In his Club Dago column, Gaetano D’Agostino breaks down the final matchday of Serie A: 90 decisive minutes in the title race between Napoli and Inter—but that’s not the only storyline.
Tonight’s Napoli-Cagliari game brings back memories of Roma-Parma on June 17, 2001: one team fighting for a historic Scudetto in 90 minutes, the other with nothing left to play for.
Yes, it reminds me of that too. Still, Napoli has to approach the game with focus. They must stay concentrated, but I firmly believe this is too good of a chance for Conte and his players to let slip. It would be a huge achievement because, looking at the quality and depth of Napoli’s squad—just think about the last ten matches—Conte has even adapted Spinazzola as an attacking winger.
In the last three games, Lobotka tried to play but didn’t make it, and Gilmour isn’t Lobotka. I’ve seen the left back playing as a center back because both Juan Jesus and Buongiorno are out. For me, Napoli is a very good team, but not a top-tier one, and the fact they’re in the Scudetto race is thanks to Conte’s mentality and the structure he brought. I wouldn’t call it a legendary feat, but it’s definitely a significant one.
As for the Champions League race, Juventus controls its own fate—but they have to win in Venice…
I think Juve will struggle against Venezia: they are clearly the stronger side, but Venezia is fighting for their lives—sportingly speaking—and Juve will have a hard time.
Statistically, even when Venezia has lost at home, they’ve kept it close, even against the top clubs. So it’s going to be a tough match. It could have a happy ending not only for Venezia but also for Roma. The Giallorossi absolutely have to win to leave no stone unturned and to avoid regrets.
But Torino is a tricky opponent: they have nothing to lose, and they haven’t really been a factor this season (aside from the beginning, when they briefly led the standings before settling into a normal season). That said, Torino has a never-give-up DNA, so that’ll be a tough match too—just like Lazio vs Lecce will be, because Lecce is playing for survival.
Both are strange games, but Torino-Roma is the strangest and most unpredictable in terms of how it’ll play out and what the result will be.
Lecce-Lazio is straightforward. Lazio must win, and Lecce needs points to stay up—fair enough, right? But Torino-Roma is the one where Roma has everything to lose, and Torino has nothing to play for, though they’ll want to finish strong at home.
I think Roma can beat Torino in the end, but Torino won’t make it easy.
Empoli-Verona is a straight head-to-head survival clash. I see it as an unpredictable match, possibly influenced by results coming in from elsewhere. Verona only needs a point to stay up, but one point may not be enough for Empoli.
I imagine a game where more attention is on the sidelines with radios than on the pitch itself.
Absolutely. It’s a direct showdown, a true relegation battle.
Three rounds ago, I thought Verona was safe, but here they are still fighting until the very last second. Empoli-Verona is the most “real” game—it’s basically a play-out final. Win or go down.
Of course, Verona can still hope for other teams to slip up, but Empoli absolutely has to win. This is the most compelling match in the fight to avoid relegation.
