2020–21 Serie A

2020–21 Serie A

The 2020–21 Serie A (known as the Serie A TIM for sponsorship reasons) was the 119th season of top-tier Italian football, the 89th in a round-robin tournament, and the 11th since its organization under an own league committee, the Lega Serie A. Inter Milan won the title with four matches remaining after second-placed Atalanta drew against Sassuolo.

Inter Milan's title was their 19th in club history and their first in 11 years. It ended Juventus's run of nine consecutive league titles, as they finished in fourth place, 13 points behind Inter Milan.

Teams

2020–21 Serie A

Benevento and Crotone were the two teams directly promoted from Serie B—both after a two-year absence.

On 20 August 2020, Spezia won a playoff match to earn their first promotion to Serie A; they became the 66th team to participate in the Italian top-tier league.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic

A day following the Napoli–Genoa match on 27 September 2020, Genoa announced that 14 of their players tested positive for COVID-19. The Genoa–Torino match scheduled for 3 October 2020 was thereby postponed.

On 3 October 2020, two Napoli players, Piotr Zieliński and Eljif Elmas, tested positive for COVID-19, and after being denied authorization to leave Naples by the Local Health Authority (ASL), Napoli blocked their players' departure for their match in Turin against Juventus. The league decided not to postpone the match scheduled for 4 October 2020. On the day of the game, Juventus took to the field despite the absence of their opponents, who were quarantining in Naples. Juventus were awarded a 3–0 victory by default and Napoli were docked one point as the Disciplinary Commission ruled Napoli did not follow the country's COVID-19 pandemic protocol. Following a successful appeal by Napoli to the CONI Sports Guarantee Board, these penalties were overturned on 22 December 2020. The match was eventually recovered on 7 April 2021, more than six months after its originally scheduled date.

Team changes

Promoted from 2019–20 Serie B	Relegated from 2019–20 Serie A
Benevento	Lecce
Crotone	Brescia
Spezia	SPAL

Stadiums and locations

<table><thead><tr><th>Team</th><th>Home city</th><th>Stadium</th><th>Capacity</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Atalanta</td><td>Bergamo</td><td>Gewiss Stadium</td><td>25,000</td></tr><tr><td>Benevento</td><td>Benevento</td><td>Stadio Ciro Vigorito</td><td>16,867</td></tr><tr><td>Bologna</td><td>Bologna</td><td>Stadio Renato Dall'Ara</td><td>36,462</td></tr><tr><td>Cagliari</td><td>Cagliari</td><td>Sardegna Arena</td><td>16,416</td></tr><tr><td>Crotone</td><td>Crotone</td><td>Stadio Ezio Scida</td><td>16,640</td></tr><tr><td>Fiorentina</td><td>Florence</td><td>Stadio Artemio Franchi</td><td>45,000</td></tr><tr><td>Genoa</td><td>Genoa</td><td>Stadio Luigi Ferraris</td><td>36,600</td></tr><tr><td>Hellas Verona</td><td>Verona</td><td>Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi</td><td>39,371</td></tr><tr><td>Inter Milan</td><td>Milan</td><td>San Siro</td><td>75,923</td></tr><tr><td>Juventus</td><td>Turin</td><td>Allianz Stadium</td><td>41,507</td></tr><tr><td>Lazio</td><td>Rome</td><td>Stadio Olimpico</td><td>70,634</td></tr><tr><td>AC Milan</td><td>Milan</td><td>San Siro</td><td>75,923</td></tr><tr><td>Napoli</td><td>Naples</td><td>Stadio San Paolo</td><td>54,726</td></tr><tr><td>Parma</td><td>Parma</td><td>Stadio Ennio Tardini</td><td>27,906</td></tr><tr><td>Roma</td><td>Rome</td><td>Stadio Olimpico</td><td>70,634</td></tr><tr><td>Sampdoria</td><td>Genoa</td><td>Stadio Luigi Ferraris</td><td>36,599</td></tr><tr><td>Sassuolo</td><td>Sassuolo</td><td>Mapei Stadium</td><td>23,717</td></tr><tr><td>Spezia</td><td>La Spezia</td><td>Stadio Alberto Picco</td><td>10,336</td></tr><tr><td>Torino</td><td>Turin</td><td>Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino</td><td>27,958</td></tr><tr><td>Udinese</td><td>Udine</td><td>Stadio Friuli</td><td>25,144</td></tr></tbody></table>

