The Serie A Championship Race: Napoli’s Fairy Tale in 2025, What About 2026?

30/12/2025 09:01:00 PlaymakerHub

By overcoming Cremonese 2-0 in the final game of the year, Napoli wrapped up a spectacular 2025, capturing both the Scudetto and the Italian Super Cup, while stepping into 2026 with a hopeful spirit. Yet, Antonio Conte’s squad knows the upcoming obstacles will be formidable.

Returning from Riyadh with mixed feelings, except for Bologna who stumbled with a 1-1 draw against Sassuolo, the remaining Italian Super Cup participants all secured wins in Serie A’s 17th round. Milan defeated Verona 3-0, Napoli continued with a 2-0 victory at Cremonese, and Inter benefited from Atalanta’s “gift” in a 1-0 win.

Napoli’s Year of Triumph

The year 2025 has entered Napoli’s history as one of its most glorious chapters. Similar to the golden era of Diego Maradona, Napoli clinched both the Scudetto and the Italian Super Cup within the same calendar year. This journey began with a victory in Florence on January 4, 2025, and concluded with a swift and decisive win against Cremonese on December 28, 2025, highlighted by the remarkable impact of newcomer Rasmus Hojlund.

This achievement is even more extraordinary when considering Napoli’s starting point at the beginning of the 2024-25 season. They faced skepticism after plunging from being the 2023 Serie A champions to mid-table in the following season, with a changing squad and doubts about their motivation. However, Antonio Conte, known for his distinctive “love or hate” personality and talent, transformed this group into a winning machine. Retaining Conte at the Diego Maradona stadium despite Juventus’ summer 2025 pursuit was itself a major success for the club. Conte’s tactical skills helped Napoli impressively overcome late 2025 injury problems. The squad was also strengthened by expensive new signings, notably striker Rasmus Hojlund, who contributed 9 goals and 3 assists in 19 matches so far.

What makes Napoli admirable in the first half of this season is their ability to remain title contenders and secure the Italian Super Cup despite missing two key stars: striker Romelu Lukaku and playmaker Kevin De Bruyne. This also makes them formidable in the latter half of the season as these two Belgian internationals return from injury to contribute.

Napoli: The Undisputed Champions of 2025

An Expanding Title Race

However, the final round of Serie A in 2025 saw not only Napoli winning but also Inter, Milan, and Juventus celebrating victories, welcoming the new year with high spirits. If Roma defeats Genoa, led by former player Daniele De Rossi, in the latest match early this morning, all top five teams will have won and maintained a tight race at the summit: Inter (36 points/16 matches), Milan (35 points/16 matches), and Napoli (34 points/16 matches). Juventus (32 points/17 matches), although slightly behind and having played one more game, with a strong resurgence under new coach Luciano Spalletti and a favorable schedule ahead, could still make a breakthrough. Roma remains reliable against smaller opponents and has never intended to abandon the title chase.

After a short break, 2026 will kick off on Friday night, January 2, with the 18th round, and January could bring a turning point in the race. The spotlight will be on the big clash between Inter and Napoli on January 11, a matchup that will significantly impact points, standings, and the mentality of both teams. One week earlier, Inter faces Bologna and Napoli visits Lazio, matches where either could slip up. Meanwhile, Milan and Juventus have promising opportunities to pull ahead with four relatively manageable upcoming games. Milan will face Cagliari, Genoa, Fiorentina, and Lecce; Juventus will meet Lecce, Sassuolo, Cremonese, and Cagliari. These two giants must capitalize on these chances to earn maximum points before the tough 22nd round when Milan visits Roma and Juventus faces Napoli.

The opening of the winter transfer window on January 2 is also expected to significantly influence the Scudetto race, as every team seeks to strengthen their squads. Milan and Inter focus on acquiring strong central defenders to bolster their defense; Juventus and Napoli aim to enhance midfield quality, while Roma is determined to secure a goal-scoring striker at all costs, with Joshua Zirkzee and Giacomo Raspadori already linked. When the winter transfer window closes at the end of January, combined with developments at the top of the table, we will have a clearer picture of the ambitions and capabilities of the Scudetto contenders.

Did Atalanta Throw the Match Against Inter?

Over the past decade, Atalanta has been among Serie A’s best-performing teams with high efficiency and consistency, but surprisingly, they almost always lose when facing Inter, including the recent 0-1 defeat at home at Gewiss Stadium on Sunday night. In fact, in their last five encounters, they have failed to score against Inter and conceded 13 goals.

Since 2017, Atalanta has only beaten Inter once in 20 meetings, and that victory was seven years ago, a 4-1 win on November 11, 2018. The rest of the record shows 6 draws and 13 losses, including 9 consecutive defeats in the most recent matches. This reality has led Atalanta fans to suspect some irregularities between the two clubs. On social media platform X, the topic calling for an investigation into this matchup has attracted many comments. People find it hard to believe that a team like Atalanta could go 7 years without beating Inter and lose 9 straight games.

The suspicion arose from the recent match when defender Berat Djimsiti made an inexplicable sideways pass directly to an Inter striker, gifting the opponent the opening goal, while midfielder Lazar Samardzic missed a clear chance to equalize by shooting wide into an empty net.

Nguyễn Vinh

Comment (0)