match was disappointing. And on the other hand, Salernitana remains in the relegation zone.

No one expected them to lose form in this manner to the of not being among the 4 best teams this season in the league after having a very good season with decent performance Nd goal scoring records but coming to this season with same players they have been a total mess starting from the beginning of the season and they lost the confidence, the winning mentality and they are no longer feared by other teams when ever they play, the season is almost over as Inter Milan are champions already i think from the rumors Napoli is already making negotiation to get a new coach because they aren't getting better next season if they don't go back to the drawing board and wo3k on the teams performance, they were the best last season but right now they are no where to be found among the best teams this season they better get a new manager or risk being relegated next season.

 I just don't get how towards the tail end of the season or even on the last day of the season as today's case was, small teams become very hard to beat. In the case of AC Milan, I wonder how they managed to end up drawing with a relegation bound team like Salernitana. Is it because they have secured their spot in the champions league for next season that's why they played so poorly or was it a case of underestimation? I really don't get. In the first half, they scored two comfortable goals and were making all the moves and pressing their opponents but it's as if they just relaxed and felt all is well.
 For Salernitana, it doesn't matter if they held Milan to a draw or not, they are still going to Serie B and I wonder why they had to wait till this time to become serious because if this performance had been in mid season, they would have had a chance at remaining but I guess there's no room for less than average performers in Serie A.

Napoli fans still really want to see Napoli progress next season with better dominance. Because this season, Napoli will only be able to finish the season in the top ten or try for ninth position, which will not take Napoli anywhere other than staying in Serie A. And actually I also really want to see Napoli become even better next season in order to create more difficult competition among other great teams so that they can continue to make Serie A even more exciting in the race for the Scudetto title.

Antonio Conte at Napoli is intriguing. Conte wins and fights, and Napoli has that passion too. This is a big but—we know how Napoli works. They can be unpredictable, right? Note Carlo Ancelotti's fate. They fired a great manager. Conte, he's not seeking for any normal job. He wants an ambitious club that shares his view of the game. Sometimes Napoli's ambition is unclear. Thus, slow progress is expected. There may be some hesitancy on both sides. I know how to win, but if De Laurentiis is sincere and ready to back Conte, it changes everything. Napoli may face a fresh challenge. They could resume dominance soon. That would be special, buddies. Wouldnt you like to see it

The match between Milan and Fiorentina is on the half time, and it was aan easy and fruitful first half for Milan which they were able to score two goals within 5 minutes on the 22nd minutes. The first goal was scored by Rafael Leao and the second was a world class goal from Girond, after he received a corner kick cross.

I don't think that the visitors will be able to retaliate back in the second half, because it is obvious that they will not be able to share points with Milan due to their poor performance this season, that made them to be in the relegation zone. The second half will son begin and I hope to see more goals from the host.

Juventus host Monza at home. Juventus ended the season with a win at home. For a while they were neck and neck with Inter, but the events of the season took them out of the race.
In the other match of the day, Milan host Salernitana at home. Salernitana were already a relegation team and for Milan this match won't matter much. This match will be a formality. Milan winning will be the normal thing.

Currently Serie A does have 6 teams that have the potential to be able to play in the Champions League next season after Atlanta won the Coppa Italia, because after Serie A excelled in the value of the UEFA coefficient, they automatically get 5 teams to be able to play in the Champions League next season, while 1 more team is of course the result of Atlanta struggle to win the Europa League and get Champions League tickets through the Europa League champion route this season,  Since Atlanta currently has one Champions League ticket through the Europa League champion, automatically 1 more ticket will be distributed to teams in rank 6 at the end of the season.

But after I read some news related to the Serie A champions league ticket allotment next season, of course there are still conditions that must be met by Serie A to be able to send 6 teams to the champions league next season, after Bologna failed to win against Genoa in their last match, automatically at this time making the chances of Serie A sending 6 teams to the champions league next season can disappear,  Because Atlanta which is under Bologna still has 2 matches and has the potential to rise to a better rank than Bologna, because if that happens then automatically the chance of Serie A sending 6 teams to the Champions League will be forfeited, because Atalanta (who won the Europa League and are entitled to qualify automatically for the Champions League as favorites) must finish outside the top four or rank 5 in order to be able to provide Champions League ticket berth through the rank in the standings to Roma in Rank 6.

Yeah normally it is 4 teams but this season Serie A has one more spot for the Champions League.   The thing is, the Champions League format is changing by next season you know. And there are going to be 36 teams instead of 32. Those extra spots are given to some leagues already and the Serie A is one of them just like the Bundesliga also is.

There is still a chance for Roma to qualify for the Champions League which means a 6-team qualification by Italy. But to do so, Atalanta have to remain at the 5th position. If it is higher than that then they won't be able to transfer the extra spot to Roma.  

The setback shown by Napoli is quite disappointing because it is a significant setback, considering that they were champions last season, but this season they have not shown that they are a team that holds the status of defending champions. This is clearly something bad, because they are not even competing for the Champions League zone. I hope at the start that they can still provide competition in Serie A, but I can't see that.

