The first round of the 2024-25 Serie A season is now over and with some surprises, we’ve got a good understanding on the status of the Italian league. Napoli, Inter and Atalanta are currently competing for the title, with Lazio, Fiorentina and Juventus pushing from behind while AC Milan had to replace their manager Paulo Fonseca with Sergio Conceicao, who managed to win the Supercoppa Italiana against Inter only seven days after his appointment. AS Roma already sacked two managers in less than three months before deciding to hire club icon Claudio Ranieri until the end of the current season, who will also decide who’s going to be the next Giallorossi head coach. Here’s the best from the first half:
Best player: Mateo Retegui, Atalanta
The striker joined Atalanta from Genoa in the summer right after Italian striker Gianluca Scamacca’s injury that forced him to miss the first part of the season. Despite being a starter also for the Italian national team, there were some doubts about his potential impact under Gian Piero Gasperini, who once again proved everyone wrong as Retegui is currently the top scorer of the Italian Serie A alongside Inter’s Marcus Thuram with 12 goals scored despite an injury that forced him out of the squad since the end of December.
Most disappointing player: Lautaro Martinez, Inter
From one striker to another. Lautaro Martinez, Inter’s captain, only scored six goals in the league up to now and his season has definitely been a disappointing one so far. The 2024-25 season of Lautaro started off with the Argentinian striker coming back from his holidays beforehand due to some injuries that affected the Nerazzurri’s pre-season ahead of the start of the Italian Serie A. Lautaro decided to come back a few days before but didn’t have a proper pre-season with the rest of the team. Less than two weeks after, he played 86 minutes in the opening Serie A game against Genoa. All of this came after playing extensive minutes over the summer as Argentina won back-to-back Copa America crowns, with Lautaro scoring the winner against Colombia to earn continental glory once again. We had to wait until Sept. 28 to see Lautaro score his first goal of the season, a brace against Udinese, a few days before scoring his first and only goal so far in the UEFA Champions League’s campaign. Up till now, Martinez only scored eight goals in all competitions.
Best signing: Moise Kean, Fiorentina
Another striker, another surprise. Moise Kean joined Fiorentina in the summer as the Viola’s new manager Raffaele Palladino decided to trust the former Juventus striker. Kean, despite some initial setbacks, was one of the best players of the current season as he already 11 goals in 18 games played so far. More than the goals, he looks completely regenerated in a city and in a club that finally trusted him. This might be a new beginning for the 24-year-old, who is now aiming to get his national team spot back.
Most disappointing signing: Douglas Luiz, Juventus
There were a lot of expectations around Juventus this season, and those haven’t quite been fulfilled, with Douglas Luiz also failing to deliver. The team now coached by former Bologna man Thiago Motta made some key signings over the summer, including the former Aston Villa midfielder, who didn’t really impress so far. Luiz, also due to injuries, has played a total of 354 minutes in all competitions for a total of 13 caps so far. The Bianconeri need a different player in the second part of the season, where the Brazilian midfielder is called to react and obtain a starting role again.
Best manager: Marco Baroni, Lazio
When Lazio decided to part ways with Igor Tudor before the summer, not many could imagine what Marco Baroni was going to achieve in this first part of the season, especially after the summer departures of former captain Ciro Immobile, Felipe Anderson and Luis Alberto. The former Verona manager showed he was ready for such an important chance and delivered one of the best stints of the Biancocelesti of the past years, as Lazio are currently in the league’s top four and leading the league phase table of the UEFA Europa League with 16 points. While city rivals AS Roma struggled a lot and fired two managers (Daniele De Rossi and Ivan Juric) in less than two months before appointing Ranieri, Lazio’s plan is clear and solid.
Best young talent: Sebastiano Esposito, Empoli
The Italian striker had a strong start to the season at Empoli, where it looks like he found the team he needed to show his qualities in the league. Esposito, who will turn 23 in 2025, already scored seven goals in 15 Serie A games played, becoming one to watch, not only for the second part of the season, but also for the summer, when many clubs will definitely try to sign him. Inter are still in control of his future as he’s on loan at Empoli, but it’s not clear what their plan will be for Esposito.
