# 2018–19 Serie A

The 2018–19 Serie A (known as the Serie A TIM for sponsorship reasons) was the 117th season of top-tier Italian football, the 87th in a round-robin tournament, and the 9th since its organization under a league committee separate from Serie B. Juventus were the seven-time defending champions and defended their title following their victory against Fiorentina on 20 April 2019. The season was run from 18 August 2018 to 26 May 2019.

## Events

Hellas Verona and Benevento immediately returned to Serie B after finishing 19th and 20th while Crotone, finishing in 18th place, were relegated after two seasons in the top flight.
On 28 April, Empoli earned the right to come back to Serie A after one year of relegation. On 18 May 2018, Parma achieved promotion having finished second in the 2017–18 Serie B season, just three seasons after their bankruptcy relegation to Serie D. The last team promoted, after 2 years of absence, was Frosinone, who defeated Palermo in the Serie B play-off finals 3–2 on aggregate.
On 23 July, Parma were handed a 5-point deduction for the 2018–19 Serie A season, following text messages from Parma player Emanuele Calaiò "eliciting a reduced effort" from two players of Spezia during the 2017–18 season, a match Parma won 2–0 to secure promotion to this season. On 9 August, Parma had the 5-point deduction expunged.
On 14 August, the day of the Ponte Morandi bridge collapse in Genoa, the Italian Football Federation announced a minute's silence would be added for the victims of the collapse before all Serie A matches during the opening weekend that succeeded the incident. On 16 August, the Lega Serie A postponed the opening matches for both Genoese clubs Genoa and Sampdoria that were originally scheduled for 19 August.
On 13 September, Chievo was deducted 3 points after being found guilty of false accounting.
On 14 April 2019, Chievo was relegated from Serie A after a 3–1 defeat by Napoli, ending an eleven-year spell in the top flight.
On 20 April, Juventus won their 35th title and their eighth in a row with a win over Fiorentina.
On 5 May, Frosinone was relegated from Serie A after a 2–2 draw away at Sassuolo, going down after just one season.
On 26 May, Atalanta finished third and secured a place in the Champions League group stage, both for the first time in their history. Meanwhile, Empoli which were one point above the relegation zone ahead of Genoa, were eventually relegated to Serie B after they were defeated by Internazionale, while Genoa drew with Fiorentina.
This was also the last season of iconic Roma captain Daniele De Rossi that left the team after 18 seasons, while veterans Sergio Pellissier (from Chievo), Andrea Barzagli (from Juventus) and Emiliano Moretti (from Torino) retired from professional football at the end of the season.

## Teams
### Stadiums and locations

| Team | Home city | Stadium | Capacity | 2017–18 season |
| Atalanta | Bergamo | Stadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia | 21,300 | 7th in Serie A |
| Bologna | Bologna | Stadio Renato Dall'Ara | 38,279 | 15th in Serie A |
| Cagliari | Cagliari | Sardegna Arena | 16,233 | 16th in Serie A |
| Chievo | Verona | Stadio Marc'Antonio Bentegodi | 38,402 | 13th in Serie A |
| Empoli | Empoli | Stadio Carlo Castellani | 16,284 | Serie B champions |
| Fiorentina | Florence | Stadio Artemio Franchi | 43,147 | 8th in Serie A |
| Frosinone | Frosinone | Stadio Benito Stirpe | 16,227 | Serie B playoff winners |
| Genoa | Genoa | Stadio Luigi Ferraris | 36,685 | 12th in Serie A |
| Sampdoria | Genoa | Stadio Luigi Ferraris | 36,685 | 10th in Serie A |
| Internazionale | Milan | San Siro | 80,018 | 4th in Serie A |
| Milan | Milan | San Siro | 80,018 | 6th in Serie A |
| Juventus | Turin | Juventus Stadium | 41,507 | Serie A champions |
| Torino | Turin | Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino | 27,994 | 9th in Serie A |
| Lazio | Rome | Stadio Olimpico | 72,698 | 5th in Serie A |
| Roma | Rome | Stadio Olimpico | 72,698 | 3rd in Serie A |
| Napoli | Naples | Stadio San Paolo | 60,240 | 2nd in Serie A |
| Parma | Parma | Stadio Ennio Tardini | 27,906 | 2nd in Serie B |
| Sassuolo | Sassuolo | Mapei Stadium – Città del Tricolore (Reggio Emilia) | 23,717 | 11th in Serie A |
| SPAL | Ferrara | Stadio Paolo Mazza | 16,164 | 17th in Serie A |
| Udinese | Udine | Stadio Friuli | 25,132 | 14th in Serie A |

