Serie A Power Rankings: Juventus and Monza drop, Atalanta and Napoli keep on climbing

The new Serie A season is well underway and after seven matches there are already some surprises, disappointing sides and teams that already changed their coaches. Napoli and Atalanta started off really well, while Inter Milan and Juventus are probably the most disappointing sides among the top teams. Jose Mourinho’s AS Roma are improving their performances, and Udinese are the most surprising one after beating both AS Roma and Inter Milan at home in the first seven games. Let’s go around Italy to examine where all twenty Serie A teams are in our Serie A Power Rankings:

Top tier

The teams that are in the race to win the Scudetto this season. 

1. AC Milan (-)

Despite losingt the last game against Napoli at home, AC Milan are still the best-positioned side to win the Scudetto this year again, after reaching the goal last season for the first time in eleven years. However, it will be interesting to see the impact of some injuries in the coming weeks. In fact, goalkeeper Mike Maignan and key player Theo Hernandez will miss at least the next two matches, while Sandro Tonali should be back this weekend. The Rossoneri managed to win four games and draw two games in the first seven matches, including winning the Derby della Madonnina against city rivals Inter Milan. 

2. Napoli (+3)

By far the best side as of now. Apart from winning a key match against AC Milan at San Siro, Luciano Spalletti’s side are showing week after week that this summer they made the right changes. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is the new Serie A star and already scored four goals in the first seven matches and also provided two assists. All the new signings are performing well, including strikers Giacomo Raspadori and Giovanni Simeone, who are covering up pretty well the injury of Victor Osimhen. 

3. Inter Milan (-)

A very disappointing beginning of the new season for the side coached by Simone Inzaghi, who now will have to deal with key player Marcelo Brozovic missing for at least three weeks because of injury. The Nerazzurri had a bad start with only four wins, losing to Lazio, AC Milan and Udinese lastly. Romelu Lukaku was out injured for most of the matches but it’s not enough to explain the current issues. Defensively, Inter have been really poor and conceded eleven goals already. Only four teams have conceded more. (Verona, Monza, Cremonese and Sampdoria). 

Outside looking in

Clubs that are fighting to play in Europe next season. 

4. Juventus (-2)

Talking about disappointing sides, Massimiliano Allegri’s Juventus had only two wins in the first seven matches, including a loss to Monza in what was their first ever Serie A victory. Allegri’s position is currently not in danger, but he won’t have much more time to save his job if the performances don’t improve in the coming weeks before the 2022 World Cup. Considering the injuries to key players such as Paul Pogba and Federico Chiesa, Juventus showed some lack of quality in the midfield and fans are now really disappointed especially because in the UEFA Champions League the Bianconeri lost the first two matches against Paris Saint Germain and Benfica at home. The next month will be a key one for the whole season. 

5. AS Roma (-1)

Jose Mourinho started as he ended the past season. Apart from the overall positive beginning of the season with four wins in the first seven matches, the impact of Paulo Dybala has been phenomenal. The former Juventus star already scored three goals in six games, as he missed the last one against Atalanta (lost 0-1). The Giallorossi are fully part of the European race and will fight until the end for a spot in the next UEFA Champions League if they continue in this way. 

6. Atalanta (+2)

There was some criticism around Atalanta at the beginning of the season after many summer changes and a cycle that seemed to be over. However, coach Gian Piero Gasperini was really good in changing the minds of the people who were criticizing him, and the Nerazzurri are currently at the top of the table alongside Napoli with five wins and two draws. 19 years-old Rasmus Højlund is the new talent to watch, as he scored his first Serie A goal against Monza and provided one assist as well. 

7. Lazio (-1)

Maurizio Sarri’s side started pretty well and won four games, drew two and only lost one against Serie A leaders Napoli. Despite some defensive changes in the summer, it looks like Lazio have been good in creating a new atmosphere in the team that can give the fans some hope. However, this team sometimes still has some blackouts like the one against Midtjylland in the UEFA Europa League’s group stage when they lost 5-1 and showed that they still need to improve. 

8. Fiorentina (-1)

La Viola were one of the most surprising sides last season but this start of the new season wasn’t as promising despite the investments made in the summer. It’s likely that Vincenzo Italiano‘s boys are now suffering a bit with European competition and the fact that they were not used to playing every three days before. Fiorentina only had two wins in seven games and they need to improve their results as soon as possible. 

