After Inter Milan's heroic Champions League final performance in Istanbul, we look back at Serie A's season finale and Roma and Atalanta secured European football and Maurizio Sarri's Lazio finished runners up...
TEAM OF THE FINAL ROUND - LAZIO
Lazio's season has come to an end: Maurizio Sarri and his team finished the championship second in the standings, a result that as far as only the Italian league is concerned is definitely very good.
Of course, the fact that they reached the second position in the standings thanks to the choice of giving up all the European Cups (first the Europa League, then the Conference League...), if it was a choice, should be taken into account. As far as the league is concerned, however, there is nothing to say: second place in the standings, two points ahead of Inter having reached 74, far too far behind Napoli to be able to dream of anything more than second place, but Luciano Spalletti and his team have been playing at another level all year.
Even the last game of the year was a victory: 0-2 against Empoli, thanks to goals scored by Alessio Romagnoli and Luis Alberto, one of Lazio's best players in a season finale that gave the great satisfaction of reaching qualification for the next Champions League. Now coach and fans are hoping that President Claudio Lotito can build a team capable of not not collapsing in the group stage as happened in the Europa League this year: if the biancocelesti had played in Europe as they did in the final part of the season in the league they probably could have reached the final stages of the Cups, but Sarri's choice is understandable.
The team was not very well equipped and trying to play both competitions at the highest intensity would have been impossible. In any case, second place is a very good result and the joy of the Lazio fans is the most important confirmation of that.
INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE OF THE FINAL ROUND - MARCELO BROZOVIC
While waiting for the historic Champions League final against the giants of Manchester City, Simone Inzaghi and his boys ended their championship in the best possible way. With the 0-1 victory against Torino, thanks to Marcelo Brozovic's goal, Inter consolidated their third place in the standings.
The star player was the Croatian midfielder himself, who scored Inter's last goal of the season. Injuries have deprived Inzaghi of Brozovic far too many times this season, but he is without a doubt one of the key players in the Nerazzurri's line-up. And against Torino he proved it for the umpteenth time.
MATCH OF THE FINAL ROUND - ATALANTA-MONZA
Three points with which Gian Piero Gasperini and his team certify qualification for the upcoming Europa League, despite a start to the season that portended quite different prospects, but as the coach himself said there were disagreements with the club and there are currently, which casts doubt on his possible stay in Bergamo.
In any case, the last match of the season was a real triumph for Atalanta, which was won at home against Monza with the heavy result of 5-2. It was a match without history, always dominated by the Bergamaschi. Three goals were scored by an unsuspected player, not Rasmus Hojlund (who scored one), not LuisMuriel (who scored another), but Teun Koopmeiners, who with his three goals won the match single-handedly and above all ended a season that from a personal point of view was definitely positive.
It was a match with many goal chances for the two formations on the pitch, with 28 total shots, although mostly created by Gasperini's boys. The match with the most goals of the weekend, the most entertaining match for neutral fans: many teams had arrived at the last round of the year with nothing more to ask from their championship. While waiting to see what will happen in Bergamo during the summer, Gasperini gave their fans another night full of goals.
PLAYER OF THE FINAL ROUND - PAULO DYBALA
In recent months Paulo has played little, still scored several goals (and many important goals, such as the one at Feyenoord or the one in the final, unfortunately lost, against Sevilla), due to a physical condition that is too often critical.
Even on the last night of the championship, in the game against Spezia, Dybala's star shone brighter than the others, if not for the performance itself, for the desire to win that he put on the field, for the joy shown at the end of the game, almost in tears hugging captain Lorenzo Pellegrini, for the penalty he scored at the end of the game, after a crazy refereeing by Maresca.
It was Paulo again who scored an important and decisive goal, scoring a penalty kick that gives the chance to dream of another great European season, once again in the Europa League. Dybala feels at home in Rome, he is loved and spoiled by all the fans and on the field it shows. He looks like he was born to play in the Roma jersey.
