“Juventus are unbeaten in Serie A yet have been bobbing around fourth and fifth all season,” wrote Ricardo Bortolon last week. “I know there are a number of teams who stayed unbeaten all season and came second, but has anybody finished lower than that without losing a game?”
Juventus’s unbeaten run fell at the 22nd hurdle when they were beaten 2-1 by Napoli on Saturday, but we won’t be letting that get in the way of a good trivia question. Before we get to the main answer, it’s worth revisiting the most famous example of an unbeaten team who came second. In 1978-79, Perugia finished three points behind Milan in Serie A after an extraordinary campaign: P30 W11 D19 L0 F34 A16 Pts41. Their away record was even more striking: three wins, 12 draws. You can read more about it in Scott Murray’s Joy of Six.
