Genoa

Balotelli, who has 52 goals in 141 appearances in the Italian top-flight, has been without a club since the end of last season after departing Turkish Super Lig side Adana Demirspor.

The 34-year-old joins a struggling Genoa who currently sit in the bottom three in Serie A after managing just six points from their first nine games this term. 

Alberto Gilardino's side have also scored just seven goals this season, with only bottom club Lecce (three) scoring fewer.

"I am pumped. I don’t want to talk much. I just want to get started," Balotelli said earlier on Monday. "I'll give it my all," he added, addressing the fans.

Genoa became the fourth Serie A side Balotelli has played for, having signed for Inter from Lumezzane in 2007, going on to win six major honours for the Nerazzurri. 

After a three-year stint with Manchester City, where he won the Premier League, he returned to Italy for Inter's rivals Milan in 2013, rejoining them on loan in 2015 from Liverpool.

Balotelli has since had stays in France, Turkey and Switzerland, but is now hoping to help Genoa stay in Serie A.

And the Italian could make his debut for the club on Thursday, with Fiorentina the visitors to the Stadio Comunale Luigi Ferraris. 

Following a government decree issued on Monday, Italy is on lockdown and all public gatherings are banned until April 3.

This development also means all sporting events in that timeframe have been postponed, throwing Serie A – which had previously been due to continue behind closed doors – into doubt.

Should Serie A resume on April 4, teams will have between 12 and 14 matches to cram in before the end of May, while some sides also have European ties to contend with.

FIGC has a limited amount of time to work with too, given Euro 2020 is set to begin in Rome on June 12, meaning facilities will need to be handed over to UEFA well in advance.

Italy's governing body is considering its options, accepting Serie A could either: finish early; be decided by play-offs; or simply halted and the title would go to no one.

A statement on the FIGC website read: "With reference to the recovery of Serie A matches, taking into account that the other leagues [Serie B, Serie C et cetera] have no international deadlines and therefore a wider margin of programming, the federal president proposed to the Serie A league to take advantage of all the dates available until May 31.

"If the COVID-19 emergency does not allow the conclusion of the championships, president Gabriele Gravina has submitted to the attention of the leagues concerned some hypotheses on which to discuss in the meeting of the Federal Council on 23 March.

"Without any order of priority, a hypothesis could be the non-assignment of the title of Campione of Italy and consequent communication to UEFA of the teams that qualified for the European competitions [Champions League and Europa League]; another would be to refer to the rankings accrued up to the moment of interruption; third and last hypothesis, to play only the play-offs for the title of Campione d'Italia and the play-offs for relegation to Serie B."

As it stands, Juventus are top of Serie A with 63 points – one clear of Lazio. Brescia, SPAL and Lecce occupy the three relegation spots, with the latter tied on 25 points with 17th-placed Genoa.

As of Tuesday, Italy is the most-affected European nation, with 9,172 confirmed cases of COVID-19.

Vlahovic scored Juventus' first goal in four league games when he converted from the spot after they were awarded a penalty for a handball following half-time.

He added his second in the 55th minute from a tight angle after Teun Koopmeiners found the Serbian striker on the edge of the box with a deep cross-field pass.

Substitute Francisco Conceicao then sealed the win with a low, one-touch finish late on.

The game in Genoa was played behind closed doors after crowd violence during their Coppa Italia fixture against Serie B side Sampdoria left more than 50 people injured.

Juventus, who drew each of their last three league games 0-0, top the table with 12 points from six games, one point ahead of second-placed Torino who host Lazio on Sunday.

Data Debrief: Vlahovic gets Juventus firing

Vlahovic broke the deadlock on Saturday and is now only one of the two players to score at least two braces in Serie A this season, level with Marcus Thuram.

The Serbian was bound to score from the sport having converted 18 of his 22 penalties taken in Serie A, including his last three in 2024.

Fellow goalscorer Conceicao scored 8,252 days after his father, Sergio, last bagged in Serie A on 24 February 2002, meanwhile, for Inter against Udinese.

