Serie A Power Rankings 2017-18

Thank you for killing my enthusiasm.

Great read !!

Bentancur is gonna be a star. Mandragora was just hit by injury, he is back on the right track.

Gagliardini should be there instead of 1 of them, i forgot about him.

Calabria is a Serie B player lol . The Italian Nagatomo.
Anyway the only one top in that lineup is Sergej Milinkovic Savic ( and Schick if he is not Julian Ross ).
New Stankovic .

Since there are midweek matches, I'm going to do the next edition after the weekend's matches.

The reason being, its an early point of the season still and hopefully with an extra two games to review, we can see more of the six teams.

Fair enough

Napoli won the week

All 6 teams won

Roma and Milan back on track.

Juve, Inter and Napoli still rolling.

Lazio can't stop scoring and winning, great belief in their group and real quality. Too bad they held onto Keita so late but didn't keep him, he would be a nice player to have or at least if the funds were reinvested. I don't see them having the depth to play like this every week. Inzaghi is unreal so far. Immobile is in the form of his life. I feel like we have to talk about Lazio since no one else will. They are this season's Atalanta and their pieces will probably be picked apart accordingly. De Vrij available on a free ffs, that's good value. Sergej the player many teams will come for. Luis Alberto is a nice joker pick.

They have more depth than last year. These results have come without Felipe Anderson or Nani.

A Lazio that can afford to win without playing those two is a dangerous thing. Their main problem will be depending on Immobile so much. Caicedo is a poverty alternative.

And last season they finished 5th on the back of 16 goals from Keita. That's tough to replace alone and on top of that, last season was with a poorer Milan and Inter.

The question is if they've done enough to top that finish.

Sorry for the delay, we have a few games to catch up on here

Inter- @Crotone (3-0), @Bologna (1-1), Genoa (1-0), @Benevento (2-1)
Roma- Verona (3-0), @Benevento (4-0), Udinese (3-1), @Milan (2-0)
Juventus- @Sassuolo (3-1), Fiorentina (1-0), Torino (4-0), @Atalanta (2-2)
Napoli- Benevento (6-0), @Lazio (4-1), @Spal (3-2), Cagliari (3-0)
Lazio- @Genoa (3-2), Napoli (1-4), @Verona (3-0), Sassuolo (6-1)
Milan- Udinese (2-1), Spal (2-0), @Sampdoria (0-2), Roma (0-2)

So, main things since the last update:
Roma and Napoli on fire
Milan with back to back losses
Juventus and Inter both dropped points away
Lazio battered by Napoli but still doing a fantastic season

Last week:
1. Lazio
2. Napoli
3. Juventus
4. Inter
5. Roma
6. Milan

This week:

1. Napoli (2)- unplayable at the moment, smashing every team and scoring tons of goals while doing it. Lost Milik for the season (again), big win away to Lazio, you expect them to win the others but they deserve their top spot. I don't think any team will win in Napoli this season. They may just be scudetto favourites right now

2. Roma (5)- won all of their matches, have a game in hand, have an extremely talented squad and won the marquee match up of the round away to Milan with a thoroughly deserved win. Before, I said there were two groups forming from this sixth, the top 3 belonging to Juventus, Napoli and Inter and the fourth through sixth belonging to everyone else. Now I see there being 5 teams to finish in the top 5 and Milan at 6.

3. Juventus (3)- Tough draw away to Atalanta. Still a lot of injuries in the squad, and still a great start to the season. Have not yet played any of the other 5 teams in these rankings which will undoubtedly determine which team wins the scudetto this season.

4. Inter (4)- Dropped points away to Bologna, didn't look great against Benevento but won and that's what is important. The ability to win ugly is usually just for Juventus, the other teams usually have to play well to win and this Inter can win without playing great, that's something that will bring them up the table. They're on track to qualify for the Champions League. Milan derby next round!

