[The Epoch Times, Ionawr 31, 2023](Comprehensive report by Epoch Times reporter Li Rongshi) Last weekend, the 20th round of the Serie A competition was held. “Leader” Napoli beat Roma 2:1 at home, beat Inter Milan by 13 points, and led the standings. Juventus, who were deducted 15 points due to fraudulent accounts, were demoralized, and they were defeated by the “promoted” Monza 0:2 at home.
Napoli sit at home against Roma this round. In the first half, Osmeen stopped the ball with his chest in front of the goal and managed to stab, opening the scoring for Napoli. In the second half, Shalawi, who came off the bench, scored the goal and leveled Roma’s score. Before the end of the game, Simeone, who came off the bench, kicked a goal in the penalty area and completed the legend. In the end, Napoli beat Rome 2:1 at home.
After this round, Napoli has 20 games, 17 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss, with 53 points, leading second place Inter Milan by as many as 13 points. This is the biggest points difference between the top two after 20 rounds since Serie A joined the three-point system in the 1994-1995 season. Under Spalletti’s careful tutelage, Napoli have now become the best offensive and defensive team in the Apennine Peninsula. Judging from the current state and momentum of the team, Napoli has won the third Serie A championship in the team’s history this season after 33 years. Not many people will doubt it.
At the moment, in the top five positions in the European league, Napoli has the biggest lead at the top. In the Premier League, leaders Arsenal lead defending champions Manchester City by 5 points; in La Liga, the “leader” Barcelona leads second place Real Madrid by 5 points; Paris Saint-Germain leads with only 3 points. You can see how huge Napoli’s lead is in Serie A.
The “top four” left three seats and five teams competing
At the start of the season, Inter Milan, the favorite for the championship, saw Napoli ahead, and now they can only compete for Champions League qualification next season. In this round, Inter Milan went to the away game against the “Deputy Leader of the Squad” Cremona, and in the end he overturned the opponent 2:1, avoiding losing points on the underdog again. After this round, Inter Milan were second with 40 points in 20 games.
The defending champion AC Milan was upset at home this round and lost to the relegated team Sassuolo 2:5. The position dropped from second to fifth and dropped out of the Champions League. Lazio also came into opposition at home and were tied 1:1 by “mid-range” side Fiorentina, ending their three-game winning streak in all competitions. Atalanta beat penultimate Sampdoria 2-0 at home.
After this round, Lazio, Atlanta and AC Milan have 11 wins, 5 draws and 4 losses, accumulating 38 points, but due to different goal difference, they are third to fifth in the standings. He lost this round to the main team Roma and came sixth with 37 points. Mourinho’s side still have high hopes of “fighting for four”.
Juventus suffered a double slaughter by “elevated horses”
Due to the investigation of fraudulent accounts, the board of directors of Juventus jointly resigned. The team’s points this season were also deducted by the Italian Football Association by 15 points, leaving only 23 points and falling to the middle of the standings. This round, Juventus sit in the Allianz Stadium to face the “promoted” Monza. The two teams met in the first round of this season. Monza defeated the “Old Lady” 1:0 at home and won the first Serie A victory in the history of the team.
In this game, Caprari scored and was disallowed for offside; after that, Churia opened the scoring for Monza. Following that, Dani Motta took another win to seal the victory for the “hybu”. In the end, Juventus lost 0:2 at home and was “killed twice” by Monza this season, and at the same time, they also endured three league rounds without a win.
Throughout the match Juventus morale was low, except for Di Maria, many people were out of shape, four of whom missed the score after the match. In the whole game, Juventus’ ball possession rate was not as good as the “elevated horse”, only 45.6%; There were 22 shots, 8 on target, and no goals were scored. In contrast, Monza were extremely efficient. Although there were only 3 shots, all of them hit the frame of the goal and scored 2 goals.
After this round, Juventus has 23 points, 13th place, 15 points away from fourth-placed Atlanta, and 14 points behind sixth-placed Rome. Judging from the current situation of Juventus, the “old lady” wants to enter the European arena next season, and the situation is not optimistic.
Responsible editor: Zheng Huang#