Best goal scored: Christian Pulisic, Milan
The USMNT star had an incredibly exciting start to the 2024-25 season at AC Milan, where he also managed to win the Supercoppa Italiana in the final against Inter, and Pulisic won his first trophy in Italy and with the Rossoneri after arriving at the club in summer 2023. Against the same city rivals, on Sept. 22, Pulisic scored this stunning goal:
require.config({“baseUrl”:”https://sportsfly.cbsistatic.com/fly-0852/bundles/sportsmediajs/js-build”,”config”:{“version”:{“fly/components/accordion”:”1.0″,”fly/components/alert”:”1.0″,”fly/components/base”:”1.0″,”fly/components/carousel”:”1.0″,”fly/components/dropdown”:”1.0″,”fly/components/fixate”:”1.0″,”fly/components/form-validate”:”1.0″,”fly/components/image-gallery”:”1.0″,”fly/components/iframe-messenger”:”1.0″,”fly/components/load-more”:”1.0″,”fly/components/load-more-article”:”1.0″,”fly/components/load-more-scroll”:”1.0″,”fly/components/loading”:”1.0″,”fly/components/modal”:”1.0″,”fly/components/modal-iframe”:”1.0″,”fly/components/network-bar”:”1.0″,”fly/components/poll”:”1.0″,”fly/components/search-player”:”1.0″,”fly/components/social-button”:”1.0″,”fly/components/social-counts”:”1.0″,”fly/components/social-links”:”1.0″,”fly/components/tabs”:”1.0″,”fly/components/video”:”1.0″,”fly/libs/easy-xdm”:”2.4.17.1″,”fly/libs/jquery.cookie”:”1.2″,”fly/libs/jquery.throttle-debounce”:”1.1″,”fly/libs/jquery.widget”:”1.9.2″,”fly/libs/omniture.s-code”:”1.0″,”fly/utils/jquery-mobile-init”:”1.0″,”fly/libs/jquery.mobile”:”1.3.2″,”fly/libs/backbone”:”1.0.0″,”fly/libs/underscore”:”1.5.1″,”fly/libs/jquery.easing”:”1.3″,”fly/managers/ad”:”2.0″,”fly/managers/components”:”1.0″,”fly/managers/cookie”:”1.0″,”fly/managers/debug”:”1.0″,”fly/managers/geo”:”1.0″,”fly/managers/gpt”:”4.3″,”fly/managers/history”:”2.0″,”fly/managers/madison”:”1.0″,”fly/managers/social-authentication”:”1.0″,”fly/utils/data-prefix”:”1.0″,”fly/utils/data-selector”:”1.0″,”fly/utils/function-natives”:”1.0″,”fly/utils/guid”:”1.0″,”fly/utils/log”:”1.0″,”fly/utils/object-helper”:”1.0″,”fly/utils/string-helper”:”1.0″,”fly/utils/string-vars”:”1.0″,”fly/utils/url-helper”:”1.0″,”libs/jshashtable”:”2.1″,”libs/select2″:”3.5.1″,”libs/jsonp”:”2.4.0″,”libs/jquery/mobile”:”1.4.5″,”libs/modernizr.custom”:”2.6.2″,”libs/velocity”:”1.2.2″,”libs/dataTables”:”1.10.6″,”libs/dataTables.fixedColumns”:”3.0.4″,”libs/dataTables.fixedHeader”:”2.1.2″,”libs/dateformat”:”1.0.3″,”libs/waypoints/infinite”:”3.1.1″,”libs/waypoints/inview”:”3.1.1″,”libs/waypoints/jquery.waypoints”:”3.1.1″,”libs/waypoints/sticky”:”3.1.1″,”libs/jquery/dotdotdot”:”1.6.1″,”libs/jquery/flexslider”:”2.1″,”libs/jquery/lazyload”:”1.9.3″,”libs/jquery/maskedinput”:”1.3.1″,”libs/jquery/marquee”:”1.3.1″,”libs/jquery/numberformatter”:”1.2.3″,”libs/jquery/placeholder”:”0.2.4″,”libs/jquery/scrollbar”:”0.1.6″,”libs/jquery/tablesorter”:”2.0.5″,”libs/jquery/touchswipe”:”1.6.18″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.core”:”1.11.4″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.draggable”:”1.11.4″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.mouse”:”1.11.4″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.position”:”1.11.4″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.slider”:”1.11.4″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.sortable”:”1.11.4″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.touch-punch”:”0.2.3″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.autocomplete”:”1.11.4″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.accordion”:”1.11.4″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.tabs”:”1.11.4″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