### Personnel and kits

| Team | Head Coach | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor(s) | Shirt sponsor(s) |
| Team | Head Coach | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Main | Other |
| Atalanta | Gian Piero Gasperini | Alejandro Gómez | Joma | Radici Group | Front U-Power Back Elettrocanali Sleeves Automha |
| Bologna | Siniša Mihajlović | Blerim Džemaili | Macron | Liu·Jo | Back Illumia |
| Cagliari | Rolando Maran | Luca Ceppitelli | Macron | ISOLA Artigianato di Sardegna | Front Ichnusa Back Nieddittas Sleeves Io tifo positivo/Fluorsid |
| Chievo | Domenico Di Carlo | Sergio Pellissier | Givova | Paluani/Nobis/Canali System/Vicentini Carni/Fimauto/Mulish/Pescheria Viviani | Front Salumi Coati Back Eurobet Sleeves Nobis Assicurazioni |
| Empoli | Aurelio Andreazzoli | Manuel Pasqual | Kappa | Computer Gross | Front Sammontana (H)/Logli Massimo Saint-Gobain (A) Back Giletti SpA Sleeves Tenute Piccini |
| Fiorentina | Vincenzo Montella | Germán Pezzella | Le Coq Sportif | Save The Children | Back Dream Loud Entertainment Sleeves New Generation Mobile |
| Frosinone | Marco Baroni | Daniel Ciofani | Zeus Sport | Banca Popolare del Frusinate | Front 958 Santero/Confetti Maxtris Back Francia Latticini Sleeves Tiger Shop |
| Genoa | Cesare Prandelli | Domenico Criscito | Lotto | Giocheria | Front Zentiva Back Leaseplan |
| Internazionale | Luciano Spalletti | Samir Handanović | Nike | Pirelli | Back Driver |
| Juventus | Massimiliano Allegri | Giorgio Chiellini | Adidas | Jeep | Back Cygames |
| Lazio | Simone Inzaghi | Senad Lulić | Macron | Marathonbet | Back Sèleco |
| Milan | Gennaro Gattuso | Alessio Romagnoli | Puma | Fly Emirates | None |
| Napoli | Carlo Ancelotti | Lorenzo Insigne | Kappa | Lete | Front Pasta Garofalo Back Kimbo Caffè |
| Parma | Roberto D'Aversa | Bruno Alves | Erreà | Cetilar | Front Aon Back Viva la Mamma Beretta Sleeves Il Valutatore |
| Roma | Claudio Ranieri | Daniele De Rossi | Nike | Qatar Airways | Back Hyundai |
| Sampdoria | Marco Giampaolo | Fabio Quagliarella | Joma | Invent Energy | Back IBSA Group |
| Sassuolo | Roberto De Zerbi | Francesco Magnanelli | Kappa | Mapei | None |
| SPAL | Leonardo Semplici | Mirco Antenucci | Macron | Tassi Group | Back BMW ErreEffe Group Sleeves Pentaferte |
| Torino | Walter Mazzarri | Andrea Belotti | Kappa | Suzuki/Suzuki Jimny (T) | Front Fratelli Beretta Back SportPesa Sleeves N° 38 Wüber |
| Udinese | Igor Tudor | Valon Behrami | Macron | Dacia | Front Vortice Back Bluenergy |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Replaced by | Date of appointment |
| Napoli | Maurizio Sarri | Mutual consent | 23 May 2018 | Pre-season | Carlo Ancelotti | 23 May 2018 |
| Bologna | Roberto Donadoni | Mutual consent | 24 May 2018 | Pre-season | Filippo Inzaghi | 13 June 2018 |
| Cagliari | Diego López | Mutual consent | 30 May 2018 | Pre-season | Rolando Maran | 7 June 2018 |
| Sassuolo | Giuseppe Iachini | Mutual consent | 5 June 2018 | Pre-season | Roberto De Zerbi | 13 June 2018 |
| Udinese | Igor Tudor | Mutual consent | 7 June 2018 | Pre-season | Julio Velázquez | 7 June 2018 |
| Chievo | Lorenzo D'Anna | Sacked | 9 October 2018 | 20th | Gian Piero Ventura | 10 October 2018 |
| Genoa | Davide Ballardini | Sacked | 9 October 2018 | 11th | Ivan Jurić | 9 October 2018 |
| Empoli | Aurelio Andreazzoli | Sacked | 5 November 2018 | 18th | Giuseppe Iachini | 6 November 2018 |
| Chievo | Gian Piero Ventura | Resigned, consensual resolution | 13 November 2018 | 20th | Domenico Di Carlo | 13 November 2018 |
| Udinese | Julio Velázquez | Sacked | 13 November 2018 | 17th | Davide Nicola | 13 November 2018 |
| Genoa | Ivan Jurić | Sacked | 7 December 2018 | 14th | Cesare Prandelli | 7 December 2018 |
| Frosinone | Moreno Longo | Sacked | 19 December 2018 | 19th | Marco Baroni | 19 December 2018 |
| Bologna | Filippo Inzaghi | Sacked | 28 January 2019 | 18th | Siniša Mihajlović | 28 January 2019 |
| Roma | Eusebio Di Francesco | Sacked | 7 March 2019 | 5th | Claudio Ranieri | 8 March 2019 |
| Empoli | Giuseppe Iachini | Sacked | 13 March 2019 | 17th | Aurelio Andreazzoli | 13 March 2019 |
| Udinese | Davide Nicola | Sacked | 20 March 2019 | 16th | Igor Tudor | 21 March 2019 |
| Fiorentina | Stefano Pioli | Resigned | 9 April 2019 | 10th | Vincenzo Montella | 10 April 2019 |