Personnel and kits

<table><thead><tr><th>Team</th><th>Head coach</th><th>Captain</th><th>Kit manufacturer</th><th>Shirt sponsor(s)</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Main</td><td>Other</td></tr><tr><td>Atalanta</td><td>Gian Piero Gasperini</td><td>Rafael Tolói</td><td>Joma</td><td>Plus500</td><td>Front Back Sleeves</td></tr><tr><td>Benevento</td><td>Filippo Inzaghi</td><td>Nicolas Viola</td><td>Kappa</td><td>IVPC</td><td>Front Back Sleeves</td></tr><tr><td>Bologna</td><td>Siniša Mihajlović</td><td>Andrea Poli</td><td>Macron</td><td>Facile Ristrutturare</td><td>Front Back Sleeves</td></tr><tr><td>Cagliari</td><td>Leonardo Semplici</td><td>João Pedro</td><td>Adidas</td><td>ISOLA Artigianato di Sardegna</td><td>Front Back Sleeves</td></tr><tr><td>Crotone</td><td>Serse Cosmi</td><td>Alex Cordaz</td><td>Zeus</td><td>San Vincenzo Salumi</td><td>Front Back Sleeves</td></tr><tr><td>Fiorentina</td><td>Giuseppe Iachini</td><td>Germán Pezzella</td><td>Kappa</td><td>Mediacom</td><td>Back Sleeves</td></tr><tr><td>Genoa</td><td>Davide Ballardini</td><td>Domenico Criscito</td><td>Kappa</td><td>Banca Sistema</td><td>Back Sleeves</td></tr><tr><td>Hellas Verona</td><td>Ivan Jurić</td><td>Miguel Veloso</td><td>Macron</td><td>Gruppo Sinergy</td><td>Front Back Sleeves</td></tr><tr><td>Inter Milan</td><td>Antonio Conte</td><td>Samir Handanović</td><td>Nike</td><td>Pirelli</td><td>Back</td></tr><tr><td>Juventus</td><td>Andrea Pirlo</td><td>Giorgio Chiellini</td><td>Adidas</td><td>Jeep</td><td>Back</td></tr><tr><td>Lazio</td><td>Simone Inzaghi</td><td>Senad Lulić</td><td>Macron</td><td>World Food Programme / Contrader / Clinica Paideia</td><td>Back Sleeves</td></tr><tr><td>AC Milan</td><td>Stefano Pioli</td><td>Alessio Romagnoli</td><td>Puma</td><td>Emirates</td><td>None</td></tr><tr><td>Napoli</td><td>Gennaro Gattuso</td><td>Lorenzo Insigne</td><td>Kappa</td><td>Lete</td><td>Front Back</td></tr><tr><td>Parma</td><td>Roberto D'Aversa</td><td>Bruno Alves</td><td>Erreà</td><td>Cetilar</td><td>Front Back Sleeves</td></tr><tr><td>Roma</td><td>Paulo Fonseca</td><td>Lorenzo Pellegrini</td><td>Nike</td><td>Qatar Airways</td><td>Back Sleeves</td></tr><tr><td>Sampdoria</td><td>Claudio Ranieri</td><td>Fabio Quagliarella</td><td>Macron</td><td>Very Mobile</td><td>Back</td></tr><tr><td>Sassuolo</td><td>Roberto De Zerbi</td><td>Francesco Magnanelli</td><td>Puma</td><td>Mapei</td><td>None</td></tr><tr><td>Spezia</td><td>Vincenzo Italiano</td><td>Claudio Terzi</td><td>Acerbis</td><td>TEN Food & Beverage</td><td>Back Sleeves</td></tr><tr><td>Torino</td><td>Davide Nicola</td><td>Andrea Belotti</td><td>Joma</td><td>Suzuki/Suzuki Hybrid (T)</td><td>Front Back Sleeves</td></tr><tr><td>Udinese</td><td>Luca Gotti</td><td>Rodrigo De Paul</td><td>Macron</td><td>Dacia</td><td>Front Back Sleeves</td></tr></tbody></table>

