It has not been long since Serie A was considered a very one-sided competition, despite being among the top five leagues in Europe. Like Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga or Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1, the Italian premier club competition had a monopoly – that of Juventus.
The Old Lady was by far the best team in the country and won the league titles on a consistent basis – without breaking a sweat. Juventus won every single league title between the 2011/12 to 2019/20 seasons, and the glamour of the competition seemed to be fading away.
The glamour eventually did fade away – not of Serie A, but of Juventus, as they lost their sheen after the 2019/20 season. The new decade saw the re-emergence of the two giants from the financial capital of Italy – AC Milan and Inter Milan.
It was the blue half of Milan that ended Juventus’ supremacy by winning the Scudetto last season, but their noisy neighbours AC Milan are the favourites to snatch the title from them this season. The Rossoneri have won done an incredible job of becoming a prime title contender once again after spending ages in the mid-table, but their job is not done yet.
We are now heading into the most crucial part of the season, the business end, where some become eternal heroes and the others, villains. Both AC Milan and Inter Milan have got three more matches to play this season, and their performances in those matches will determine who will come out on top this season.
CURRENT LEAGUE STANDINGS
In terms of the current league standings, AC Milan hold the upper hand as they have a two-point lead over the Nerazzurri. Both sides have lost only four matches, but while the red half of Milan has won 23 games; the defending champions have won 22 matches.
1st – AC Milan (77 points from 35 matches)
2nd – Inter Milan (75 points from 35 matches)
REMAINING FIXTURES OF TITLE CONTENDERS
AC Milan – Hellas Verona (9th), Atalanta (8th), Sassuolo (11th)
As we have stated previously, Stefano Pioli’s men might be leading the league standings, but the race is far from over, and one major factor that works in Inter Milan’s favour is the remaining fixtures of the two sides.
AC Milan will play two of their last three matches against opponents who are placed inside the top ten, while their third fixture will be against the team placed in 11th position, Zlatan Zlatan Ibrahimovic & Co. will face in their next encounter 9th-placed Hellas Verona, who are fighting for a place in next season’s UEFA Europa Conference League and are unbeaten in their last three league fixtures.
AC Milan’s penultimate fixture will be against a formidable Atalanta side that recently made it to the quarter-finals of the Europa League. Placed in 8th, they are fighting for a Europa League place once again, and like Hellas Verona, Atalanta too have not lost any of their last three Serie A fixtures.
The last fixture against Sassuolo is where Pioli’s team will perhaps get some respite, given that Alessio Dionisi’s men are currently not in the reckoning for a place in European competitions, while they have lost all of their last three matches.
Inter Milan – Empoli (14th), Cagliari (17th), Sampdoria (15th)
Things are not in control of Simone Inzaghi’s team at the moment, but one mistake from AC Milan is all the Nerazzurri need at the moment since they have a very favourable fixture list.
Their next match is against a struggling Empoli side who are in 14th position and have won only one of their last 18 league matches. Their penultimate game will be against another team who are having a horrendous season – Cagliari.
Alessandro Agostini’s men are toiling in 17th position in the league standings and have lost seven of their last eight matches. Inter Milam will end their 2021/22 Serie A campaign by taking on Sampdoria, and Inzaghi could not have wished for better fortune as Marco Giampaolo’s team is going through a poor run of form as well. They have won only one of their last five matches and are struggling in the 15th position. Given the teams they will face, it is expected that Inter Milan will win all of their last three matches.
CURRENT FORM
So far, we have discussed how AC Milan are leading in terms of the points table while Inter Milan have better fixtures. This balance will be disrupted and the scale will be tipped in the former’s favour in our last segment, the current form, as AC Milan have done way better than their bitter rivals in recent times.
It has nearly been four months since Pioli’s men have last lost a league game, as they have won eight and drawn five of their last thirteen fixtures. On the other hand, Inter Milan have not been as consistent as they have lost three of their last twelve Serie A fixtures, with their last defeat coming against Bologna only about a week ago.
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