The Frenchman has been out of work since parting ways with French Ligue 1 side Strasbourg in July, having previously managed Premier League club Crystal Palace.

Genoa sacked coach Alberto Gilardino on Tuesday, with the club hovering just one point above the relegation zone with 10 points from 12 matches this season.

Gilardino registered just two wins in Serie A this season, while the club were also knocked out of the Coppa Italia by Serie B Sampdoria on penalties in the second round. 

Vieira began his managerial career with Manchester City's Under-23 team between 2013 and 2015 before he took over at MLS side New York City FC. He then spent two-and-a-half years at Ligue 1 side Nice before moving to Palace.

In his sole season at Strasbourg, the former France international won 13 of his 38 league games (D10 L15), averaging 1.29 points per game during his tenure. 

Vieira is now the first French manager to work in at least three of the five major European championships in the 21st century.

He will reunite with new signing Mario Balotelli, having coached the Italian striker for 10 matches when they were both at Nice in the 2018-19 season.

The cases, from among the playing squad and other staff, were confirmed following the 6-0 league defeat to Napoli on Sunday.

"The club has activated all the procedures as per the protocol and informed the authorities. The club will give updates as the situation evolves," Genoa said in a statement on Monday.

This news means Saturday's scheduled game against Torino could now be in doubt.

It also means Napoli will likely need to carry out tests of their squad before Sunday's clash with champions Juventus.

Sampdoria also confirmed on Monday that forward Keita Balde had tested positive for COVID-19 and will now follow the necessary health protocols.

The player is due to join Sampdoria from Monaco this week on loan.

Ibrahimovic opened the scoring with a stunning first-half free-kick in Wednesday's 3-0 victory at Genoa, a result that moved Milan within a point of leaders Napoli, who squandered a 2-0 lead in a 2-2 draw against Sassuolo.

The victory was a welcome return to form for Milan, having gone from unbeaten domestically to licking their wounds following back-to-back league defeats.

Milan head coach Stefano Pioli signed a contract extension last week and Ibrahimovic wants to be the next to put pen to paper as the evergreen 40-year-old eyes silverware with the club.

"I have fun, before the match, we had already decided how long I would have played," Ibrahimovic said to Sky Sport Italia after the match. "These guys make me have fun and feel young.

"We had made errors that cost us the previous two games. It was all our fault, not our opponents' merit, but we won today and we remain up there.

"Now I have to renew. I am happy for [Pioli] because he deserves [his contract extension], if he renews, I renew. Pioli has done a great job.

"I am happy for the fans. For so many years, they have not enjoyed as they are enjoying now. I want to make them happy, but if we don't win a trophy we haven't done anything."

Ibrahimovic's goal was his 153rd goal in Serie A, drawing level with Stefano Nyers and Hernan Crespo in 26th place among the top scorers in the Italian competition.

His 73 league goals for Milan also took Swedish forward Ibrahimovic to 10th in Milan's standings, alongside Filippo Inzaghi.

Once Pioli had penned his own terms, the 56-year-old revealed that Ibrahimovic wasted no time in contacting him to ask for a new contract. 

The Milan boss praised his team's performance against Genoa, particularly the connection between Ibrahimovic and his team-mates.

"Zlatan is the only player who sent me a message as soon as I signed my contract," Pioli said to Sky Sport Italia. "It said congratulations, Mister, now sort mine out!

"That's Zlatan for you! This is a season that can give us satisfaction, I don't know how far we can go.

"We played with intensity and determination for the whole game this evening and unfortunately we are not a team that can do the bare minimum. We've got to give it our all, or we are not superior to the opposition.

"The arrival of Zlatan improved everything, certainly, but his team-mates also did well to accept his way of motivating them.

"At the same time, Zlatan has to thank his team-ates, because he has come back to being the great player he was a few years ago. It's give and take for them both."

Belgium international Lukaku set them on their way to a fifth consecutive top-flight win with a goal inside the opening minute. 

