Early Observations About the Likely Serie A Contenders

Four rounds aren’t enough to determine for certain how the title race will unfold in Serie A this season. The early impression is that it could be more competitive than last year, when it was limited to two teams. Plus, the Champions League fray could be extremely fierce.

Napoli Are a Sleeping Juggernaut

The Partenopei are inevitably in pole position after winning last season because they had remarkable continuity and massively bolstered their depth. They have been far from perfect so far, yet they have taken home every match, which is reassuring. At some point, all their center-pieces will round into shape, their newcomers will learn the system and mesh with their teammates, and Antonio Conte will trust them more. Their other iterations won’t be better than their go-to lineup, but the Scudetto is often won by surviving trap games and overcoming emergency situations when a few starters are unavailable or not 100 percent. That’s where their coaching staff has a lot more to explore after a busy summer. If it happens, only their Champions League ambitions might stand in the way of an unprecedented repeat.

Inter Haven’t Changed One Bit

Despite having a different gaffer and signing a few good players, the Nerazzurri aren’t significantly different from last season, for better and for worse. With their sheer talent and familiarity, they can overwhelm every opponent when they are cooking. At the same time, they can throw away any game when they get overconfident or too complacent. They still concede too many goals and chances. While Manuel Akanji might arguably be better than Benjamin Pavard, there’s not a large enough gap to fix their whole defensive phase. After much chatter about 3-4-2-1, the scheme is the same. It is a logical consequence of their transfer market choices. Their forwards are too offensive-minded to use a trident regularly. Plus, they can’t really move away from a three-man midfield with their current men. Hakan Calhanoglu is still alive and kicking. At most, they can turn it into a 3-4-1-2, but only advancing one of their most inventive contributors, which isn’t a seismic shift.

Atalanta Are Less Electrifying but Deeper than Ever

They most likely won’t be in the running to win Serie A because they no longer have an ace manager who makes the squad perform well above its overall quality. On the other hand, they have lost only Mateo Retegui and have brought in several proven contributors, significantly shoring up a roster that used to be shallow mostly because Gian Piero Gasperini liked to use his main guys as much as possible. If Gianluca Scamacca ever stays healthy for a few months in a row and Ademola Lookman recaptures some joie de vivre, it will be enough to make up for the departure of the last ‘capocannoniere.’ They have already won convincingly with several linchpins on the mend simultaneously, which was one of their main Achilles’ heels in the past.

Juventus Need an Offensive Game Plan to Truly Compete to Win Serie A

The Bianconeri are always lively and have the right spirit, which couldn’t be said for most last season. On the other hand, they must devise a somewhat coherent strategy and rotation to take advantage of their new weapons up front. They can’t just throw in as many as possible when needed, hoping that one comes through with a solo play. The balance-related issues of such a gambit have already been glaring. They get some leeway because Edon Zhegrova and Lois Openda joined very late. However, Igor Tudor must also earn his keep through tactical brilliance, rather than solely thanks to his motivational skills and other intangibles.

Roma Began from an Advanced Stage of the Gasperini Arch

The coach is mostly well-known for his explosive offenses, but his most successful campaigns were actually built on robust backlines and stellar goalkeeping. Their attackers have yet to get going, other than Matias Soulé, but their defense is already airtight. It’s even carrying them on the other end. It generally didn’t happen so early in the season at Atalanta, depending on how much turnover they went through during the summer window. If Paulo Dybala can at least avoid spending more time on the mend than on the pitch and one between Evan Ferguson and Artem Dovbyk starts scoring consistently, they’ll be in the mix at the very top positions on the Serie A table.

Milan Are Running a Serious Operation

They didn’t complete the job during the summer. Their management realized too late where Massimiliano Allegri wanted to go schematically and gave him too many midfielders and attackers and not enough defenders. Still, that’s not a backbreaking mistake in a season without the cups. They just need a little injury luck to avoid being in major trouble. It’ll also be interesting to see how he’ll handle the rotation. Things have been simplified by some stars missing time so far. Someone won’t be happy with drawing the short end of the stick minute-wise in the near future. Still, those are minor gripes relative to last season’s circus. They have even displayed some offensive flair, but that will be more muted once the schedule gets tougher. They have a ton of leadership on the field and on the bench, and it shows. One wake-up call was sufficient to tidy things up significantly.