On Sunday night, the 2019/20 Serie A season drew to a close, and so too did the last of Europe's top five leagues in a delayed campaign. Juventus were crowned champions once more, while Inter, Atalanta and Lazio all landed a top-four finish.
Here, we take a look at the WhoScored Serie A team of the season...
Goalkeeper: Jesse Joronen (Brescia) - 7.01 rating
Brescia may have endured an unhappy return to Serie A, but it was a season that would have been a lot worse without Jesse Joronen between the sticks. The Finnish shotstopper ranked second for saves per 90 (4.3) in Serie A this season and won more WhoScored man of the match awards (4) than any other goalkeeper to make the team with a WhoScored rating of 7.01.
Right-back: Juan Cuadrado (Juventus) - 7.11 rating
The first of two representatives for champions Juventus, Juan Cuadrado re-established himself as a key man for the Old Lady, with Maurizio Sarri trusting the Colombian as Juventus' starting right-back. It was a decision that paid off as Cuadrado returned a WhoScored rating of 7.11 to make the Serie A team of the season at right-back. The 32-year-old chipped in with two goals and five assists in 2019/20 as averages of 1.5 key passes and 1.4 successful dribbles per 90 highlighted his attacking output.
Centre-back: Francesco Acerbi (Lazio) - 6.98 rating
The first of three Lazio players to feature, Francesco Acerbi missed only two of Lazio's 38 league matches as Simone Inzaghi's side ended the season with a top-four finish. While they fell away in the race to land the Scudetto, Acerbi still excelled at both ends of the pitch as he scored two, including the equaliser in the 1-1 Rome Derby draw in January, and provided two assists. 1.6 aerial duels won and 1.2 interceptions per game reinforced strengths of 'aerial duels' and 'ball interception' and saw the 32-year-old yield a WhoScored rating of 6.98.
Centre-back: Chris Smalling (Roma) - 7.00 rating
It's an all-Rome centre-back partnership as Chris Smalling joins Acerbi at the heart of the defence. The on-loan defender enjoyed an impressive debut season in Italy following his arrival from Manchester United as he scored three times and provided two assists for Paulo Fonseca's side. Dominant aerially, only Bologna's Mattia Bani (3.9) won more aerial duels per game than Smalling (3.2) of all defenders in Serie A in 2019/20 as the 30-year-old garnered a WhoScored rating of 7.00.
🥇 2018/19 Serie A Player of the Season ✅
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) August 3, 2020
🥇 2019/20 Serie A Player of the Season ✅
🏆 For the second season running, @juventusfc star @Cristiano lands the top rated Serie A player award 👏👏👏
Left-back: Theo Hernandez (AC Milan) - 7.19 rating
Another who enjoyed a fine debut campaign in Italy, Theo Hernandez was one of the top signings of the season in Serie A. Joining from Real Madrid, the Frenchman made the left-back starting spot his own for AC Milan and excelled from deep as his WhoScored rating (7.19) suggests. The 22-year-old pressed forward excellently as he scored six times and provided three assists for the Rossoneri, those coming from respective returns of 1.6 shots and 1.3 key passes per 90.
Right midfield: Domenico Berardi (Sassuolo) - 7.45 rating
Having dropped off the radar, Domenico Berardi enjoyed his most prolific Serie A campaign since 2014/15 as he chipped in with 14 goals and 10 assists for Sassuolo and was the only player to register double figures for both goals and assists in Italy's top tier. The latter return was the third best in Serie A in 2019/20, while only Luis Alberto (16) made more accurate through balls than Berardi (8) as the 26-year-old features on the right with a WhoScored rating of 7.45.
Central midfield: Luis Alberto (Lazio) - 7.55 rating
The creative force in this Lazio side, Luis Alberto was again exceptional as he pulled the strings for the Rome giants. Indeed, he finished first for accurate through balls (16), key passes (106) and clear-cut chances created (21) in Italy's top tier this term, while only Atalanta's Alejandro Gomez (16) registered more assists than Alberto (15) and no player won WhoScored man of the match awards (10) than the midfielder. The 27-year-old forged a fine attacking partnership with Ciro Immobile as Alberto to Immobile was the best assist-to-goalscorer combination, returning six goals.
Central midfield: Alejandro Gomez (Atalanta) - 7.55 rating
The first of two Atalanta players to feature, it's not surprising that both are attackers given they scored more goals (98) than any other Serie A side. Alejandro Gomez assisted 16 of those 98 goals, that return more than any other player, while only Luis Alberto (106) made more key passes than the diminutive Argentine (102). The 32-year-old chipped in with an additional seven goals to partner Alberto in the middle of the park with both players earning a WhoScored rating of 7.55.
Left midfield: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus) - 7.82 rating
The final Juventus representative is also the WhoScored Serie A player of the season. Cristiano Ronaldo may have missed out on the Capocannoniere as he fell five goals short, but 31 league goals is still a superb return for the Portuguese sensation. No player scored more clear-cut goalscoring opportunities than Ronaldo (23), while no player won more WhoScored man of the match awards (10) as the 35-year-old helped himself to an additional five assists. Having played a key role in Juventus' title success, Ronaldo is a deserving winner of the player of 2019/20 award as he yielded a WhoScored rating of 7.82.
Striker: Ciro Immobile (Lazio) - 7.57 rating
The winner of the Capocannoniere, Ciro Immobile rounds off the Lazio contingent as he matched Gonzalo Higuain's Serie A record of 36 league goals in a season on the final day of the campaign. The Italian forward scored more goals than relegated pair SPAL (27) and Brescia (35), while an additional nine assists meant Immobile had a direct hand in at least nine more league goals (45) than any other player in Italy's top tier this term. Like Ronaldo, Immobile also landed 10 WhoScored man of the match awards to help return a rating of 7.57.
Striker: Josip Ilicic (Atalanta) - 7.65 rating
Josip Ilicic completes the WhoScored Serie A team of the season. In all, a perfect WhoScored 10 rating was awarded 10 times in a Serie A match this term, with Ilicic accounting for four of those having earned the rating in wins over AC Milan, Lecce, Parma and Torino. With 15 goals and five assists to his name, those coming from respective returns of 4.4 shots and three key passes per 90, Ilicic finished the campaign with a WhoScored average rating of 7.65 to make the team.