Managerial changes

<table><thead><tr><th>Team</th><th>Outgoing manager</th><th>Manner of departure</th><th>Date of vacancy</th><th>Position in table</th><th>Replaced by</th><th>Date of appointment</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Cagliari</td><td>Walter Zenga</td><td>End of contract</td><td>2 August 2020</td><td>Pre-season</td><td>Eusebio Di Francesco</td><td>3 August 2020</td></tr><tr><td>Torino</td><td>Moreno Longo</td><td>2 August 2020</td><td>Marco Giampaolo</td><td>7 August 2020</td></tr><tr><td>Juventus</td><td>Maurizio Sarri</td><td>Sacked</td><td>8 August 2020</td><td>Andrea Pirlo</td><td>8 August 2020</td></tr><tr><td>Parma</td><td>Roberto D'Aversa</td><td>23 August 2020</td><td>Fabio Liverani</td><td>28 August 2020</td></tr><tr><td>Genoa</td><td>Davide Nicola</td><td>26 August 2020</td><td>Rolando Maran</td><td>26 August 2020</td></tr><tr><td>Fiorentina</td><td>Giuseppe Iachini</td><td>9 November 2020</td><td>12th</td><td>Cesare Prandelli</td><td>9 November 2020</td></tr><tr><td>Genoa</td><td>Rolando Maran</td><td>21 December 2020</td><td>19th</td><td>Davide Ballardini</td><td>21 December 2020</td></tr><tr><td>Parma</td><td>Fabio Liverani</td><td>7 January 2021</td><td>18th</td><td>Roberto D'Aversa</td><td>7 January 2021</td></tr><tr><td>Torino</td><td>Marco Giampaolo</td><td>18 January 2021</td><td>18th</td><td>Davide Nicola</td><td>19 January 2021</td></tr><tr><td>Cagliari</td><td>Eusebio Di Francesco</td><td>22 February 2021</td><td>18th</td><td>Leonardo Semplici</td><td>22 February 2021</td></tr><tr><td>Crotone</td><td>Giovanni Stroppa</td><td>1 March 2021</td><td>20th</td><td>Serse Cosmi</td><td>1 March 2021</td></tr><tr><td>Fiorentina</td><td>Cesare Prandelli</td><td>Resigned</td><td>23 March 2021</td><td>14th</td><td>Giuseppe Iachini</td><td>24 March 2021</td></tr></tbody></table>

League table

2020–21 Serie A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Inter Milan (C)	38	28	7	3	89	35	+54	91	Qualification for Champions League group stage
2	Milan	38	24	7	7	74	41	+33	79
3	Atalanta	38	23	9	6	90	47	+43	78
4	Juventus	38	23	9	6	77	38	+39	78
5	Napoli	38	24	5	9	86	41	+45	77	0Qualification for Europa League group stage
6	Lazio	38	21	5	12	61	55	+6	68
7	Roma	38	18	8	12	68	58	+10	62	0Qualification for Conference League play-off round
8	Sassuolo	38	17	11	10	64	56	+8	62
9	Sampdoria	38	15	7	16	52	54	−2	52
10	Hellas Verona	38	11	12	15	46	48	−2	45
11	Genoa	38	10	12	16	47	58	−11	42
12	Bologna	38	10	11	17	51	65	−14	41
13	Fiorentina	38	9	13	16	47	59	−12	40
14	Udinese	38	10	10	18	42	58	−16	40
15	Spezia	38	9	12	17	52	72	−20	39
16	Cagliari	38	9	10	19	43	59	−16	37
17	Torino	38	7	16	15	50	69	−19	37
18	Benevento (R)	38	7	12	19	40	75	−35	33	Relegation to Serie B
19	Crotone (R)	38	6	5	27	45	92	−47	23
20	Parma (R)	38	3	11	24	39	83	−44	20

