Serie A's goalless drought stretches on: five rounds without a single 0-0

“There still hasn't been a 0-0 draw in Serie A this season, after four [then five] rounds of matches,” wrote Stephen Hogg. “Is this getting near a record yet?”

Chris Roe, as he so often kindly does, chimes in with the data. “I only have just over 30 years' worth of Italian league data so, within that small sample, this is equal to the longest wait for a goalless draw (between Napoli and Carpi), which came in the fifth round of matches in Serie A in the 2015-16 season.”

In other words, the current Italian season has matched the longest wait recorded in that three-decade window – though the true all-time record lies far deeper in history.

The English and Scottish comparisons

“In the Premier League, we had to wait until the fifth round of matches on 17 September 2023 for a goalless draw (Bournemouth and Chelsea). But, you'd not be surprised to find the 21 divisions in which a longer wait was needed for a goalless draw all happened a long time ago,” Roe continued.

“The longest top-flight wait came in just the second ever season in 1889-90 when the first goalless draw came in the 17th round of matches. This was only beaten by the 1894-95 season in tier two, where the first (of only two goalless draws in the season) came on 23 March 1895 between Arsenal and Crewe Alexandra, which was the 25th match of the season for Crewe (and the 26th for Arsenal).”

That remarkable English record is equalled by a much more recent example from north of the border: the Scottish third tier in 2013-14, which also had its first goalless draw in the 25th round of matches, between Airdrie United and East Fife on 22 February 2014. For Serie A's fans of the goalless draw, the wait goes on.