The 2015-16 season proved that the Juventus juggernaut was actually unstoppable. The Bianconeri made a disastrous to the beginning of the season but they nonetheless ended up profitable a fifth consecutive Scudetto with three video games to spare.
Gonzalo Higuain’s record-breaking kind in entrance of aim had sparked giddy speak of a primary title triumph since 1990 for Napoli however the Partenopei’s problem was derailed by a 1-0 loss in Turin.
Juve had initially struggled to come back to phrases with their Champions League ultimate loss to Barcelona, whereas the losses of Arturo Vidal and Andrea Pirlo have been keenly felt in midfield, significantly by Paul Pogba, who appeared burdened by the accountability of sporting the No.10 jersey.
Nevertheless, Sami Khedira finally settled, Alex Sandro proved an thrilling addition at left-back, Mario Mandzukic supplied extra resilience and aggression in assault than Alvaro Morata and the seemingly ageless Gianluigi Buffon broke Sebastiano Rossi’s document for minutes with out conceding a Serie A aim.
Juve’s key man, although, was Paulo Dybala, the summer season signing from Palermo who achieved the seemingly inconceivable by guaranteeing that the inspirational Carlos Tevez wasn’t missed within the slightest.
CHANGES
Juve weren’t the one lively facet within the switch market. After their dismal Tenth-placed end the season earlier than, Milan selected Sinisa Mihajlovic to exchange Pippo Inzaghi and, after years of parsimony, Silvio Berlusconi spent massive, bringing in Carlos Bacca, Alessio Romagnoli, Andrea Bertolucci and Luiz Adriano.
The Rossoneri additionally thought they’d wrapped up a deal for Geoffrey Kondogbia however the Frenchman as a substitute opted to hitch metropolis rivals Inter. It seemed like fairly the coup for the Nerazzurri however the former Monaco ace proved an enormous waste of €40m.
Inter fared higher with the likes of Miranda and Ivan Perisic however Martin Montoya, Stevan Jovetic and Adem Ljajic additionally disillusioned at San Siro.
Elsewhere, Lazio efficiently hijacked Fiorentina’s transfer for Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and he rapidly established himself as some of the promising younger midfielders in world soccer.
The Viola additionally misplaced their bid to dam Mohamed Salah from becoming a member of Roma on mortgage from Chelsea as they thought that they’d the choice to increase the winger’s keep on the Artemio Franchi and will solely watch on in horror because the Egyptian loved a nice season within the capital.
SEASON SUMMARY
Serie A was left in a state of shock as reigning champions Juventus misplaced their opening two video games, at house to Udinese and away to Roma, for the primary time ever. Additional defeats at Napoli and Sassuolo left the Bianconeri twelfth after 10 rounds, and with their hopes of a fifth successive Scudetto seemingly in tatters.
At that time, Roberto Mancini’s Inter, who had opened with 5 wins on the spin, seemed greatest positioned to take benefit nevertheless it grew to become clear after the winter break that the Nerazzurri didn’t have the requisite firepower to maintain a title tilt and so they finally completed a distant fourth.
On the plus facet, they carried out loads higher than their metropolis rivals, with Milan firing Mihajlovic in April after a run of 5 video games with out a victory. Caretaker coach Cristian Brocchi did not encourage an upturn of their league kind, however he did lead the Rossoneri to the Coppa Italia ultimate, the place they considerably unluckily succumbed to an extra-time aim from Juventus striker Alvaro Morata.
Roma’s determination to fireside their coach, Rudi Garcia, reaped dividends, although, as Luciano Spalletti secured Champions League soccer through a third-placed end on the again of a 17-game unbeaten run.
Spalletti’s return got here too late to spark a Scudetto problem, as Serie A grew to become a two-horse race between a Higuain-inspired Napoli and a resurgent Juve, who reeled off 14 wins in a row to path the Partenopei by simply two factors going into their top-of-the-table conflict in Turin on February 13.
The champions prevailed because of a late aim from Simone Zaza, prompting a decisive shift in momentum. Napoli tried to combat again however their Scudetto dream successfully died the day they have been crushed 3-1 by Udinese, a sport during which Higuain was proven a straight crimson card and, thus, banned for 3 matches.
Juve racked up a record-equalling fifth consecutive title when Napoli misplaced at Roma on matchday 35.
AWARDS
PLAYER OF THE SEASON
MANAGER OF THE SEASON
MASSIMILIANO ALLEGRI
The previous AC Milan coach solely additional endeared himself to Juventus followers by masterminding yet one more home double.
TOP GOALSCORER
GONZALO HIGUAIN – 36 GOALS
The Argentine made historical past by netting 36 targets to interrupt Gunnar Nordahl’s document (35) for a single Serie A season – a outstanding feat given he solely performed in 35 video games.
GOAL OF THE SEASON
HIGUAIN’S record-clinching strike towards Frosinone was as spectacular because it was historic, with the ahead controlling a go from Dries Mertens on his chest earlier than acrobatically volleying house.
TEAM OF THE SEASON
BUFFON; KOULIBALY, BONUCCI, BARZAGLI, CHIELLINI; PJANIC, POGBA, NAINGGOLAN, HAMSIK; DYBALA, HIGUAIN
MOST EXPENSIVE TRANSFER
Paulo Dybala
Palermo to Juventus
€40m
KEY MOMENT OF THE SEASON
There have been simply two minutes of regular time remaining in Turin when Simone Zaza’s deflected strike flew previous Pepe Reina and into the Napoli web. The 1-0 victory noticed Juventus substitute the Partenopei on the prime of the desk however, extra importantly, it crushed the spirit of Sarri’s facet.
