There are still two more games to be played for matchday 22 to be totally completed, with Frosinone taking Lazio in a Rome-based derby and Cagliari welcoming Atalanta, but otherwise, this round of fixtures is pretty much done and dusted.
So without further ado, here's what we observed on what was a very interesting eight games of fixtures played over last weekend.
Juventus are still unstoppable
Yes, they suffered an embarrassing defeat to Atalanta in the Coppa Italia. And they did fumble a 3-1 lead to have to hang on for a 3-3 draw with Parma recently last weekend. The Crociati were truly impressive to claw their way back into that game and it was a thrilling one to view for Serie A neutrals and obviously Parma fans (but naturally not so much so for Juve supporters). But regardless, Juventus are still holding strong. With PSG losing 2-1 to Lyon, Juventus are still the only unbeaten side in Europe's top five leagues.
Can they complete the campaign unbeaten? They did do it before...so certainly, they could do it again, but it certainly won't be easy.
Cristiano Ronaldo continues to dominate Serie A
Are we surprised? Not really. Although he couldn't inspire his team to victory against Parma, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner added another goal to his growing tally to stay ahead of Atalanta's Duvan Zapata and Sampdoria's Fabio Quagliarella, who are both having surprisingly great seasons of their own in the battle for the Capocannoniere race.
DID YOU KNOW:
17 - #CristianoRonaldo has scored 17 goals in Serie A this season: the last Juventus' player to have done better in a single top-flight season after 22 MDs was David Trezeguet in 2005/06. Hammer.#JuventusParma #SerieA
— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) February 2, 2019
Need an early goal? Call Piatek
Milan just may have found the solution to their goal problem. Although the Rossoneri couldn't hang on for all three points against Roma, they were able to knock Napoli out of the Coppa Italia last week and are still very much in the hunt for a Champions League spot. And that's all thanks to the impressive showings of new signing Krzysztof Piatek, who has had an excellent debut campaign in Serie A.
His brace against Napoli fired the Diavolo into the semi's and it was his top form in front of goal that was keeping Genoa afloat for the first half of the season. More impressive, it's the timing of his goals that makes him even more key to his team's objectives as well:
8 - Krzysztof #Piatek has scored the opening goal 8 times in the Serie A 2018/19, more than any other player. Icebreaker. #RomaMilan
— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) February 3, 2019
As well as his overall output:
24 - Among the 4 top-5 European league players (Mbappè, Lewandowski and Messi the others) to score at least 22 goals in the current season (all comps), #Piatek is the striker who played the fewest matches (24). Trigger. #RomaMilan
— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) February 3, 2019
Bologna change their coach and pull off a shocking result
The Rossoblu said arrivederci to Pippi Inzaghi and brought in Sinisa Mihajlović...and picked up a shock 1-0 win over Inter at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza. Whether this was a sign things have improved or just a stroke of luck remains to be seen, but it's notable as Bologna haven't won an away match in a really, really long time. How long ago?
Well, in well over a year, to be exact:
21 - #Bologna have won a Serie A game away from home for the first time since December 2017 (the last win vs Chievo), 21 league matches ago. Relief. #InterBologna
— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) February 3, 2019
DID YOU KNOW?
The strongest team at home is not Juventus, but...
17 - Napoli are unbeaten in their last 17 home games in Serie A: a record among teams currently in the competition. Home.#NAPSAM #SerieA pic.twitter.com/RkbdmdlJNc
— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) February 2, 2019
The race for the Capocannoniere
Here's how the battle is shaping up so far: