But after an exceptional transfer window and with Luciano Spalletti at the helm, Napoli dominated the title race while their main rivals all suffered slumps during the season.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Antonio Conte of Juventus has been voted coach of the 2011/12 Serie A season by his Italian peers after leading the Turin side undefeated to the title.
A late Simone Pepe goal earned Juventus a 1-0 win at Lazio on Monday to keep alive their hopes of qualifying for Europe.
A first-half goal from new signing Alessandro Matri gave Juventus a sweet 1-0 victory over Inter Milan in the derby of Italy on Sunday, dealing a huge blow to their opponents' bid to win a sixth successive scudetto.
Cristiano Ronaldo marked his 600th league appearance with his 20th Serie A goal of the season as Juventus beat Spezia 3-0 on Tuesday to move within three points of second-placed AC Milan.
Resurgent Ronaldinho netted a hat-trick to help AC Milan hammer 10-man Siena 4-0 on Sunday and close the gap on Serie A leaders Inter Milan to six points.
Images from the matches played across football leagues in Europe on Sunday.
AS Roma and Juventus lost on their domestic returns from midweek UEFA Champions League action as their miserable starts to the season continued. In England, frontrunners Liverpool and Chelsea fared better with wins while Valencia top the table on goal difference in Spain and Lazio, Udinese and champions Inter Milan share the lead in Italy.
"We can still turn the contest around," the Juventus captain said after the defeat by Deportivo La Coruna.
A statement from Premier League club on Friday evening read: "Manchester United is delighted to confirm that the club has reached agreement with Juventus for the transfer of Cristiano Ronaldo, subject to agreement of personal terms, visa and medical."
Liverpool tore Real Madrid apart with a blistering 4-0 win to reach the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals on Tuesday while Premier League rivals Chelsea drew 2-2 with Juventus in Turin to progress 3-2 on aggregate. Bayern Munich cantered into the last eight by routing Portugal's Sporting 7-1 in Germany and 12-1 over the two legs for a Champions League aggregate record victory.
AS Roma stalwart Francesco Totti came off the bench with four minutes left and scored twice to give his Champions League-chasing side a dramatic 3-2 win over Torino in Serie A on Wednesday.
News of that transpired on and off the football field
Juventus returned to the Champions League proper for the first time in three seasons after a 1-1 draw at Artmedia Bratislava gave the Italians a 5-1 aggregate win.
Barcelona have emerged as favourites to be crowned champions after one defeat in their last 22 Liga games.
Juventus's new signing Mirko Vucinic scored and then got sent off before halftime as Juventus were held 1-1 at home by Bologna on Wednesday to drop their first points in Serie A this season.
Italian champions Juventus have informed Athletic Bilbao that they will start talks with the La Liga club's Spain striker Fernando Llorente with a view to signing him, Bilbao said on Thursday.
Bayern Munich tore Juventus apart on a rare off night for Andrea Pirlo and Gianluigi Buffon but had to settle for a 2-0 win after missing a hatful of chances in Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final first leg.
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has mastered the art of the "double-edged compliment" and his praise for Juventus, after Tuesday's 1-0 defeat by the Italians, will have made uncomfortable listening for executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward.
Genoa handed Serie A leaders and titleholders Juventus a dramatic first league defeat of the season when Luca Antonini scored in the fourth minute of stoppage time to give them a 1-0 win on Wednesday.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored with a bicycle kick which was outrageous even by his standards to lead Real Madrid to an emphatic 3-0 win away to Juventus in their Champions League quarter-final, first leg on Tuesday.
Chelsea will start the defence of the Champions League trophy they won so dramatically last season with a Group E match against former winners Juventus at Stamford Bridge.
Juventus spent about 12 million euros ($13.42 million) to sign Carlos Tevez, a fraction of what Real Madrid paid for Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo, yet it was the Argentine who called the shots in their Champions League clash on Tuesday.
Cristiano Ronaldo made an immediate impact on his return from a COVID-19 infection on Sunday, scoring three minutes after coming on as a substitute before converting a penalty to lead Juventus to a 4-1 Serie A win at Spezia.
'I would have liked to have scored against another team but that's life'
Diego Milito's penalty five minutes from time gave Inter Milan a deserved 1-0 home win over Fiorentina on Sunday and extended their Serie A lead to eight points.
Juventus winger Simone Pepe and his manager Antonio Conte's technical assistant Cristian Stellini are among the latest names to be called for questioning on Thursday in the match-fixing trial that has rocked Italy.
UEFA Cup holders Shakhtar Donetsk were knocked out of the Europa League after being held to a 1-1 draw by visitors Fulham in their round of 32 tie Thursday. Former European champions Liverpool and Juventus progressed to the last 16 and Werder Bremen striker Claudio Pizarro scored a hat-trick as his side went through with a 4-1 win over former England manager Steve McLaren's Twente Enschede.
Juventus substitute Cristiano Ronaldo was denied a stoppage-time winner by VAR as Udinese came from two goals down to snatch a 2-2 draw in their thrilling Serie A season opener on Sunday.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic curled home a stunning freekick and then turned provider as AC Milan moved to within one point of Juventus at the top of Serie A with a 3-0 home win over Cagliari on Sunday.
Antonio Conte made an uncharacteristic hash of his team selection against Bayern Munich last week and the Juventus coach cannot afford to get it wrong again as his side chase a two-goal deficit on Wednesday.
The league, which is now conducting tests twice per week, did not name the people who tested positive but said they will self-isolate for 10 days.
Kaka netted a hat-trick to help AC Milan keep their Champions League qualification hopes alive with a 5-1 win over relegation-threatened Reggina on Sunday.
Manchester City's volatile striker Mario Balotelli could soon be on his way back to his native Italy with sources familiar with the talks saying AC Milan and Juventus are interested in a deal.
Manchester United moved to the top of the Premier League with a comfortable 2-1 win over Arsenal, a match that saw striker Robin van Persie face his old side for the first time.
