🇮🇹 Not over yet! Serie A season to provide one last piece of rare drama | OneFootball

For users in the UK and Ireland, OneFootball is the place to watch Serie A this season, with one live match streaming for free each week, plus goals as they go in and highlights from all 380 games.

And with that, the Serie A season is over.

Or is it?

For the first time since 2005, we are treated to the rarity of a 39th game for teams after a rule change last year which saw the Lega decide to bring back the previous tie-breaker for teams level on points.

Applying only to determine title winners or relegation positions, it was decided that the head-to-head record differentiator would be replaced by a neutral venue play-off for all the marbles.

This will be just the sixth time in the long and illustrious history of Serie A that a one-off game will be required to determine who beats the drop.

The clubs contesting it are Spezia and Verona, who will fight it out in Reggio Emilia on Sunday for the right to stay where they are.

Both had chances to stay up on the final day and at various points it looked like they might do so.

Spezia took the lead against Roma and it looked like they would stay up as they were still holding the Giallorossi to a 1-1 draw into injury-time and Verona, despite a 72nd minute equaliser, were losing in Milan.

But — look away now Spezia fans — Paulo Dybala’s late penalty meant that not only did José Mourinho’s book a Europa League berth at Juventus’ expense, it also condemned the Aquilotti to the nerve-shredder of the relegation play-off, or play-out as some in the peninsula prefer to deem it.

It hasn’t been seen in Italy’s top flight since the summer of 2005 when Parma and Bologna ended the season level on points.

Had head-to-head been the decider, Bologna would have stayed in the top flight, having won both regular season meetings between the teams.

They also took a first leg lead back home with them, only to crumble in front of their own support as an Alberto Gilardino aggregate winner condemned the Felsinei to the drop with his final act before his move to Milan.

As it is now, if last season’s rules were in place for the current campaign when Spezia would be safe, having picked up four points from their meetings with the Scaligeri.

But this is different and comes with the added nerve-shredder that it will go straight to penalties if the game finishes level after 90 minutes.

These are rare and special occasions, with the format used only 12 times previously to determine who has saved their skin, while we haven’t been treated to a one-off survival clash since Piacenza overcame Cagliari 3-1 in 1997.

When it comes to deciding the destination of the championship, it really is a rarity, being required just once before. That came in 1964 when Bologna defeated Inter 2-0 in Rome to claim their seventh (and most recent) Scudetti.

The stakes aren’t quite that high on this occasion but for both these clubs, it will feel every bit as big.

Serie B has proven difficult for teams to bounce straight back from of late and Spezia have never returned there after achieving their first top flight promotion three years ago, while Verona will aim to avoid the unwanted distinction of being one of two second division sides with a Serie A title to their name in 2023/24.

But they do have experience of being through this before, narrowly staying up on away goals after a two-legged slog with Reggina in 2001.

Will they hold their nerve again?