Antonio Conte's side largely dominated proceedings thereafter, with Nicolo Barella striking the crossbar, and they wrapped up all three points in the second period through Darmian and Sanchez.

The result moved them seven points ahead of second-placed Milan, although Stefano Pioli's side can rein them back in with victory over Roma later on Sunday.

Inter started in blistering fashion, Lukaku firing into Mattia Perin's bottom-right corner from just outside the penalty area after 32 seconds – Inter's second-fastest Serie A goal since Opta started tracking such data in 2004-05.

Darmian clipped wide after 14 minutes, while Barella hit the bar with a long-range effort soon after.

Perin then kept out Lukaku's powerful strike shortly after the half-hour mark as Inter ultimately failed to double their advantage before the interval.

The hosts put the result beyond doubt in the 69th minute when Darmian lashed home his first Serie A goal for the club from 12 yards after being picked out by Lukaku. 

Substitute Sanchez then added gloss to the scoreline 13 minutes from full-time, heading in from close range after Lukaku's effort had been repelled by Perin. 

The outbreak of coronavirus in Italy forced four top-flight matches to be postponed over the weekend, including Sunday's clash between Scudetto hopefuls Inter and Sampdoria.

Italy's move came as part of preventative measures against the spread of the coronavirus, officially named COVID-19 which originated in China, after two people died and dozens more reportedly tested positive.

Now, upcoming fixtures across Italy's leagues are in doubt, with Serie A leaders Juve scheduled to host Inter in Turin on March 1.

"I don't think that in just one week we'd be able to slow down the contagion so much that we could resume sporting events," Conte told Rai.

"We are constantly monitoring the situation and will evaluate. We'll see the evolution of the contagion and evaluate postponing all next week's matches."

Juve are a point clear atop the table following Saturday's 2-1 victory away at bottom side SPAL.

Cristiano Ronaldo marked his 1,000th career appearance with a goal, scoring in an 11th consecutive top-flight match – matching a feat previously achieved by Gabriel Batistuta and Fabio Quagliarella.

In-form Lazio were also in action on Saturday and edged Genoa 3-2 to extend their unbeaten streak to 20 games, while Inter are six points off the pace with a game in hand.

The matches were initially due to be played behind closed doors, as was the case with Inter's Europa League victory over Ludogorets at San Siro on Thursday.

But Lega Serie A revealed on Saturday that the clash in Turin, along with Milan v Genoa, Parma against SPAL and Sassuolo versus Brescia would not go ahead on Sunday.

Udinese's encounter with Fiorentina on Saturday has also been called off.

The matches will instead be played on May 13, with the Coppa Italia final pushed back a week to May 20.

With the Rossoneri's famous home absent of spectators following a decree that all sporting events in Italy take place behind closed doors until April 3 as the country battles the coronavirus outbreak, Milan turned in a drab performance.

At the end of a week that saw Milan sack chief football officer Zvonimir Boban but express support for Pioli, they were second best throughout against a Genoa side battling relegation.

Goran Pandev's close-range finish gave Genoa the lead and Francesco Cassata doubled their advantage four minutes before half-time. Zlatan Ibrahimovic pulled one back for Milan but they remain 12 points off the top four, while Genoa move out of the bottom three, leapfrogging Lecce.

Milan fell behind in the seventh minute as Pandev was provided with the simplest of tap-ins to break the deadlock after Antonio Sanabria had dispossessed Theo Hernandez and sent a low right-wing delivery across the face of goal.

Mattia Perin displayed excellent reactions to keep out Ibrahimovic's header from point-blank range following a clever ball from Hakan Calhanoglu as Milan sought an equaliser.

However, Genoa continued to look the more threatening in the final third and a sublime team move made it 2-0.

Sanabria was involved again as he spread the play out to right winger Davide Biraschi, whose cross was instinctively flicked on by Lasse Schone for Cassata to slide the ball home at the far post.

