Fight for the top half in Women's Serie A intensifies, Dragoni off the mark for Barcelona Femeni
The Women's Serie A action has returned for 2024 and there was plenty of intrigue during the Matchday 12 fixtures. One particular part of the table has really tightened up ahead of the split after Matchday 18.
The split in the Women's Serie A table is coming up very quickly and teams have just six more games to try and force their way into the top half, or just get enough points to achieve their aims for the season.
For that reason, the results on Matchday 12 hold major significance for the teams that are battling to be in the last two places of the Scudetto Pool, rather than the upper reaches of the Relegation Pool.
Sassuolo and Sampdoria eye up the top half
In the 2022/23 campaign, it became clear very early on which teams are going to be in which half of the table, which did take some of the excitement away. The same can't be said for this season.
The terrible form of Inter and the regression of Como Women, coupled with the upturn in form for Sampdoria and Sassuolo, means that there is a real battle brewing to spend the latter part of the season in the Scudetto Pool without the threat of relegation.
The four teams were in action against each other on Matchday 12. Sassuolo were away at Inter who have now won one of their last five. Chiara Beccari's excellent goal secured a 1-0 win for the Neroverde, and she became our Player of the Week.
Over in Como, the home side were beaten 1-0 by Sampdoria with the talented Eva Schatzer scoring the goal in the opening exchanges. That earned her a place in the Team of the Week.
Thanks to those results, there are now just three points separating Inter in fourth with 17, Como with 15, Sassuolo with 14 and Sampdoria in seventh who also have 14.
With AC Milan losing to Juventus, they now sit in eighth with 10 points. They are not out of this battle for the top half, but there is now a very plausible situation where you have both Milan sides in the Relegation Pool.
Dragoni scores on Barcelona Femeni debut
Away from the Italian top flight, it was an incredible weekend for the young Giulia Dragoni who plies her trade in Spain with Barcelona Femeni.
She moved to Barcelona at the age of 16 and became the first non-Spanish girl to train in the La Masia academy. She has developed very quickly, becoming a regular in the Italy Women's National Team, and now she has her first goal for the Barcelona first team.
She was handed her first-ever start for the club in the Copa de la Reina fixture against Fundacion Albacete, and it only took her 20 minutes to get the first goal in a 6-0 victory. She picked up the ball on the edge of the box and hit a powerful shot which deflected past the goalkeeper. She'll score better goals, but she's off the mark for the Blaugrana now.
Whilst it was not a Liga F game, it is an incredible achievement for a 17-year-old to get picked to play any competitive match in this Barcelona team which won all of its league games last season, and has so far won all 13 this season.
Women's Serie A 2023/24: Matchday 12 results
| Date | Fixture |
| Sat, Jan 13 | Napoli 2-4 Fiorentina |
| Sat, Jan 13 | Juventus 2-1 AC Milan |
| Sat, Jan 13 | AS Roma 3-0 Pomigliano |
| Sun, Jan 14 | Inter 0-1 Sassuolo |
| Sun, Jan 14 | Como W. 0-1 Sampdoria |
Women's Serie A table
| Pos | Club | MP | Pts |
| 1 | AS Roma | 12 | 36 |
| 2 | Juventus | 12 | 30 |
| 3 | Fiorentina | 12 | 28 |
| 4 | Inter | 12 | 17 |
| 5 | Como W. | 12 | 15 |
| 6 | Sassuolo | 12 | 14 |
| 7 | Sampdoria | 12 | 14 |
| 8 | AC Milan | 12 | 10 |
| 9 | Pomigliano | 12 | 5 |
| 10 | Napoli F. | 12 | 2 |