5. Lazio (1)- Humbled after smashing Milan by Napoli, but take nothing away from this team, I don't think they have the quality of the four teams above them but they certainly have the will and the manager. Inzaghi is doing great work, the talent of the squad and the form of Immobile is something special. I know they want to make the top four this season, but I see too much above them.

6. Milan (6)- Unfortunately, they still hold down the worst spot. Back to back losses, they did not look particularly good in their wins either. Montella doesn't seem like he's found his best 11 or even his best formation, this is troubling because the next match is against Inter, three losses in a row, two of which against clubs competing against them for CL spaces is dire for a team that spent the most in Italy this summer. I feel for the Milan fans but this is a very poor start, not just results but everything floating around the club in terms of management, tactics, player performances.

AC Milan 6th in real life and even on this thread
Will there be celebrations like last time ?

Spoiler:

Great analysis like always, spot on about many things

Maybe my only objection, would rank Juve 2nd and Roma 3rd even after the draw, mostly because the romans had all easy games exception made of last one at San Siro.
Sassuolo, Fiorentina and Torino is more "impressive" if i can say it like that.

Here's my analysis/opinion.

#1 Roma [Verona (3-0), @Benevento (4-0), Udinese (3-1), @Milan (2-0)]
Got those regulation wins against minnows which is absolutely essential if you want to achieve something. Also got over a fellow contender and thus gaining an edge in the race. Given their loss of key players and manager, I believe they have done great.

#2 Napoli [Benevento (6-0), @Lazio (4-1), @Spal (3-2), Cagliari (3-0)]
Got those regulation wins against minnows which is absolutely essential if you want to achieve something. Also got over a fellow contender and thus gaining an edge in the race. However, that 'struggle' against SPAL takes some shin off.

#3 Juventus [@Sassuolo (3-1), Fiorentina (1-0), Torino (4-0), @Atalanta (2-2)]
Despite impressive wins against 'not-so-minnows' that draw with Atalanta means they are no longer deemed invincible.

#4 Lazio [@Genoa (3-2), Napoli (1-4), @Verona (3-0), Sassuolo (6-1)]
That thrashing in the hands of Napoli don't look good in your resume.

#5 Inter [@Crotone (3-0), @Bologna (1-1), Genoa (1-0), @Benevento (2-1)]
Couple of close wins and a stalemate, not very impressive.

Do we include European games as well???

No since not all 6 teams play in Europe

But the fact of playing a mid week game (or not) is taken into account when evaluating the following Serie A match.

Might do a 1/3 of the season power rankings myself, time to contribute now.

Let's make the review on monthly basis. This is for October, except for the first match-day of the month which has already been included in the previous review.

#1 Lazio [@ JJ 2-1, Cagliari 3-0, @ Bologna 2-1, @ Benevento 5-1]

Two very credible away wins along with two regulation home wins; don’t seem to have run out of gas, yet.

#2 Napoli [@ Roma 1-0, Inter 0-0, @ Genoa 3-2, Sassuolo 3-1]

They definitely started the month very well but they need to get the hangover of the European defeats out of their system and need to get on without Goulham.

#3 Inter [Milan 3-2, @ Napoli 0-0, Sampdoria 3-2, @ Verona 2-1]

Managed to keep a rampant Napoli in check. Those wins against Milan and Sampdoria were also very credible, but they never looked commanding at any point.

#4 Juventus [Lazio 1-2, @ Udinese 6-2, SPAL 4-1, @ Milan 2-1]

Showed incredible character in that win against Udinese. Currently within touching distance of Napoli. That loss against Lazio looks so far away now.

#5 Roma [Napoli 0-1, @ Torino 1-0, Crotone 1-0, Bologna 1-0]

Don’t seem to be scoring much, at least in the league; but perhaps this is the Neo Roma, one that can grind out a win.

#6 Milan [@ Inter 2-3, Genoa 0-0, @ Chievo 4-1, JJ 0-2]

Enough said.

