The2018–19Serie A (known as theSerie ATIM for sponsorship reasons) was the 117th season of top-tier Italianfootball, the 87th in around-robin tournament, and the 9th since its organization under a league committee separate fromSerie B.Juventus were the seven-time defending champions and defended their title following their victory againstFiorentina on 20 April 2019. The season was run from 18 August 2018 to 26 May 2019.[2]
Hellas Verona andBenevento immediately returned toSerie B after finishing 19th and 20th whileCrotone, finishing in 18th place, were relegated after two seasons in the top flight.
On 28 April,Empoli earned the right to come back to Serie A after one year of relegation.[3] On 18 May 2018,Parma achieved promotion having finished second in the2017–18 Serie B season, just three seasons after their bankruptcy relegation toSerie D.[4] The last team promoted, after 2 years of absence, wasFrosinone, who defeatedPalermo in the Serie B play-off finals 3–2 on aggregate.[5]
On 23 July,Parma were handed a 5-point deduction for the 2018–19 Serie A season, following text messages from Parma playerEmanuele Calaiò "eliciting a reduced effort" from two players ofSpezia during the 2017–18 season, a matchParma won 2–0 to secure promotion to this season.[6] On 9 August,Parma had the 5-point deduction expunged.[7]
On 14 August, the day of thePonte Morandi bridge collapse in Genoa, theItalian Football Federation announced a minute's silence would be added for the victims of the collapse before all Serie A matches during the opening weekend that succeeded the incident.[8] On 16 August, theLega Serie A postponed the opening matches for both Genoese clubsGenoa andSampdoria that were originally scheduled for 19 August.[9]
On 13 September, Chievo was deducted 3 points after being found guilty of false accounting.[10]
On 14 April 2019, Chievo was relegated from Serie A after a 3–1 defeat by Napoli, ending an eleven-year spell in the top flight.[11]
On 20 April, Juventus won their 35th title and their eighth in a row with a win over Fiorentina.[12]
On 5 May, Frosinone was relegated from Serie A after a 2–2 draw away at Sassuolo, going down after just one season.[13]
On 26 May,Atalanta finished third and secured a place in theChampions League group stage, both for the first time in their history.[14] Meanwhile, Empoli which were one point above the relegation zone ahead of Genoa, were eventually relegated to Serie B after they were defeated byInternazionale, while Genoa drew withFiorentina.
Source:Serie A,Soccerway Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Goal difference; 5) Goals scored; 6) Draw. (Note: Head-to-head record is used only after all the matches between the teams in question have been played).[51] (C) Champions;(R) Relegated Notes:
^abAtalanta finished ahead of Internazionale on head-to-head points: Atalanta 4–1 Internazionale, Internazionale 0–0 Atalanta.
Source:Serie A Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win. For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.
In 2019, Serie A introduced theSerie A Awards for the first time, using calculations fromOpta Sports and Netco Sports to determine the best players of the season.[54][55]