Whilst there was immense drama at the top of Serie A Femminile on Matchday 5 of the playoff phase, it is the bottom of the table where the action looks set to stay heated until the very end of the campaign.
The fortunes of almost all of the teams in the Survival Pool seem to be changing week on week and after the weekend’s action, one team that may have thought they were safe are suddenly in trouble, whilst another who thought they were on the way down have been earned themselves a new lease of life.
Four teams are all still at risk of being among the one or two that head down to Serie B, but it is a fight that will likely go down to the final day.
Pomigliano falter at resurgent Sampdoria, Como almost safe
Just three games ago, you would have been forgiven for thinking that Sassuolo and Pomigliano had detached themselves from the thick of the relegation battle. Whilst that is still the case for the Neroverde, it really isn’t for Pomigliano.
After losing 2-0 away at Sassuolo, they have then been beaten 3-1 at home against Como and 4-1 away at Sampdoria. Those three consecutive results mean that the team from Campania have got a lot of work to do if they are to avoid finishing in the bottom two.
We have reached the stage of the playoffs where every team has played the same number of games, meaning the table is more representative. Pomigliano are now in the final safe position and are only three points ahead of Parma and two ahead of Sampdoria who are in the playoff position.
After what can certainly be considered a positive season with multiple great performances, Pomigliano are at risk of losing their way right at the crucial moment.
Sampdoria are enjoying a different feeling right now as they suddenly have a more than genuine shot at survival, which seemed unfathomable earlier in the season. The loan signing of Agnese Bonfantini has genuinely turned their season around. The Juventus youngster scored in the 1-1 draw with Como, the 1-1 draw with Parma, and this weekend’s 4-1 win over Pomigliano. She is the clear danger that Samp are looking for as soon as they get the ball.
As for Como, they could almost be considered safe now thanks to a surprising win over Sassuolo at home. The 2-1 victory means that they now have a six-point lead over second bottom – the relegation playoff place – with just four games left to play. They are not mathematically safe, but their form is steady and they can likely start planning for another season in the top flight.
Parma were on their rest week but as they now sit bottom and three points behind absolute safety, the situation is looking dire.
AS Roma on the brink, derby delight for AC Milan
Whilst the battle at the bottom of Serie A Femminile is shaping up superbly, the battle at the top may well have come to an end at the Stadio Tre Fontane on Saturday as AS Roma beat Juventus in front of their adoring fans in a sold-out stadium.
The match was predictably dramatic. Barbara Bonansea opened the scoring for Juventus who came into the game knowing they could cut the gap at the top to five points with another game against Roma still to come. The Giallorosse fought back with an Andressa Alves equaliser, but Arianna Caruso’s penalty put Juve back in front.
Roma showed their quality in the second half with a Valentina Giacinti equaliser and then Sophie Roman Haug’s dramatic winner with a handful of minutes to play. Staff streamed onto the pitch and it really had the feeling of a title-clinching goal.
It is not mathematically over just yet, but Juventus are now 11 points further back. They need to hope Roma lose all of their remaining four games, which seems impossible.
The other game in the Scudetto Pool saw AC Milan host Inter in the Derby della Madonnina. Neither team has anything to play for other than the privilege of finishing third, but the Rossonere impressed by grabbing a 3-1 win over their city rivals. Martina Piemonte was particularly impressive again, smashing in Milan’s second.
Serie A Femminile Playoff Matchday 5 results
| Date | Serie A Femminile Results |
| Sat, Apr 22 | AC Milan 3-1 Inter |
| Sat, Apr 22 | AS Roma 3-2 Juventus |
| Sun, Apr 23 | Sampdoria 4-1 Pomigliano |
| Sun, Apr 23 | Como 2-1 Sassuolo |
Serie A Femminile table
| Pos | Club | MP | Pts |
| 1 | AS Roma | 22 | 60 |
| 2 | Juventus | 22 | 49 |
| 3 | AC Milan | 22 | 38 |
| 4 | Fiorentina | 22 | 38 |
| 5 | Inter | 22 | 35 |
| 6 | Sassuolo | 22 | 26 |
| 7 | Como | 22 | 21 |
| 8 | Pomigliano | 22 | 17 |
| 9 | Sampdoria | 22 | 15 |
| 10 | Parma | 22 | 14 |
