Italian Serie A returns behind closed doors – only to be suspended again

Hard times are ahead for the fans of Italian Serie A and football in Europe in general, as the corona virus is causing all kinds of havoc – including suspending entire schedule of football. A plethora of Serie A games were first postponed and then rearranged, with a weekend of football played behind closed doors to empty stadiums. An eerie atmosphere took over the six fixtures played in front of the ghost crowds, which satisfied neither the players nor the club owners. A nationwide decision was then made late on Monday night to suspend all further games up until the early April, in hopes of reducing containment and the effect of the virus.

Taking into consideration the games last played before the issues featured such fireworks as Atalanta beating Lecce 2-7 and Roma taking the thriller at Cagliari 3-4, the latest round was a disappointment. In news of “what else is new”, Juventus returned on top of the league with a win over Inter, who have now fallen nine points behind to third with a game in hand. Lazio is still the closest challenger, with just one point less than Juventus. How the Serie A will go forward after the re-scheduling is a mystery, as the time is definitely running out since there should be 12 more rounds played with the Euro 2020 looming in June. But as things stand, there’s a high probability that competition will be cancelled or rescheduled as well.

The fight for the title in Italy is as close as ever, but the Champions League qualifying spots are in high demand as well. Lazio and Inter manning the 2^nd and 3^rd spots, Atalanta has kept on surprising many and climbed to fourth with their heavy attacking style – they’ve scored 70 goals so far, 20 more than Juventus and close to three per game. Unheard of almost everywhere in Europe, let alone in Italy, where goals are usually few and far between. Challenging Atalanta for the final UCL qualification place are AS Roma, three points behind and with a long shot, Napoli, nine points behind.

It just might be that the season is abandoned or at least shortened considerably, which would be shame. It’s not every season Juventus is properly challenged and there would be a battle for the other top spots as well.