Next season they have to evaluate everything, they have to find the reasons why they play like this season, both from the coach and from the players. Because actually the composition of the players they have is not much different, but for some reason they can't implement something that we saw last season. If they want to bring in a new coach, then they have to consider it as best as possible, lest the coach they appoint can't make a difference for them.

So wait, does Italy have 5 clubs or 6 clubs that will go to champions league next season? Normally it is 4 teams, but because Juventus won and they are at top four, that means they are going to send 5th to the champions league as well, and since 5th is Atalanta currently and they won Europa league so they are going automatically, does that mean 6th is also going? If that's the case, that's wild man, it is very rare that we see 6 clubs from same nation to go to UCL all at the same time, very rare.

In the event that Italian clubs keep growing like this, like three finalists last year, one winner this year, they are on the way to become better and better. La Liga and Premier league are top two comfortably, but Serie A is getting closer by the season.

Actually its not problem for Bologna indeed have poor result in last several matches because have been success qualifying to Champion League next season, Bologna has opportunity decreasing their position to 5th standing place if Atalanta win two matches left and currently their position dropping to 4th place has difference goals with Juventus. In last four matches, Bologna only get winning one match, two being draw and one loss with bad result for this season match after defeating by Genoa.

Bologna must perform well for next season because will participants in Champion League with new format and has many matches than old Champion League format. Its will make Bologna more busy than usually team participants in Champion League and management must prepare team as well possibility keep consistency in domestic league but not have poor performance in Champion League match. Season 2023/24 have been over and Bologna for the first time since 41 years ago success securing the Champion League spot standings for this season.

At this point, I think the downfall of Napoli is something that has to be studied. I have not seen any club having such a downfall in recent times. They are about to finish at mid-table right after the season that they were able to win the Serie A title. That is definitely not a good look for them.

I also believe that the good players that they have right now are not going to stay with the club. Because the club is simply not a very good Future for the players. I am pretty sure that the players also know that it is probably not going to be possible for the club to replicate the success that they had in the last season in the recent future.

So of course the good players are going to leave. we all know that a lot of clubs do have the level of money to offer which Napoli will be unable to refuse. So I think the next season might not be any better for them. They might finish a little higher compared to what they will do in this season. But that doesn’t mean direct improvement in my opinion.

Bologna doesn't seem to be in good shape because they only won one of their last five matches so they don't seem to be in good shape, it's normal for teams if at the end of the season they're not very consistent so losing is not strange for me, Genoa too not in a good position but they managed to overcome Bologna's game and playing at home of course Genoa didn't want to disappoint the fans who supported them during the match. Bologna did not manage to get out of the pressure so two goals were scored in their goal.

This is clearly detrimental to them, it could be that their position is shifted, but it looks like they will still be successful in getting a UCL ticket next season because they are still in a position in the top five and there are still additional spots to enter the UCL. I think Bologna should be able to prepare themselves for the UCL next season. because the competition will be very tight to be able to play in the UCL, I think Bologna should be able to get good players to fill in several lines and strengthen Bologna to play next season as well as in the UCL.

The coach and management have got a really big part of the blame to share in the reason Napoli got such fall and have been unable to get an close to been able to probably get back on their feet as the winners of the league title last season, initial they did started off the season well and were amongst top teams in the Italian league untill there were internal crises in the team which came up almost mid season.

Napoli not been able to resolve the issues since then had resulted in them having series of struggles amongst players and ability to winning games enough to get them back to top position as they have done last season and we're crowned the league title winners, they had their key player at some point leaving to play for his national team in the AFCON and in that period they had some set back and weren't even able to have proper victory in their games but then they have been able to gett to qualify for the next Europa even if they didn't get to make it to the champions league.

It's actually really disappointing if they couldn't defend the title again, they would have tried to at least get to qualify for the champions league by next season and we could say that's a  fair finish for the champions of the league who were in the last season the winners but it's really sad how the struggled with getting to even qualify for Europa next season as the best they could achieve this season.

It's going to be interesting if, for example, Atalanta don't finish in the Champions League zone this season. But with Atalanta winning the Europa League trophy, it would have automatically resulted Atalanta a Champions League ticket and if that had happened, Serie A would have had six teams playing in the Champions League next season. But unfortunately, because Atalanta also managed to finish in the Champions League zone, then the reality is that Serie A will still have five teams to play in the Champions League next season. But ofcourse, Atalanta also had impressive results this season although not as good as Bayer Leverkusen who were unbeaten throughout the season in the domestic league. But anyway,  in the end Atalanta were able to beat Bayer Leverkusen and not only that, because Atalanta also managed to win with a bigscore and also a clean sheet and it became even more impressive for Atalanta.

Unfortunately, maybe we won't be able to see Thiago Motta manage Bologna again next season considering he is so close to Juventus at the moment. I think it would be quite a shame if Thiago Motta really left Bologna and joined Juventus. Even though I want to see him stay longer with Bologna, especially since this is the first time he has brought Bologna to the big stage of the Champions League.

But I hope whoever replaces Bologna, I hope he is the right person considering that this team has just shown its teeth this season. Their journey must continue and not suffer the same fate as Napoli, which was left behind by Spalleti.