Milan appeared to be running out of steam in a low-key second half, but Ibrahimovic reduced the deficit with a smart volley on the turn 13 minutes from the end of normal time.

Genoa had little difficulty seeing out the win, though, as Pioli's side remained well below their best.

What does it mean? Genoa give Pioli cause for concern

If Pioli was heartened by the backing he received 24 hours earlier, this performance should give the Milan boss reason to worry about his long-term future at the club. Despite seeing much less of the ball than their hosts, Genoa were worthy winners.

Sanabria's star turn

Former Barcelona youth player Sanabria, on loan from Real Betis, set in motion a superb win for Genoa when he robbed Hernandez of the ball and looked the visitors' most likely threat to score a third in the second half.

Zlatan looks a fading force

Ibrahimovic's arrival coincided with the upturn in fortunes Milan experienced at the turn of the year. However, the 38-year-old looked every bit a player in the twilight of his career on Sunday. He should have beaten Perin with Milan's best chance of the game and, though he did eventually give his side hope, a wayward overhead kick in the second half encapsulated his difficult day.

What's next?

Milan visit Lecce next Sunday, with Genoa hosting Parma 24 hours earlier as they look to further boost their survival hopes.

Milan occupy top spot in their quest for a first Scudetto since 2011, but fierce rivals Inter are just two points behind and arguably have an easier set of fixtures to conclude the campaign.

Napoli and Juventus are not officially out of the title race just yet, though they are seven and eight points off first place respectively, therefore requiring a remarkable set of results.

Both Napoli and Juventus are already assured of a top-four finish, but there are several other teams still battling it out for the three remaining European spots.

Venezia appear doomed at the opposite end of the table after losing to fellow strugglers Salernitana on Thursday, with the latter's victory lifting them out of the bottom three – in all, six teams remain in trouble.

But just how will the remaining two and a half weeks of the season unfold? Using the Stats Perform League Prediction Model, we can try to forecast the final standings.

Created by Stats Perform AI using Opta data, the model has analysed the division to assign percentages to potential outcomes for each club.

The model estimates the probability of each match outcome (win, draw or loss) based on teams' attacking and defensive qualities, which considers four years' worth of results.

Weighting is based on recency and the quality of opposition, with the rest of the matches then simulated 10,000 times to calculate the likelihood of each outcome.

Let's take a look...

MILAN TO SEE THE JOB THROUGH

Milan still have Hellas Verona (ninth), Atalanta (eighth) and Sassuolo (11th) to face, whereas Inter's final fixtures are against Empoli (14th), Cagliari (18th) and Sampdoria (15th).

However, it is worth noting that if they finish level on points, Milan would be crowned champions by virtue of a superior head-to-read record against their rivals this term.

With that in mind, while Inter are only two points behind, they essentially need to take three more points than Milan over the final three matchdays.

And our model suggests the Rossoneri have a 62 per cent chance of retaining top spot, compared to a 37.7 per cent chance of defending champions Inter overtaking them.

Just to highlight how unlikely it is either Napoli or Juventus will pip the current top two to the summit, they have a 0.2 and 0.1 per cent chance of winning the title respectively.

A ROME ONE-TWO FOR EUROPA LEAGUE?

The Champions League places may now officially be wrapped up, but five teams are still battling it out for the three remaining European berths.

The sides that finish in fifth and sixth, currently occupied by Roma and Lazio, will qualify for the Europa League group stage.

Roma, according to the model, have a 59.1 per cent chance of nailing down fifth place – though if they were to drop to seventh, the Europa Conference League finalists could get into the Europa League by winning UEFA's third-tier competition.

Lazio would take great enjoyment from finishing above their neighbours and have a 36.9 per cent chance of doing so.

The first priority for Maurizio Sarri will be locking down sixth, though, and there is a 46.7 per cent likelihood of achieving that with Fiorentina three points further back.

ATALANTA TO PIP FIORENTINA

While the top six are forecast to remain where they are, our model predicts seventh-placed Fiorentina will miss out to Atalanta in the Europa Conference League play-off position.

