Napoli’s lead at the top of the Serie A table shows no signs of being shortened as we move further into the season’s second round after Matchday 21, and it is becoming increasingly clear that champions AC Milan will end the campaign a long way off the pace being set by the Partenopei.
Stefano Pioli took a risk in benching Rafael Leao for the season’s second Derby della Madonnina in Matchday 21 and it backfired as the Rossoneri fell to a 1-0 defeat against Inter in the weekend’s biggest game. Napoli claimed a straightforward 3-0 win on the road against Spezia earlier in the matchday.
In the Champions League race, AC Milan and Atalanta lost ground as La Dea fell 1-0 away at Sassuolo and had two players sent off, while AS Roma beat Empoli 2-0.
Bologna beat Fiorentina in the Derby dell’Appennino and Torino beat Udinese 1-0. Lazio drew 1-1 with Hellas Verona and Monza drew 2-2 at home to Sampdoria and Juventus won 3-0 at Salernitana.
Serie A Matchday 21 results
| Date | Fixtures/Results |
| Sat, Feb 4 | Cremonese 0-2 Lecce |
| Sat, Feb 4 | AS Roma 2-0 Empoli |
| Sat, Feb 4 | Sassuolo 1-0 Atalanta |
| Sun, Feb 5 | Spezia 0-3 Napoli |
| Sun, Feb 5 | Torino 1-0 Udinese |
| Sun, Feb 5 | Fiorentina 1-2 Bologna |
| Sun, Feb 5 | Inter 1-0 AC Milan |
| Mon, Feb 6 | Verona 1-1 Lazio |
| Mon, Feb 6 | Monza 2-2 Sampdoria |
| Tues, Feb 7 | Salernitana 0-3 Juventus |
Serie A table after Matchday 21
| Pos | Club | MP | Pts |
| 1 | Napoli | 21 | 56 |
| 2 | Inter | 21 | 43 |
| 3 | AS Roma | 21 | 40 |
| 4 | Lazio | 21 | 39 |
| 5 | Atalanta | 21 | 38 |
| 6 | AC Milan | 21 | 38 |
| 7 | Torino | 21 | 30 |
| 8 | Udinese | 21 | 29 |
| 9 | Bologna | 21 | 29 |
| 10 | Juventus | 21 | 26* |
| 11 | Monza | 21 | 26 |
| 12 | Empoli | 21 | 26 |
| 13 | Fiorentina | 21 | 24 |
| 14 | Lecce | 21 | 23 |
| 15 | Sassuolo | 21 | 23 |
| 16 | Salernitana | 21 | 21 |
| 17 | Spezia | 21 | 18 |
| 18 | Verona | 21 | 14 |
| 19 | Sampdoria | 21 | 10 |
| 20 | Cremonese | 21 | 8 |
