The Serie A season on Paramount+ is now 14 games deep and there is finally a clear leader as Napoli pulled clear of AC Milan at the summit. Inter Milan closed the gap keeping their hopes of repeating alive, as they sit four points behind the league leaders. Atalanta opened a gap in fourth with Juventus continuing to toil while Sampdoria are suddenly alive at the other end of the table.
We look at how the rankings have changed since the international break.
1 – Napoli (-)
Luciano Spalletti’s men brushed Lazio aside 4-0 to hit top spot alone which made up for their defeat against Inter the week before. That loss had threatened to derail the Partenopei as they lost Victor Osimhen for months, but they hit back strongly.
2 – AC Milan (-)
A surprise pair of defeats with a 3-1 home loss to Sassuolo coming after a thrilling defeat to Fiorentina which witnessed seven goals. Coach Stefano Pioli has just had his contract renewed so needs to arrest this slide immediately.
3 – Inter Milan (-)
Simone Inzaghi’s men followed up their win over Napoli with another success, this time against Venezia which has seen them close the gap on the top two. Just one point separates them from their bitter Milan rivals who are suddenly struggling for form.
4 – Atalanta (-)
A 1-0 win away at Juve followed a 5-2 pasting of Spezia which has now boosted Gian Piero Gasperini’s men into fourth and on Inter’s heels. With Fiorentina seven points back, La Dea are relatively comfortable in the European spots.
5 – AS Roma (+1)
Jose Mourinho’s men built on their win over Genoa with another victory against a lower-ranked side in Torino. Those six points have boosted the capital outfit back up after a tough few weeks and Atalanta are now within three.
6 – Fiorentina (+1)
A stunning 4-3 triumph over Milan was followed up by a 2-1 loss to Tuscan rivals Empoli which keeps Vincenzo Italiano’s men in European contention but is another example of lost points which might have lifted them even higher.
7 – Juventus (+1)
Another setback against Atalanta means that Massimiliano Allegri is really feeling the heat now despite a win over Lazio the week before. The Italian tactician’s return to Juventus Stadium so far feels like a step back in time and not just by a few years. Juventus are seven points outside the Champions League spot, an absolutely untenable situation for them.
8 – Lazio (-3)
A 2-0 loss to Juve was followed by a 4-0 pumping by Napoli and suddenly Maurizio Sarri is under a bit of pressure and in need of a run of positive results with Europe within reach and midtable just a few points behind.
9 – Bologna (-)
A 1-0 win over Spezia negates the 1-0 loss to Venezia the week before and keeps Sinisa Mihajlovic’s men on track around midtable.
10 – Hellas Verona (-)
A surprise 3-1 loss to Sampdoria after a very strong run of form which was added to the week before by a win over Empoli.
11 – Empoli (-)
A defeat to Verona followed by a win over Tuscan neighbors Fiorentina is pretty much in-keeping with Empoli’s season which sees them fare better against the bigger teams.
12 – Sassuolo (+1)
Another week, another scalp for Alessio Dionisi’s men who beat Milan comfortably a week on from a draw with lowly Cagliari — highly unpredictable.
13 – Torino (-1)
A 2-1 win over Udinese and then a 1-0 loss to Roma, Ivan Juric’s men could break into the top half with a little more consistency.
14 – Udinese (-)
Having lost to Torino, Luca Gotti’s men played out a goalless draw with Genoa which underlines one of their main issues — scoring goals — with only three teams less prolific.
15 – Sampdoria (+3)
Back-to-back wins over Salernitana and Verona and Roberto d’Aversa lives to fight another day with renewed belief that Blucerchiati can continue to climb towards midtable.
16 – Venezia (-1)
A 1-0 win over Bologna and then a 2-0 loss to Inter is enough to keep the Venetians’ heads above water and away from the drop zone.
17 – Spezia (-1)
Things are getting tough for Thiago Motta with a heavy 5-2 thrashing by Atalanta followed by a narrow 1-0 defeat to Bologna. The former Italy international might not get too many more chances before a change is made on the bench.
18 – Genoa (-1)
Andriy Shevchenko remains without a win since his arrival after a 0-0 with Udinese followed his 2-0 debut defeat against Roma while Grifone have only won once all season.
19 – Cagliari (+1)
Consecutive draws have stopped the rot for Walter Mazzarri’s men but only that and now they need start finding some points before they switch places with Salernitana again.
20 – Salernitana (-1)
A loss to Sampdoria and then an inability to beat Cagliari means that Stefano Colantuono’s side are the new basement boys.