Foot & Soccer Soccer Match Reports, Football News
Juventus continued their domination of Italian football with a superb double in 2017-18, but in order to secure the Scudetto and fight off the fierce challenge of runners-up, Napoli, they had to record a huge tally of 95 points.
The title race was a rollercoaster of emotions for both sides, who shared the top spot throughout the season, but it would be Juve who would emerge on top, with their ability to grind out wins their most notable characteristic of the campaign. At the end of the season, they bid farewell to their legendary goalkeeper, Gianluigi Buffon, who exited Serie A for PSG after 23 years.
In deviation from tradition, Serie A had the highest average goals per game in any of the top five leagues, and with the championship, European qualification, and relegation spots still to be decided going into the final few weeks, it made the division the most competitive in Europe.
The season will be overshadowed by the tragic death of Fiorentina captain, Davide Astori, who passed away in his sleep from a cardiac arrest before a match in March.
CHANGES
The biggest alteration in Italian football saw the official introduction of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) for the first time, which saw referees utilising video replays in order to make match decisions. Traditionalists pointed to the negatives of VAR, but postseason research found that mistakes had decreased from 5.48% to 0.98% per match.
Juventus continued their spending to tighten their stranglehold on the league, spending in excess of €140 million on the likes of Federico Bernardeschi, Juan Cuadrado, Blaise Matuidi, and Douglas Costa (on loan). Veteran defender Leonardo Bonucci exited acrimoniously after a disagreement with senior management, moving to an AC Milan side as active as they had been in recent years. Andre Silva, Andrea Conti, Lucas Biglia, and Matteo Musacchio were also brought in for big fees, while Franck Kessie and Nikola Kalinic were signed on loan with obligations to buy. Their exuberant…
Source link : https://www.footballcritic.com/season-reviews/seventh-heaven-for-juventus-serie-a-in-2017-18/91
Author : [email protected] (Martin Macdonald)
Publish date : 2024-08-04 14:00:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