After losing three games in a row, La Viola now have a 31.2 per cent chance of staying seventh, compared to 47.6 for Atalanta, whom they are currently level with on 56 points.

Verona are four points further back and that appears to be too big a gap to bridge, with the Gialloblu seemingly certain to remain in eighth.

Indeed, the 80.8 per cent likelihood of Verona finishing in that position is bettered only by the chances of Empoli staying 14th (90.2 per cent) and Venezia remaining bottom (87.4 per cent) given the points margin either side.

VENEZIA AND TWO OTHERS TO DESCEND

Thursday's 2-1 defeat away to Salernitana looks to have spelled the end for Venezia's brief stint back in the top flight as it leaves them seven points from safety. Their chances of escaping the drop sit at 0.1 per cent.

Salernitana still have a 36.2 per cent chance of dropping into the bottom three, but given they face the team directly below them – Cagliari – and Empoli in their next two games, they will surely like those odds.

Another win for Salernitana on Sunday would be massive at the bottom, as such a result will relegate Venezia and potentially Genoa, whom the model gives only a 1.2 per cent likelihood of climbing up to 17th.

Spezia and Sampdoria aren't quite out of the woods yet, but their five-point cushions should be enough to keep them in Serie A. Everything points to Sunday's contest being almost a straight relegation play-off between Salernitana and Cagliari.

The model suggests with a 63.3 per cent probability that Cagliari will go down, but their fate is in their own hands.

Fonseca had stern words for his players following their win over Red Star Belgrade in midweek, with his side needing a late winner from Tammy Abraham to seal the victory.

Milan captain Davide Calabria was one of those players criticised, with the Italy international responding to comments made about his performance on social media. 

The result moved them up to 12th in the 36-team standings and a point away from the top eight, which would mean automatic qualification to the knockout stages. 

But their attention this week returns to domestic action, with Genoa the visitors to the San Siro, as Fonseca hopes to mark Milan's 125th anniversary with a win.

"For me, it would have been easy to just talk about the victory over Red Star, but tomorrow Milan is 125 years old, and we have to live up to that history," Fonseca said. 

"And for me, after Wednesday, it wasn't like that. With Wednesday's attitude, we couldn't live up to a club that has made football history.

"I spoke to the team, I spoke to the players I wanted to speak to, and we are ready for tomorrow."

Asked why he had publicly criticised his team in midweek, Fonseca said: "First, because I always tell the truth, it's difficult for me to hide what I feel after the game.

"Secondly, these are important messages to get across. You are not inside, you don't know everything, but I had the need to speak publicly."

Milan find themselves seventh in Serie A heading into this weekend's clash, 13 points behind leaders Atalanta, but do have the luxury of a game in hand. 

But Fonseca was quick to temper expectations of challenging for a 20th Scudetto, suggesting that the gap to the summit was already too big. 

"As always, I want to be honest. I think it is more difficult now, but inside I still believe. What more can I say? It's not that it's easy, but I keep believing," Fonseca said. 

Despite Milan's struggles, Fonseca said their problems could be solved, saying: "I have already seen the Milan I wanted. I'm not a magician.

"It's always a rollercoaster: maybe tomorrow we see it, maybe later we don't. I would like to have a more constant team, especially in attitude.

"Then you can make mistakes technically or tactically, but it's difficult for me to understand this mental inconsistency of the team. It can be solved." 

Juve continued their fine start to life under Motta with a routine victory at the Stadio Comunale Luigi Ferraris, Vlahovic netting twice before Francisco Conceicao added a late third.

They have kept a clean sheet in each of their first six matches of a Serie A season for the very first time, also scoring at least twice in five of their last eight games, having done so only once in their previous eight.

Despite Juve's strong run of form, Vlahovic has attracted criticism from some quarters.

Only Christian Pulisic (six) and Marcus Thuram (five) have bettered his four goals in Serie A this term, though, with the Serbian also helping himself to a brace versus Verona.