Middle of the pack

These teams are definitely going to stay in the league but have little chance to play in European competitions next season. 

9. Udinese (+2)

Well, talking about surprises. Udinese were impressive in the first seven matches when they won against Fiorentina, AS Roma and Inter Milan. New coach Andrea Sottil was able to create a new atmosphere in the team and new talents are also showing their skills. The star of the roster, former AC Milan Gerard Deulofeu, plays much closer to the box than before and already provided five assists to his teammates. 

10. Torino (-)

Despite losing key players such as defender Gleison Bremer and former captain Andrea Belotti, Torino under coach Ivan Juric continue to show constant progress. Three wins in the first seven games, most importantly it looks like they can finally compete more with the teams in front of them in the table rather than the ones behind them. 

11. Sassuolo (-2)

We could expect this kind of season from Sassuolo. The Neroverdi had only two wins in the first seven, but also because key players such as Domenico Berardi and Traore Jr were out with injuries. Some ups and down, new signing Andrea Pinamonti still hasn’t really had the expected impact on the team. On the other hand, the last match winner against Torino was scored by another new signing, Agustin Alvarez, who showed a real potential for the future. 

12. Bologna (-)

One of the two teams (with Monza) that already decided to sack their coach. After zero wins in the first five matches, the club decided to sack Sinisa Mihajlovic and appointed former Spezia coach Thiago Motta. In the meantime, caretaker manager Luca Vigiani won the only game he coached against Fiorentina, while Motta lost his first match against Empoli. Despite the difficult start, striker Marko Arnautovic is the current top scorer of the league with six goals in seven matches. 

Bottom dwellers 

These sides are struggling and are fighting to keep their spot in Serie A for next season. 

13. Spezia (+4)

Every year we probably underestimate the potential of this roster. Despite that they didn’t really change a lot over the summer apart from the new coach with Luca Gotti who replaced Thiago Motta, Spezia already have two wins in the first seven games including the last one against Sampdoria that gave them a boost in the table. 

14. Empoli (+1)

Paolo Zanetti’s team scored their first win against Bologna on the last matchday before the international break and are actually in quite good shape despite the players who left the club in the summer. It will be interesting to see how they will perform in the coming weeks but it looks like they have chances to avoid relegation this year.  

15. Hellas Verona (-2)

A worrying start to the season for the team coached by Gabriele Cioffi, who lost some important players over the summer transfer window such as Simeone and Antonin Barak. Verona only had one win in seven matches (against Sampdoria) and conceded 13 goals so far. 

16. Salernitana (-)

Davide Nicola’s side impressed in the first seven games of the season. Apart from scoring ten goals already and only one win as of now, Salernitana showed some quality and this is definitely promising for the rest of the campaign. Key players Pasquale Mazzocchi and new signings Antonio Candreva and Boulaye Dia definitely showed quality. 

17. Monza (-3)

The most disappointing side of these first seven games. There were a lot of expectations around the team owned by former AC Milan President Silvio Berlusconi, but they only got one point (against Lecce) in the first six. Right after that draw, the club decided to sack coach Giovanni Stroppa and promoted the Monza under-23 coach and former Genoa player Raffaele Palladino. Despite the skepticism around the manager who surely lacks experience, Palladino won against Juventus on his debut and scored the first ever Serie A victory in the history of the club. 

18. Lecce (+1)

Despite some late summer signings, Lecce struggled in the first matches of the season but not as much as we would expect. In fact, Lecce lost the opening game against Inter Milan but only in the last seconds. After that, Lecce recorded six points in seven matches including their first win against Salernitana. They need something more to stay in the league next season, but they have chances. 

19. Cremonese (+1)

Massimiliano Alvini’s side had a very difficult schedule as they already played against Inter Milan, Lazio, Atalanta and AS Roma but scored two points against Atalanta and Sassuolo. They also showed some promise and this is definitely promising for the next couple of games. Now they need to secure some results if they want to have chances to survive and the next weeks will be crucial. 

20. Sampdoria (-2)

All the concerns from the summer were confirmed. The club decided to keep Marco Giampaolo as of now, but he might not last so long if they don’t improve. Only two draws (against Lazio and Juventus) and five losses. Worrying.