Those are not all the games in october, you are missing a matchday.

Napoli 3-0 Cagliari
Atalanta 2-2 Juve
Milan 0-2 Roma
Lazio 6-1 Sassuolo
Benevento 1-2 Inter

Lazio wrecked everyone and beat Juve. They have to be first for me too. It was small teams, but they still scored 18 goals in 5 games.

Napoli beat Roma, drew Inter and disposed of everyone else.

Roma played 4 games against decent teams and had wins with clean sheets vs all. If they hadn't lost to Napoli I'd have them 1st. Specially since they had 2 tough CL matches vs Chelsea tiring them out. Besides the Napoli games, Roma's performances were definitely better than Inter's. Even though Inter had a lot more rest.

Inter managed to make the Benevento game look complicated. Same for Verona. In the end they got all the wins including the derby and held Napoli to an impressive draw.

Juve dropped 5 points (the only points we've dropped) so its our worst month. Still, the response to that was scoring 12 goals in the next 3 games.

Milan...

rincon wrote:Those are not all the games in october, you are missing a matchday.

Napoli 3-0 Cagliari
Atalanta 2-2 Juve
Milan 0-2 Roma
Lazio 6-1 Sassuolo
Benevento 1-2 Inter

...

iftikhar wrote:except for the first match-day of the month which has already been included in the previous review

1. Napoli
Goals (total, open play, difference): 32, 18, + 24
Shots per game: 19.3
Discipline (fouls per game, yellow cards): 10, 17
Possession: 61%
Important results: ROMA 1-0, LAZIO 4-1, INTER 0-0, six other games won by at least 2 goal margin
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Napoli has reached its absolute peak. Myself and some Juve fans rate Napoli as extremely serious title challengers, to the condition that they commit no mistake all season long. So far that's what they did, they are still undefeated and one point ahead of Juve. Solid team in defense, best midfield in Italy, energic attackers and pleasant football to watch. What more to ask ? Two things: a better keeper & not drop points against Chievo. It hasn't been PERFECTO, but very close to it. Ghoulam being out is a huge kick in the dick, since they have to maintain the same level for the remaining 26 games no matter what. It's the ultimate battle of their careers for some players like Hamsik, Mertens, even Insigne. Best team in the league currently.

2. Lazio
Goals (total, open play, difference): 31, 17, +19
Shots per game: 13.5
Discipline (fouls per game, yellow cards): 12.2, 17
Possession: 50%
Important results: MILAN 4-1, NAPOLI 1-4, JUVENTUS 2-1, SASSUOLO 6-1
__
Wow, they are massively overperforming. What's important to remember is that Lazio was expected to finish 5-6th rank, and if possible fight for a Champions League place. After 12 games, Lazio put some points in the bank that will compensate for the inevitable drop of form. Immobile is not an elite striker, but i respect what he achieves in this run of form.
For a Cinderella season, all they have to do is to not be the worst of all top 5 clubs... fate is in their hands (or feet, in this case). Beating Juventus in our stadium is already an exploit in itself. From the very beginning of the season, Superfloppa Italiana, i could see it is a very resilient group of players.
Stable team, Inzaghi is the archetype of a manager who is able to maximize every strength at his disposal, excellent tactician. Middle isn't top class but a bunch of warriors is sufficient, they are mean and hard to overcome. Even Parolo managed to receive only 1 yellow card.
1 defeat, 1 draw... only downs in Lazio's 1/3 season. After every bad result they came back with streaks of solid match against "rivals".
Prediction: a drop of form sooner than later, thank god some precious points are already won.