Motta heaped praise upon Vlahovic after the win, also hailing his defensive work as he said: "No goals conceded is a team effort. 

"Scoring goals starts well with [goalkeeper Mattia] Perin and not conceding goals starts with Vlahovic.

"We have a group that wants to defend to have the ball and recover it. This is very important, a team must be solid to aspire to something great."

Motta then added: "Honestly, I think you pay too much attention to a single player. He has always been very good. 

"I understand the expectations and needs of a striker at this level. But as I said from the beginning, he is a positive leader who helps a lot.

"I am happy because he scored but I was also happy when he didn't. He must improve and be more connected with the team because he is an important player in many aspects of our game. He is fine and must continue to work as he is doing".

Vlahovic, who has more games with multiple goals than any other player across the last six Serie A seasons (19), said: "The most important thing is that we won and we want to continue like this.

"It's no problem, people talk. If you score you're the best, if you don't you're the worst. It's up to me to respond on the pitch and I will certainly do so.

"Sometimes there are fewer opportunities. People expect me to solve the games and that's normal, I don't run away. I always do everything 100%.

"I'm super calm and I will always give my all on the pitch. For a striker when you don't score it's difficult, but today we won and that's the only thing that matters." 

Mourinho's side booked their place in the quarter-finals with Thursday's triumph, courtesy of Paulo Dybala's 64th-minute winner, setting up a clash with the winner of the Napoli-Cremonese Round of 16 encounter.

But the Portuguese legend was damning of the Coppa Italia format in light of Torino's upset 1-0 extra-time win over Milan on Wednesday, which saw them progress to the last eight where they will face Fiorentina away.

"First of all, I'll say I would love to win it, I won it once playing against Roma, I would love to win it playing with Roma in Rome," Mourinho told Sportmediaset.

"I think it's the worst cup in Europe, it doesn't protect the smaller teams. It doesn't put on a show.

"I'm talking about Torino for example who win on the pitch of the Italian champions Milan, then they have to play the next elimination game away from home, I don't understand this structure of the Coppa Italia.

"We played against a Serie B team with a full stadium, if there are empty stadiums they must understand why we are full and the others are not.

"Last year we finished sixth, the year before we finished seventh and I want to invest in the Coppa Italia, but a lower team doesn't want to play, what motivation do these people have?

"Torino won against the Italian champions, they made great history in the Round of 16 and they have to play away. Where is the beauty of the Coppa Italia? It would be nice to play on a Serie B or Serie C pitch, where is that? Because people accept it.

"The next elimination game will be either in Naples or at home with Cremonese, if we lose like last year, we'll lose, but we'll try to win. For a squad like ours, playing three competitions together is very hard.

"There's too much build-up for people of more quality, it's a big risk to play three or four players who don't play all the time or to put so many kids together, I could have done Bove-Tahirovic but I didn't.

"If we want to win the Coppa Italia I won't say we want to, because everyone wants to, we will try to win the next game of the tournament."

Roma, who have advanced to the Europa League knockout round playoffs, bowed out in the Coppa Italia quarter-finals last season to eventual winners Inter.

Kick-off between Parma and SPAL was delayed for over an hour as Italian authorities considered whether all Serie A games should be suspended amid the ongoing battle against the coronavirus outbreak.

Milan were still unsure of the final decision when they left the training ground for an empty San Siro, with no fans allowed at any sporting event until April 3.

However, Pioli, who received backing from the club on Saturday as chief football officer Zvonimir Boban was relieved of his duties, was unwilling to use either of those events as an excuse for a dismal display.

"Clearly, playing without a crowd isn't football. That is true for all the teams, even more so for the hosts," Pioli told DAZN.

"Besides all that, we had the chance to prove our quality, that we had the strength to go past all of these issues and still win it, but we didn't win, and it was largely our own fault.

"When we left our training ground on the bus to get here, Parma-SPAL had not yet kicked off and we didn't know if it was going to. Clearly, that wasn't helpful, but we were in the same situation as our opponents, so again, that cannot be used as an excuse.

