Never has an Italian Championship been awarded at the final whistle of the Milan derby. It is now done. Five days before the end of the Championship, Inter officially won its 20th Scudetto on Monday after having disposed of AC Milan (2-1), its neighbor and eternal rival, in an electric meeting, marked by three red cards in the additional time.
This is the earliest title in the history of Serie A, tied with those of Torino (1948), Fiorentina (1956), Inter Milan (2007), Juventus (2019) and Naples last season. Inter became the second transalpine team to cross the symbolic mark of twenty Scudetti (Juve is far ahead with 36 titles), which gives it the right to embroider a second star above its coat of arms.
A blazing attack
This historic title does not suffer any dispute from the other side of the Alps as the Nerazzurri have mastered their subject and dominated the competition. The Interistas have not left the lead of the Championship since October and have 27 victories, five draws and only one defeat. It was last September 27, at home against Sassuolo (1-2) during the 6th day of Serie A.
The Lombards average 2.3 goals per match and have by far the best attack in the Championship with 79 goals, 23 of which were scored by Lautaro Martinez, the Interista captain and current top scorer in Serie A. With his 12 goals and 11 assists decisive, Marcus Thuram is not innocent of the success of the Nerazzurri. Without forgetting the Turkish gunner Hakan Calhanoglu (11 goals) or the very offensive left piston Federico Dimarco (5 goals and 6 assists).
The best defense in the Big 5
But the Interists do not only impress with their offensive strike force. They also have the best defense in Serie A and the five major Championships with only 18 goals conceded. An impressive statistic which is the result of the excellent defensive scheme put in place by Simone Inzaghi with in particular a three central defense which works wonderfully and in which we find Benjamin Pavard very regularly (25 starts in all competitions).
Arriving this summer from Bayern Munich for a check for 30 million euros, the Frenchman was able to find a place in Simone Inzaghi’s starting lineup despite strong competition, he who had made his return to the central defender position a priority for its future. He found his account in Lombardy, strengthening his candidacy for the Euro with Didier Deschamps.
Forgetting Yann Sommer when praising Inter’s defensive record would be unfair given the XXL season enjoyed by the Swiss goalkeeper, who also arrived in the off-season after an experience in Bavaria. Symbol of the successful recruitment by the Milanese management, which was to compensate for major departures: Onana, Skriniar, Brozovic…
The Nerazzurri and their iron defense can set a record by becoming the best defense in the history of Serie A. To do this, they will have to do better than Juve (20 goals conceded in 2011-2012 and 2015-2016). The task looks complicated – we would have to concede a maximum of one goal in the next five matches – but not impossible.
The C1, the frustration of the season
When taking stock of the interist season, it is impossible to overlook this evening of March 13, when the Nerazzurri left the Champions League prematurely, eliminated on penalties by Atlético de Madrid (2-1 ap, 3-2 at tab). An opponent dominated head and shoulders in the first leg (1-0) but whom they had left alive. Finalists of the previous edition of the C1, the Interists dreamed of much bigger things.
This elimination was the second big disappointment of the season for Inter. The first took place when he entered the competition in the round of 16 of the Italian Cup in December. Double title holders, Inzaghi’s players were ousted at home by Bologna, winning 2-1 after extra time. In the meantime, Lautaro Martinez’s partners won the Italian Super Cup against Naples (1-0) in January. But this will not be enough to completely forget the frustration of early elimination on the European scene.