## League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Juventus (C) | 38 | 28 | 6 | 4 | 70 | 30 | +40 | 90 | Qualification to Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Napoli | 38 | 24 | 7 | 7 | 74 | 36 | +38 | 79 | Qualification to Champions League group stage |
| 3 | Atalanta | 38 | 20 | 9 | 9 | 77 | 46 | +31 | 69 | Qualification to Champions League group stage |
| 4 | Inter Milan | 38 | 20 | 9 | 9 | 57 | 33 | +24 | 69 | Qualification to Champions League group stage |
| 5 | Milan | 38 | 19 | 11 | 8 | 55 | 36 | +19 | 68 | |
| 6 | Roma | 38 | 18 | 12 | 8 | 66 | 48 | +18 | 66 | Qualification to Europa League group stage |
| 7 | Torino | 38 | 16 | 15 | 7 | 52 | 37 | +15 | 63 | Qualification to Europa League second qualifying round |
| 8 | Lazio | 38 | 17 | 8 | 13 | 56 | 46 | +10 | 59 | Qualification to Europa League group stage |
| 9 | Sampdoria | 38 | 15 | 8 | 15 | 60 | 51 | +9 | 53 | |
| 10 | Bologna | 38 | 11 | 11 | 16 | 48 | 56 | −8 | 44 | |
| 11 | Sassuolo | 38 | 9 | 16 | 13 | 53 | 60 | −7 | 43 | |
| 12 | Udinese | 38 | 11 | 10 | 17 | 39 | 53 | −14 | 43 | |
| 13 | SPAL | 38 | 11 | 9 | 18 | 44 | 56 | −12 | 42 | |
| 14 | Parma | 38 | 10 | 11 | 17 | 41 | 61 | −20 | 41 | |
| 15 | Cagliari | 38 | 10 | 11 | 17 | 36 | 54 | −18 | 41 | |
| 16 | Fiorentina | 38 | 8 | 17 | 13 | 47 | 45 | +2 | 41 | |
| 17 | Genoa | 38 | 8 | 14 | 16 | 39 | 57 | −18 | 38 | |
| 18 | Empoli (R) | 38 | 10 | 8 | 20 | 51 | 70 | −19 | 38 | Relegation to Serie B |
| 19 | Frosinone (R) | 38 | 5 | 10 | 23 | 29 | 69 | −40 | 25 | Relegation to Serie B |
| 20 | Chievo (R) | 38 | 2 | 14 | 22 | 25 | 75 | −50 | 17 | Relegation to Serie B |
* 1 2 Atalanta finished ahead of Internazionale on head-to-head points: Atalanta 4–1 Internazionale, Internazionale 0–0 Atalanta.
* ↑ Milan were excluded from UEFA competitions over financial fair play violation.
* ↑ Lazio qualified for the Europa League group stage by winning the 2018–19 Coppa Italia.
* 1 2 3 Positions determined by head-to-head points: Parma: 9 pts; Cagliari: 7 pts; Fiorentina: 1 pt.
* 1 2 Genoa finished ahead of Empoli on head-to-head points: Genoa 2–1 Empoli, Empoli 1–3 Genoa.
* ↑ Chievo were deducted 3 points after being found guilty of false accounting.

