Serie A statistics and trivia: Napoli dominates but what a Monza
Serie A x-ray: all the numbers and trivia from the first 15 days
Beyond the ranking of points, goals scored and goals conceded. At the end of the first phase of the Serie A championship, certainties but also some surprises emerge from the data of Calcio.com, a site specializing in statistics of the major European leagues.
It is Napoli that immediately takes center stage, with ball possession averaging close to 58 percent, the highest figure in the entire league. A record that the Azzurri share with Fiorentina, also close to 58 percent despite being 10th in the league table. The revelation here, however, is Monza, which with the new Palladino-branded course settles at 55.2 percent average, just behind Milan (55.7 percent) and ahead of the likes of Inter (54.4 percent), Roma (51 percent) and Juventus (50.3 percent). Another surprise, however, is Lazio, only 13th with 48 percent.
Spalletti’s team also emerges in successful passes, first with over 88 percent of the total. Once again, however, Monza stands out, second with 86.7 percent, on par with Lazio and just ahead of Inter (86.1 percent). Juventus and Fiorentina follow, both at 85 percent, while Milan and Roma settle between 83 and 84 percent. Among the biggies, the least accurate is Atalanta (81.4%), fourth to last in the special ranking, while at the bottom is Verona with 77.58%.
The figure on shots on goal, on the other hand, is the one that most reflects the values of the official ranking. Once again it is Napoli that is flying with 95 attempts, followed by Inter (84), Milan (74), and Lazio (72). Juventus and Roma, on the other hand, are at 69, followed by Atalanta at 65.
Also telling a good story of the partenopei’s first part of the season is the statistics of goals from outside the box. Despite having the best attack in the league (37 goals), the Azzurri team has scored only once from distance, while the other 36 have all come inside the box. A very strong signal of the technical level of the team, which also ranked first in the number of assists (31). Scoring the most goals from distance, on the other hand, was Inter, second in the list of best attacks and with 5 goals coming from outside the box. On the other hand, Roma and Atalanta are tied with Empoli at 4.
Also significant is the Neapolitan figure on high reaggression, the index that takes into account quick ball recoveries in the opponent’s half. The percentage of balls that, when lost, are immediately recovered is 20.4 percent, the highest after Milan (19.9 percent), Fiorentina (19.8 percent) and Torino (19.6 percent).
On the defensive front, however, it is the low and mid-ranked teams that occupy the highest positions in Calcio.com’s statistics. Cremonese leads in that on saves, at 65, followed by Verona (55), Bologna (53), and Spezia (51). Among the top teams, the highest figure is Atalanta (41) and Inter (40), with Roma last at 30.
On the other hand, the Giallorossi are first in the number of posts and crossbars hit, coming in at 9 after the first part of the championship. They are followed by Verona with 7 woodpeckers, then Udinese and Milan at 6.
For the disciplinary chapter, the first names are those of Verona and Torino: by number of fouls committed, both teams came in at 221, the highest number ahead of Lecce (215) and Sampdoria (212). At the top end of the table, it is Atalanta that has totaled the most foul interventions (188), with Juventus and Milan a little further back at 180. Just above 170 are Roma and Inter, while the most correct are Lazio (137) and Napoli, which with 134 fouls turns out to be the most correct team along with Sassuolo. Related to fouls is the figure on cautions, in this case with Sampdoria (46) and Verona (44) leading the way, while it is Juventus that has recorded the most expulsions, so far 4 ahead of Verona’s 3.