"As to whether Serie A should continue, there are people who know far more about the situation than me.

"We need no excuses or justifications, not for being behind closed doors, nor for any difficulties within the club or debates. We should've been more determined in certain key moments of the match.

"We have no excuses, we ought to do much better than this. It's difficult to say you didn't play well when you spent most of the game in the opposition half and had 22 shots on goal. It was not a technical or tactical issue, it was a lack of determination.

"It was such a good opportunity to prove that we felt strong and could overcome the obstacles, but it was a surreal situation for our opponents too. We failed to show determination at the right moments and that has nothing to do with playing behind closed doors or chaos within the club."

Asked about claims made by Boban that Pioli is a lame duck because Milan agreed a deal with Ralf Rangnick in December, the coach replied: "I read it, to be honest, I have to remain concentrated on my work.

"I am not worried about my future, I don't know what will happen, this is part of the job. This is a prestigious club and we have to end the season as well as possible.

"It's not my decision, all I can do is work well and try to end the season as well as we can. The rest of that is not something I can really discuss."

Juve dominated Serie A strugglers Genoa in the first half at Allianz Stadium on Wednesday, the lively Dejan Kulusevski opening the scoring inside two minutes before laying on a second goal for Alvaro Morata.

Lennart Czyborra halved the deficit with a header against the run of play midway through the first half and Filippo Melegoni forced extra time with a great finish from 25 yards out.

Cristiano Ronaldo was introduced as a substitute late in normal time, but it was 21-year-old debutant Hamza Rafia who settled it late in the first period of extra time.

Radu Dragusin and Manolo Portanova were among the other young players given an opportunity by Pirlo on a night which saw a much-changed Juve side have 24 shots, 13 of which were on target, as they made hard work of setting up a quarter-final tie against Sassuolo or SPAL.

Pirlo was impressed by the Juve youngsters, but was frustrated the Serie A champions were taken to extra time ahead of a clash with Inter on Sunday.

He said: "They played a great match, I'm happy for them because they proved to be up to it. Too bad the game was complicated, we had to close it in the first half."

Pirlo added: "It happens that every now and then when we think the race is over we lose focus, thinking it's all easy, but if you don't have your head right they become complicated games. 

"As happened today when we went to extra time, we lost energy and had to finish it in the first half."

Kulusevski staked his claim for a regular starting berth, hitting the target with four of his five shots and making four key passes as he tormented Genoa in a classy performance.

Pirlo was not surprised to see the Sweden midfielder and striker Morata, starting for the first time since recovering from a thigh injury, link up so effectively.

The former Italy playmaker said: "They had a great understanding, especially in the first half when they played very close and played for each other. 

"They have been training together since the beginning of the season and they know what their characteristics are and how to look for each other and tonight they proved it."

Italy's top flight is to get back underway from June 20, all being well, with the Coppa Italia semi-final second legs and final to be held during the week prior.

It means four of Europe's top-five leagues are committed to finishing the coronavirus-disrupted campaign, with only Ligue 1 having declared the season over.

Ahead of the return of the action, which includes a true title tussle, a fight for Europe and unease in the bottom half, we look at the story so far of 2019-20...

What is the state of play?

It's hardly a surprise that Juventus were top when the season was suspended in March, but this has by no means been a procession towards what would be a ninth consecutive Scudetto.

Simone Inzaghi's Lazio are just a point behind, while Inter, who have a game in hand, are a further eight points back.

Antonio Conte's Nerazzurri were beaten 2-0 by Juve in their final match before the season was halted, but while the title looks a touch beyond their reach, there would be little sense in writing them off entirely.

The race for Europe is similarly close. Free-scoring Atalanta are fourth but only three points above Roma, having played one game fewer, while only five points separate Napoli in sixth and Bologna in 10th. Milan, Hellas Verona and Parma are all in need of some improved form, though.