## Results

| Home \ Away | ATA | BOL | CAG | CHV | EMP | FIO | FRO | GEN | INT | JUV | LAZ | MIL | NAP | PAR | ROM | SAM | SAS | SPA | TOR | UDI |
| Atalanta | — | 4–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 3–3 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 |
| Bologna | 1–2 | — | 2–0 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 |
| Cagliari | 0–1 | 2–0 | — | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 |
| Chievo | 1–5 | 2–2 | 0–3 | — | 0–0 | 3–4 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–4 | 0–1 | 0–2 |
| Empoli | 3–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | — | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–3 | 0–2 | 2–4 | 3–0 | 2–4 | 4–1 | 2–1 |
| Fiorentina | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 6–1 | 3–1 | — | 0–1 | 0–0 | 3–3 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| Frosinone | 0–5 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 3–3 | 1–1 | — | 1–2 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 2–3 | 0–5 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–3 |
| Genoa | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | — | 0–4 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 |
| Internazionale | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 5–0 | — | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 |
| Juventus | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | — | 2–0 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 3–3 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 4–1 |
| Lazio | 1–3 | 3–3 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 0–3 | 1–2 | — | 1–1 | 1–2 | 4–1 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 |
| Milan | 2–2 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 1–0 | — | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 |
| Napoli | 1–2 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 5–1 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 3–2 | — | 3–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 4–2 |
| Parma | 1–3 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–4 | — | 0–2 | 3–3 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 0–0 | 2–2 |
| Roma | 3–3 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 3–2 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 2–1 | — | 4–1 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 1–0 |
| Sampdoria | 1–2 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | — | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–4 | 4–0 |
| Sassuolo | 2–6 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 3–3 | 2–2 | 5–3 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 3–5 | — | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 |
| SPAL | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–4 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 | — | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| Torino | 2–0 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 1–0 | — | 1–0 |
| Udinese | 1–3 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 1–1 | — |

## Season statistics
### Top goalscorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Fabio Quagliarella | Sampdoria | 26 |
| 2 | Duván Zapata | Atalanta | 23 |
| 3 | Krzysztof Piątek | Genoa/Milan$^1$ | 22 |
| 4 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Juventus | 21 |
| 5 | Arkadiusz Milik | Napoli | 17 |
| 6 | Francesco Caputo | Empoli | 16 |
| 6 | Dries Mertens | Napoli | 16 |
| 6 | Leonardo Pavoletti | Cagliari | 16 |
| 6 | Andrea Petagna | SPAL | 16 |
| 10 | Andrea Belotti | Torino | 15 |
| 10 | Ciro Immobile | Lazio | 15 |
$^1$ Piątek played for Genoa until matchday 20 and scored 13 goals.

