The pandemic-impacted season of 2020/21 was simply extraordinary in Italy’s Serie A. The average goal-per-game ratio hit an eye-watering 3.06; seemingly unburdened by playing in empty stadia, Italy’s finest embarked on a season of net-busting antics.
There was something of a carry-over into 2021/22 (2.87 goals per game), 2022/23 (2.56), 2023/24 (2.61) and 2024/25 (2.56), as Italian football seemed to shake off its long-standing reputation for conservative tactics and defence-first games. However, the 2025/26 campaign so far has heralded something of a return to those stodgy old days. After eleven rounds of matches, the average goal-per-game ratio in Serie A is a paltry 2.22, with the 0-0 scoreline the most common result – 15% of all Italian top-flight games thus far have ended in such a stalemate.
A tally of 244 goals has been scored, but 16% of those have come in Inter Milan’s games, with the Nerazzurri notching 26 times and conceding 12. And, in Gameweek 7, history was made: the ten Serie A games played yielded just eleven goals… the lowest return in the 20-team era. So, what has happened to all the goals in Serie A? Is this season an anomaly… or has Italian football reverted back to its days of world class, granite defending and risk-free attacking?
A Case for the Defence
In Sports Illustrated’s countdown of the top 50 defenders of all time, three of the top ten are Italian: Franco Baresi, Alessandro Nesta and Paolo Maldini. There’s an argument that Fabio Cannavaro and Giorgio Chiellini should be in there, too. This is the classic chicken-and-the-egg scenario: are classy defenders bred in Italy because of the stoic style of play, or are there so few goals because the standard of defending is so high?
‘Catenaccio’ – Defence First
There’s no doubt that the mindset of many in Italian football is defence first. The term ‘catenaccio’ was invented to describe the Italian way – while the Dutch and Brazilian national sides of the 1970s and 1980s were playing total football, Italy were locking down their penalty area… catenaccio literally translates as ‘door bolt’ in English.
The ultimate proof of the pudding came when Italy won the World Cup in 1982. Although that team was best known for the goalscoring heroics of Paolo Rossi, it was their defensive solidity that ensured they didn’t lose a single game in Spain – keeping a clean sheet against Poland and the semi-finals and restricting Germany to a single goal in the final.
The brilliant AC Milan teams of the late 1980s and 1990s were also built around their defensive brilliance: Baresi and Maldini joined by the likes of Alessandro Costacurta, Mauro Tassotti and Christian Panucci. At the 1993/94 edition, Milan kept six clean sheets in the eight games that they played – including a 4-0 demolition of Barcelona in the final.
Progressive Head Coaches
In the early 2000s, progressive head coaches like Pep Guardiola and Jürgen Klopp were making their first steps into management – creating the blueprint for new ways to play the game, be it possession-based overloads and maniacal pressing, at Barcelona B and Mainz. respectively.
Meanwhile, Inter Milan had turned to dog of war – and catenaccio lover – José Mourinho. He guided them to the Champions League title in 2009/10, limiting the free-scoring Chelsea to a single goal in their Round of 16 clash, keeping two clean sheets against CSKA Moscow and producing a defensive masterclass to beat Bayern 2-0 in the final.
So conservatism is woven into the fabric of Italian football, and while there have been attempts to keep up with the prevailing trends in other countries – perhaps those goal-laden Serie A seasons early in the 2020s were as a result of Pep and Klopp’s reimagining of the beautiful game – in the end, defensive solidity will always be the fall-back position.
Exhibit A: no less a judge than Maldini. “Even though I am not going to coach in the future, if I had to pass on a recommendation it would be to base your game on having a strong defence,” he said back in 2005.
The Art of Goalscoring
The words of former Roma and AC Milan legend Antonio Cassano sum up the current malaise of the Serie A to a tee:
Only the passion of the supporters keeps it alive, but the quality is really low. It’s an embarrassing situation, almost shameful. Watching some matches is a chore. There is no rhythm, no spectacle.
He was a creative attacker, so the current lack of goals in the division goes against Cassano’s principles. But, you sense, he’s got a point. Former Napoli coach Ottavio Bianchi believes that Serie A is no longer a ‘leader’ in world football, so fewer top-class strikers and attackers are interested in playing there. “Serie A has very few quality strikers, which is why scoring goals has become an issue,” he said.
Even so, the defensive outlook remains… and it’s hurting Italian sides in continental football. Aside from Inter Milan, who have retained their free-flowing style this season and are thriving, Italy’s three other Champions League representatives – Napoli, Juventus and Atalanta – are all struggling to finish in the top 24 of the 36 participants.
Most Goals Scored in First Half
Maybe it’s a tactical feat that has crept in. During those first eleven weeks of the Serie A in 2025/26, 43% of all the goals scored came in the first half. So, there’s no incentive for the winning team to go out and try to score a second or a third… winning 1-0 is every bit as good as winning 4-0.
But even the best head coaches in the modern game can be seduced by the ways of catenaccio from time to time. After his Manchester City went a goal up against Arsenal back in September 2025, Pep Guardiola ordered his team to defend in two lines of five – the Spaniard even later joking he had parked the bus. City’s possession of 32.8% was the lowest of any team Pep had managed in the prior two decades.
The influence of Italian football can be felt around the globe… but it might be high time that Serie A took a leaf out of other leagues’ books and considered a more attacking approach, too.
