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A Serie A season ending with a title win for Juventus has become the norm now. In 2019-20, the Old Lady from Turin won the Serie A title for the ninth time in a row. They were challenged by the likes of Inter Milan, Atalanta and Lazio but in the end, the Bianconeri proved too strong.
Cristiano Ronaldo enjoyed another fine season, scoring 31 Serie A goals, but that wasn’t enough for him to win the Golden Boot. The Portuguese superstar lost out to Lazio’s Ciro Immobile, whose record 36 goals gave him his third Capocannoniere award.
Two of the three promoted Serie A sides – Lecce and Brescia - returned straight back to Serie B and were joined by SPAL whose three-year stint in the Italian top division came to an end this season.
In this article, we review the 2019-20 Serie A season, comparing teams’ performances and standings from the previous season to find out the three most improved and declined teams.
Also read: Premier League 2019-20 review: The most improved and declined teams of the season.
Three most improved and declined teams in the 2019-20 Serie A season:
#1A: Improved – Inter Milan
2019-20 Serie A Standing - 2nd (82 points).
2018-19 Serie A Standing - 4th (69 points).
Giants of Italian football, Inter Milan and Antonio Conte enjoyed a step in the right direction. Their Serie A campaign could get even better if they manage to lift the Europa League trophy.
Inter achieved their highest points total (82) since Jose Mourinho’s treble-winning 2009-10 season, finishing just a point behind champions Juventus. The one-point gap at the top was more due to Juventus’ lack of focus towards the end, picking up just eight points from their last eight games, yet it was a season of improvement for the Nerazzurri.
Champions League qualification was much smoother for Inter Milan this season, as they picked up 13 more points and scored 24 more goals than they did last season.
The attacking partnership between Lautaro Martinez and Romelu Lukaku worked like a treat, with the latter banging in 23 goals, finishing only behind Ciro Immobile and Cristiano Ronaldo in the season's Serie A scoring charts.
With a strong defensive backbone and a good attacking frontline, Conte’s men can genuinely challenge Juventus next season.
#1B: Declined – Napoli
2019-20 Serie A Standing - 7th (62 points).
2018-19 Serie A Standing - 2nd (79 points).
Much was expected of Napoli and Carlo Ancelotti this season. After all the club had finished second to Juventus in Serie A last year, performed decently in Europe and managed to keep big names like Kalidou Koulibaly and Lorenzo Insigne at the club.
Napoli spent money on strengthening their squad, as was evident in the arrivals of Mexican and PSV star Hirving Lozano and defender Kostas Manolas from Serie A rivals AS Roma. However, a disappointing start ensued and the club lagged behind in seventh place when they decided to part ways with Carlo Ancelotti and appointed Gennaro Gattuso in his place.
Despite struggling in the beginning, the former Milan star managed to stabilise the Napoli ship, helping the club to a Copa Italia triumph and subsequently Europa League qualification.
Overall, it was a disappointing campaign for the Partenopei, who slipped five places and 17 points from last season, but the Copa Italia proved to be the saving grace and helped them qualify for Europe once again.
#2A: Improved - Lazio
2019-20 Serie A Standing - 4th (78 points).
2018-19 Serie A Standing - 8th (59 points).
It was a classic case of a break in momentum derailing their title challenge for Lazio. The Roman club went into the COVID-19 lockdown just a single point behind leaders Juventus, yet the break proved detrimental to their Serie A title aspirations as they finished fourth to qualify for the Champions League.
There would be very few Lazio supporters disappointed after a tremendous season, especially since their goal was always to qualify for the Champions League. The club also broke a few records on the way: Ciro Immobile scoring 36 goals – a joint Serie A record for most goals in a season and the club amassing 78 points – their highest ever season-tally in Serie A.
Last season, Lazio finished eighth and took the last qualifying spot for the Europa League. This year, the club went four places and 19 points better to qualify for Europe’s biggest club competition, which is truly a wonderful achievement.
#2B: Declined – Torino
2019-20 Serie A Standing - 16th (40 points).
2018-19 Serie A Standing - 7th (63 points).
One of Italy’s most historic clubs and Juventus’ cross-town rivals, Torino had a disappointing Serie A campaign in 2019-20.
After qualifying for Europe last season, hopes were high for the Turin side to continue their development on the same path this season. However, their season hit a bump right at the start when they were eliminated by Wolves in the Europa League play-offs.
Since then, Walter Mazzari and his side have failed to recapture last season’s form, shipping goals for fun. Their watertight defence which conceded just 37 goals last season leaked a staggering 68 this campaign.
It was a season of two halves for the Granata; they picked up 27 points from their first 19 games followed by just 13 points in the subsequent 19. Thus the team which was comfortably placed for European qualification, ended the season just five points above the drop zone.
Their only shining light were the goals from Andrea Belotti’s boots, who finished the campaign with 16 goals - the eighth highest in the 2019-20 Serie A.
#3A: Improved – Fiorentina
2019-20 Serie A Standing - 10th (49 points).
2018-19 Serie A Standing - 16th (41 points).
It was a season of inconsistency for Fiorentina, yet a finish in the top-10 will be seen as a sign of improvement after a disastrous 2018-19 Serie A campaign which saw them getting almost losing their top-flight status.
The arrival of Franck Ribery from Bayern Munich and the performances of midfielder Eric Pulgar ensured that La Viola kept themselves well away from the dreaded bottom-three this time around. Despite struggling with injuries, Ribery was in excellent form after the restart as La Voila lost just one of their last nine Serie A games.
Fiorentina, under the stewardship of Vincenzo Montella and then Beppe Iachini, could beat the best on their day, as demonstrated by their unbeaten run against the two Milan clubs both home and away. At the same time, they put out some of their worst performances against the bottom sides; they failed to beat relegated Brescia and had a shocking 1-0 loss to Lecce at home.
All in all, it was a season of transition for La Voila. With the squad brimming with young talent, Iachini will be looking to build on from this season.
#3B: Declined – SPAL
2019-20 Serie A Standing - 20th (20 points).
2018-19 Serie A Standing - 13th (42 points).
A fairytale story of sorts, SPAL’s three-year stay in the Serie A was something none of their fans could have contemplated at the start of the decade.
After recovering from bankruptcy in 2012, the club made rapid strides in the next few years to win promotion to the top flight in 2017 for the first time since 1968.
Last season, SPAL finished a commendable 13th, above the likes of Parma and Fiorentina, to confirm their top-flight status for the second year running. But this season was a disappointing one for the fans as the club finished rock bottom, with very few positives.
The club suffered a whopping 28 defeats all season, and they were the only team in the division who failed to win a game after the restart. The club’s decision to sack Leonardo Semplici, the man who had catapulted the team from Serie C1 to the Serie A, was certainly a wrong one, as his replacement Gigi Di Biagio mustered just one win from the final 15 Serie A matches of the season.
The only positives from the 2019-20 season were their unexpected wins over Atalanta and Lazio, both of whom qualified for next year’s Champions League.
Also read: La Liga 2019-20: 3 most improved and declined teams of the season.