At the bottom, Brescia and SPAL look to be fighting a losing battle, but no side in the bottom half of the table could realistically declare themselves safe. Lecce are 18th, level on points with Genoa, but it's Torino who are enduring the worst form of all, losing six league games in a row to slide to within two points of the drop zone.

What have been the big controversies?

The return of football, for one.

There has been plenty of uncertainty around whether or not Italy, one of the world's hardest-hit countries by the pandemic, would sanction the resumption of the league. Indeed, Brescia owner Massimo Cellino has been outspoken against the idea from the start and branded the decision to declare a return date "crazy".

There is also concern around kick-off times as we move into the Italian summer. Umberto Calcagno, the vice-president of the Italian Footballers' Association, told La Repubblica there was "no way" the organisation would support matches taking place at 16:30 local time in June and July, when average temperatures exceed 30 degrees Celcius.

Even before the league was suspended, confusion reigned. When Parma were due to face SPAL in early March, players were sent back to the dressing rooms minutes before kick-off after sports minister Vincenzo Spadafora recommended all matches be stopped. The game eventually went ahead, 75 minutes late, with SPAL winning 1-0 in front of empty stands.

Juve might be top of the table, but things haven't been going swimmingly for Maurizio Sarri this season, either. The Bianconeri have often produced rather turgid displays and relied on individual brilliance from the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo to see them through, and they only won four of their final eight games in all competitions before the enforced break.

Ronaldo's frustrations have boiled over at times. There have been suggestions of discord between the head coach and the 34-year-old, who was angry at being substituted last November and was caught on camera telling Paulo Dybala "We're left alone out there" at half-time of their Champions League last-16 first-leg loss to Lyon.

Who had momentum before everything stopped?

Juve's results have been sufficient to keep them top and the convincing 2-0 defeat of Inter on March 8 was a real statement of intent, but Lazio, unbeaten since September in the league, are the real form team.

Led by 27-goal man Ciro Immobile, their run of 16 wins from their past 18 games has come in stark contrast to city rivals Roma, who have lost five of their past nine in Serie A to lose ground on Atalanta in the Champions League race. As for Milan, some bright January form tailed off in February and their season is in danger of petering out, although they are level at 1-1 with Juve after the first leg of the Coppa semi-final.

Lecce's improved form has left SPAL and Brescia looking forlorn at the bottom, but Torino should be particularly concerned - their last points came on January 12.

Which clubs have had it toughest during the COVID-19 months?

Although the most high-profile confirmed coronavirus cases came from Juve, where Dybala, Blaise Matuidi and Daniele Rugani were infected, other clubs have had higher figures.

Fiorentina returned six positive tests this month, while Patrick Cutrone, German Pezzella and Dusan Vlahovic were all confirmed as having contracted the virus in March.

There were also confirmed positive tests at Sampdoria, one at Atalanta and one at Torino, while Milan director Paolo Maldini and son Daniel both had the virus.

All clubs have, of course, been hugely impacted by the loss of earnings during the suspended season.

Italian Football Federation (FIGC) president Gabriele Gravina said to Riparte l'Italia this week that "more than €500million has already been lost to the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown".

Gilardino, a World Cup winner with Italy in 2006, leaves the club with them sitting just one point above the relegation size with 10 points from 12 matches this season. 

A former striker who played for clubs including Genoa, Parma, AC Milan and Fiorentina, Gilardino took charge of Genoa in 2022 and helped them earn promotion to the top division before a 11th-place finish during the 2023-24 season. 

"The club thanks Gilardino for the goals achieved together over the years and wishes him the best for his career," Genoa said in a statement.

The 42-year-old saw his side salvage a late 1-1 draw against Cesc Fabregas' Como in their last match before the international break. 

Genoa were also knocked out of the Coppa Italia in the second round following a defeat to Sampdoria on penalties in September. 

Arsenal legend Vieira is set to replace him, according to multiple reports. 

The former France midfielder has been out of work since leaving Strasbourg by mutual consent in July.