.menu”:”1.11.4″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.dialog”:”1.11.4″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.resizable”:”1.11.4″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.button”:”1.11.4″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.tooltip”:”1.11.4″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.effects”:”1.11.4″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.datepicker”:”1.11.4″}},”shim”:{“liveconnection/managers/connection”:{“deps”:[“liveconnection/libs/sockjs-0.3.4″]},”liveconnection/libs/sockjs-0.3.4”:{“exports”:”SockJS”},”libs/setValueFromArray”:{“exports”:”set”},”libs/getValueFromArray”:{“exports”:”get”},”fly/libs/jquery.mobile-1.3.2″:[“version!fly/utils/jquery-mobile-init”],”libs/backbone.marionette”:{“deps”:[“jquery”,”version!fly/libs/underscore”,”version!fly/libs/backbone”],”exports”:”Marionette”},”fly/libs/underscore-1.5.1″:{“exports”:”_”},”fly/libs/backbone-1.0.0″:{“deps”:[“version!fly/libs/underscore”,”jquery”],”exports”:”Backbone”},”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.tabs-1.11.4″:[“jquery”,”version!libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.core”,”version!fly/libs/jquery.widget”],”libs/jquery/flexslider-2.1″:[“jquery”],”libs/dataTables.fixedColumns-3.0.4″:[“jquery”,”version!libs/dataTables”],”libs/dataTables.fixedHeader-2.1.2″:[“jquery”,”version!libs/dataTables”],”https://sports.cbsimg.net/js/CBSi/app/VideoPlayer/AdobePass-min.js”:[“https://sports.cbsimg.net/js/CBSi/util/Utils-min.js”]},”map”:{“*”:{“adobe-pass”:”https://sports.cbsimg.net/js/CBSi/app/VideoPlayer/AdobePass-min.js”,”facebook”:”https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js”,”facebook-debug”:”https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/all/debug.js”,”google”:”https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js”,”google-csa”:”https://www.google.com/adsense/search/async-ads.js”,”google-javascript-api”:”https://www.google.com/jsapi”,”google-client-api”:”https://accounts.google.com/gsi/client”,”gpt”:”https://securepubads.g.doubleclick.net/tag/js/gpt.js”,”hlsjs”:”https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/hls.js/1.0.7/hls.js”,”recaptcha”:”https://www.google.com/recaptcha/api.js?onload=loadRecaptcha&render=explicit”,”recaptcha_ajax”:”https://www.google.com/recaptcha/api/js/recaptcha_ajax.js”,”supreme-golf”:”https://sgapps-staging.supremegolf.com/search/assets/js/bundle.js”,”taboola”:”https://cdn.taboola.com/libtrc/cbsinteractive-cbssports/loader.js”,”twitter”:”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js”,”video-avia”:”https://sports.cbsimg.net/fly/js/avia-js/2.12.0/player/avia.min.js”,”video-avia-ui”:”https://sports.cbsimg.net/fly/js/avia-js/2.12.0/plugins/ui/avia.ui.min.js”,”video-avia-gam”:”https://sports.cbsimg.net/fly/js/avia-js/2.12.0/plugins/gam/avia.gam.min.js”,”video-avia-hls”:”https://sports.cbsimg.net/fly/js/avia-js/2.12.0/plugins/hls/avia.hls.min.js”,”video-avia-playlist”:”https://sports.cbsimg.net/fly/js/avia-js/2.12.0/plugins/playlist/avia.playlist.min.js”,”video-ima3″:”https://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/sdkloader/ima3.js”,”video-ima3-dai”:”https://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/sdkloader/ima3_dai.js”,”video-utils”:”https://sports.cbsimg.net/js/CBSi/util/Utils-min.js”,”video-vast-tracking”:”https://sports.cbsimg.net/fly/js/sb55/vast-js/vtg-vast-client.js”}},”waitSeconds”:300});
Checkout latest world news below links :
World News || Latest News || U.S. News
The post Serie A first-half awards: USMNT’s Christian Pulisic for best goal, Lautaro Martinez biggest disappointment appeared first on WorldNewsEra.