3. Juventus
Goals (total, open play, difference): 35, 26, +24
Shots per game: 16.5
Discipline (fouls per game, yellow cards): 12.3, 18
Possession: 57%
Important results: TORINO 4-0, LAZIO 1-2, MILAN 2-0
__
Best attack in the league, on paper and on stats. Our overall play is more fluid than it was last year and it will get better once the Bernardeschi-Dybala pair is allowed to blossom together. When the game turns to disadvantage, this team shows the righteous mentally and never give up. It allowed us to come back notably against Genoa and against Udinese. So those are the positives.
Midfield is mehhhhhhhh and defense don't follow the same line of quality as before, and it shows, we concede at least once in 7 games. Long story short... great team but how frustrating to never see its full potential. We drop 2 games (by drop i mean not win) while having the easiest start of all clubs in this thread. Napoli, Roma and Inter left to play... i don't expect 9/9.
Juventus under Max has a tendency to peak later in the season, in this regard being only one point behind Lvl 99 Napoli isn't that bad.

4. Inter
Goals (total, open play, difference): 23, 14, +14
Shots per game: 15.7
Discipline (fouls per game, yellow cards): 11.7, 25
Possession: 53%
Important results: FIORENTINA 3-0, ROMA 3-1, MILAN 3-2, NAPOLI 0-0, SAMPDORIA 3-2
__
Inter had the toughest start in terms of opponent quality and they come out of it undefeated. 9-3-0 you can call that mission accomplished. Maybe the core of the team was underrated and Breva was right despite being mocked ? The summer mercato was quite humble, no big transactions ala Gabigol. Instead some pragmatic buys Skriniar, Vecino, Borja that really make a difference. The offensive construction (from the wings or from the middle) has improved, less conservative and more importance is given to creative players.
Another thing to notice, Inter has no bench, no Europe is a blessing and they took advantage of it. Yes a couple of difficult wins, but the egg never cracked. 1-1 in Bologna is the only true disappointing result.

5. Roma
Goals (total, open play, difference): 21, 14, +14
Shots per game: 16.7
Discipline (fouls per game, yellow cards): 10.4, 10
Possession: 54%
Important results: INTER 1-3, MILAN 2-0, NAPOLI 0-1
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Seeing Roma in 5th rank you would think they are decent at best, but in fact they are decent at worst. First of all they haven't drop points against easy opponents like they usually do. Second of all Roma concedes the least goals in the league, 7. Against Fiorentina it was a unusual event, a game where every shot seems to go in, and they still manage to win.
Solid team overall, second best midfield in the league and the highlight transfer has to be Kolarov. I think their bench is better than Inter, Milan and Lazio. This will serve well once fatigue starts showing up around January, Roma will have better troops to face the winter. 9-0-2 is the roots for a good season in the making.
Negative points: that early loss against Inter (where they drop a 1-0 lead and call it a day off) was somewhat disappointing. Losing against 2 direct opponents (Inter + Napoli) is what cost them the 4th place in this post.

6. Milan
Goals (total, open play, difference): 18, 8, +2
Shots per game: 13.5
Discipline (fouls per game, yellow cards): 15.3, 21
Possession: 55%
Important results: LAZIO 1-4, SAMPDORIA 0-2, ROMA 0-2, INTER 2-3, JUVENTUS 0-2
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Disaster, reality speaks for itself. Lost every important game, harmless in attack, clueless in possession and shaky in defense. That being said, between days 6-11 Milan's calendar was as hard as it gets, before that they were 4-0-1.

A final paragraph about top 5 teams...
It was hard to make a podium because those 5 clubs have satisfying starts to their season. However i don't believe all of them can maintain the same pace for the remaining 6 months, so i work having the concept of "points won already vs expectations for the whole season" in mind. January window is important mostly for Inter, they need a back up CB and maybe some depth in the front line, otherwise they will come short. I don't expect the other clubs to even try major moves.
Napoli: best team in the league so far
Lazio: most surprising team in the league, lost to Napoli
Juventus: elite team leads to higher expectations, one point behind Napoli and lost to Lazio is worth the bronze medal
Inter: did what they had to do for a CL spot
Roma: did what they had to do for a CL spot, lost to Inter

Great first 1/3 of the season.