Players' awards

Most valuable player of the Month

Month	Player	Club	Ref.
September	Alejandro Gómez	Atalanta
October	Zlatan Ibrahimović	AC Milan
November	Cristiano Ronaldo	Juventus
December	Hakan Çalhanoğlu	AC Milan
January	Sergej Milinković-Savić	Lazio
February	Romelu Lukaku	Inter Milan
March	Lorenzo Insigne	Napoli
April	Luis Muriel	Atalanta
May	Ruslan Malinovskyi	Atalanta

Seasonal awards

Award	Winner	Club	Ref.
Most Valuable Player	Romelu Lukaku	Inter Milan
Best Under-23	Dušan Vlahović	Fiorentina
Best Goalkeeper	Gianluigi Donnarumma	AC Milan
Best Defender	Cristian Romero	Atalanta
Best Midfielder	Nicolò Barella	Inter Milan
Best Striker	Cristiano Ronaldo	Juventus

Team of the Year
Goalkeeper	Gianluigi Donnarumma (AC Milan)
Defence	Achraf Hakimi (Inter Milan)	Stefan de Vrij (Inter Milan)	Alessandro Bastoni (Inter Milan)	Théo Hernandez (AC Milan)
Midfield	Nicolò Barella (Inter Milan)	Franck Kessié (AC Milan)	Federico Chiesa (Juventus)
Attack	Luis Muriel (Atalanta)	Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus)	Romelu Lukaku (Inter Milan)

Season statistics

Top goalscorers

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Cristiano Ronaldo	Juventus	29
2	Romelu Lukaku	Inter Milan	24
3	Luis Muriel	Atalanta	22
4	Dušan Vlahović	Fiorentina	21
5	Ciro Immobile	Lazio	20
Simy	Crotone
7	Lorenzo Insigne	Napoli	19
8	Domenico Berardi	Sassuolo	17
Lautaro Martínez	Inter Milan
10	João Pedro	Cagliari	16

Hat-tricks

Player	Club	Against	Result	Date
Henrikh Mkhitaryan	Roma	Genoa	3–1 (A)	8 November 2020
Lautaro Martínez	Inter Milan	Crotone	6–2 (H)	3 January 2021
Dušan Vlahović	Fiorentina	Benevento	4–1 (A)	13 March 2021
Cristiano Ronaldo	Juventus	Cagliari	3–1 (A)	14 March 2021
Rodrigo Palacio	Bologna	Fiorentina	3–3 (H)	2 May 2021
Ante Rebić	AC Milan	Torino	7–0 (A)	12 May 2021

Clean sheets

Rank	Player	Club	Clean sheets
1	Gianluigi Donnarumma	AC Milan	14
Samir Handanović	Inter Milan
3	Pierluigi Gollini	Atalanta	9
Pepe Reina	Lazio
5	Bartłomiej Drągowski	Fiorentina	8
Juan Musso	Udinese
David Ospina	Napoli
Mattia Perin	Genoa
9	Andrea Consigli	Sassuolo	7
Lorenzo Montipò	Benevento
Marco Silvestri	Hellas Verona
Salvatore Sirigu	Torino

Player

• Most yellow cards: 14 • Pasquale Schiattarella (Benevento) • Most red cards: 2 • Rodrigo De Paul (Udinese) • Charalampos Lykogiannis (Cagliari)

Team

• Most yellow cards: 100 • Lazio • Most red cards: 6 • Juventus • Fewest yellow cards: 59 • Inter Milan • Fewest red cards: 1 • Hellas Verona • Parma