### Hat-tricks

| Player | Club | Against | Result | Date |
| Josip Iličić | Atalanta | Chievo | 5–1 (A) Archived 21 January 2021 at the Wayback Machine | 21 October 2018 |
| Dries Mertens | Napoli | Empoli | 5–1 (H) Archived 21 January 2021 at the Wayback Machine | 2 November 2018 |
| Duván Zapata | Atalanta | Udinese | 3–1 (A) Archived 21 January 2021 at the Wayback Machine | 9 December 2018 |
| Josip Iličić | Atalanta | Sassuolo | 6–2 (A) Archived 21 January 2021 at the Wayback Machine | 29 December 2018 |
| Duván Zapata$^4$ | Atalanta | Frosinone | 5–0 (A) Archived 21 January 2021 at the Wayback Machine | 20 January 2019 |

#### Note

$^4$ Player scored four goals ; (H) – Home (A) – Away

### Clean sheets

| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
| 1 | Samir Handanović | Internazionale | 17 |
| 2 | Salvatore Sirigu | Torino | 15 |
| 3 | Gianluigi Donnarumma | Milan | 13 |
| 4 | Andrea Consigli | Sassuolo | 12 |
| 5 | Emil Audero | Sampdoria | 11 |
| 5 | Wojciech Szczęsny | Juventus | 11 |
| 7 | Luigi Sepe | Parma | 10 |
| 7 | Łukasz Skorupski | Bologna | 10 |
| 7 | Thomas Strakosha | Lazio | 10 |
| 10 | Alban Lafont | Fiorentina | 9 |

## Awards

In 2019, Serie A introduced the Serie A Awards for the first time, using calculations from Opta Sports and Netco Sports to determine the best players of the season.
| Award | Winner | Club |
| Most Valuable Player | Cristiano Ronaldo | Juventus |
| Best Young Player | Nicolò Zaniolo | Roma |
| Best Goalkeeper | Samir Handanović | Internazionale |
| Best Defender | Kalidou Koulibaly | Napoli |
| Best Midfielder | Sergej Milinković-Savić | Lazio |
| Best Striker | Fabio Quagliarella | Sampdoria |
Team of the Year :
| Goalkeeper | Samir Handanović (Internazionale) | Samir Handanović (Internazionale) | Samir Handanović (Internazionale) | Samir Handanović (Internazionale) | Samir Handanović (Internazionale) | Samir Handanović (Internazionale) |
| Defence | João Cancelo (Juventus) | Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli) | Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli) | Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus) | Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus) | Aleksandar Kolarov (Roma) |
| Midfield | Nicolò Barella (Cagliari) | Nicolò Barella (Cagliari) | Miralem Pjanić (Juventus) | Miralem Pjanić (Juventus) | Josip Iličić (Atalanta) | Josip Iličić (Atalanta) |
| Attack | Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria) | Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria) | Duván Zapata (Atalanta) | Duván Zapata (Atalanta) | Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus) | Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus) |

## Attendances

| # | Football club | Home games | Average attendance |
| 1 | Internazionale | 19 | 58,789 |
| 2 | AC Milan | 19 | 54,667 |
| 3 | Juventus | 19 | 39,244 |
| 4 | AS Roma | 19 | 38,622 |
| 5 | SS Lazio | 19 | 37,191 |
| 6 | Fiorentina | 19 | 31,135 |
| 7 | SSC Napoli | 19 | 29,003 |
| 8 | Genoa CFC | 19 | 21,632 |
| 9 | Torino FC | 19 | 21,385 |
| 10 | Bologna FC | 19 | 21,237 |
| 11 | Udinese | 19 | 20,315 |
| 12 | Sampdoria | 19 | 20,264 |
| 13 | Atalanta BC | 19 | 18,196 |
| 14 | Parma Calcio | 19 | 16,522 |
| 15 | Cagliari Calcio | 19 | 15,399 |
| 16 | SPAL | 19 | 13,559 |
| 17 | AC ChievoVerona | 19 | 13,138 |
| 18 | Frosinone Calcio | 19 | 12,746 |
| 19 | US Sassuolo | 19 | 12,619 |
| 20 | Empoli FC | 19 | 9,506 |