It has been a nightmare inaugural season for Parma Women in Serie A Femminile and they have finally been put out of their misery with an extremely disappointing defeat against Sampdoria confirming their relegation to Serie B.
Whilst the top of Serie A Femminile has had its two most important spots, first and second, sewn up for weeks, the bottom of the table has not been quite so settled. We still do not know for sure who will be taking part in the relegation playoff against a Serie B Femminile side, whilst there is still a touch of confusion about who will represent Italy in the Women’s Champions League in 2023/24.
Parma put out of their misery, playoff between Pomigliano and Sampdoria
It has been a truly horrid and toubled first campaign in Serie A Femminile for Parma. There have been a few moments of promise in the season, but overall they cannot have any complaints about their relegation.
That was shown by the abject performance that they put in against Sampdoria at the weekend when they knew that defeat would result in automatic relegation, without the chance to feature in the playoff.
There was an element of cruelty to proceedings as the opening goal in the 3-0 defeat was an own goal from Danielle Cox, one of their better and more consistent performers over the course of the season.
Agnese Bonfantini then netted a penalty, showing again how smart it was to bring her in during the season. She has been Sampdoria’s difference maker and the win was rounded off by the experienced Stefania Tarenzi.
It leaves Parma needing to rebuild their entire squad in Serie B next season. Some huge decisions need to be made in regard to personnel. The benefit is that they have got almost unrivalled facilities and investment into the infrastructure of their women’s side. If they can recruit (much) better this summer than they did last summer and in January, there is a good chance they return from Serie B swiftly. It is a big if, though.
As for Sampdoria, they have done superbly well to be in with a serious shout of safety on the final day. They will face Pomigliano who are three points ahead and in a safe position, but the Blucerchiata have got the better head-to-head record.
The situation is simple: If Pomigliano win or draw, they are safe. If Sampdoria win, they are safe and Pomigliano will be in the playoff against either Napoli, Lazio or Lady Granata Cittadella.
Potential UWCL drama
Juventus secured the second Women’s Champions League qualification place a few weeks ago, but developments with the men’s side of the club could lead to yet more drama.
There is no denying that Juventus are the second-best team in Serie A Femminile, but there is a chance that UEFA will ban both the men’s and women’s teams from their competitions next season as a result of the capital gains scandal which has led to the men being deducted 10 points by the FIGC.
This would mean that third place in Serie A gets a UWCL place and that (seemingly) could be any of Fiorentina, AC Milan and Inter. La Viola are third now and have played all of their games. Thanks to the points gaps, head-to-head records and goal difference, Fiorentina actually cannot hold onto third and one of the Milan sides will take that position, regardless of what happens on the final day.
There is a Milan derby on the final day and if Milan win, they will finish in third place. If it ends in a draw, the Rossonere will be level on points with Fiorentina. They are also dead level on head-to-head with a win each and two draws. In that event, it goes to goal difference which would go the way of Milan as they are on +9 and Fiorentina are on -7.
If Inter win the derby, they will go level on points with Fiorentina but would finish third thanks to a superior head-to-head record. The situation can be understood clearly below:
- Win for AC Milan against Inter means they finish third
- A draw also means Milan finish third thanks to goal difference
- A win for Inter means they finish third thanks to head-to-head.
Serie A Femminile Matchday 25 results
| Date | Serie A Femminile Results |
| Sat, May 20 | Sampdoria 3-0 Parma |
| Sat, May 20 | Como 0-1 Pomigliano |
| Sat, May 20 | AS Roma 2-1 Inter |
| Sun, May 21 | Fiorentina 4-2 Juventus |
Serie A Femminile table
| Pos | Club | MP | Pts |
| 1 | AS Roma (C) | 25 | 67 |
| 2 | Juventus (UWCL) | 25 | 51 |
| 3 | Fiorentina | 26 | 42 |
| 4 | AC Milan | 25 | 41 |
| 5 | Inter | 25 | 39 |
| 6 | Sassuolo | 25 | 35 |
| 7 | Como | 25 | 25 |
| 8 | Pomigliano | 25 | 21 |
| 9 | Sampdoria | 25 | 18 |
| 10 | Parma (R) | 26 | 16 |
