Genuine title races have been hard to find across Europe’s ‘Big Five’ soccer leagues this season. In La Liga, Real Madrid were champions-elect for months before they were officially confirmed as La Liga winners with four games to spare. In France, Paris Saint-Germain strolled to the Ligue 1 title while Bayern Munich continued their trophy streak atop the Bundesliga.
Liverpool and Manchester City have gone toe-to-toe in the Premier League, but with the finishing line now in sight it appears the latter are about to clinch their fourth title in five seasons.
In Italy, though, there has been no shortage of title excitement. Serie A has made up for the lack of drama elsewhere on the continent.
With just two matches remaining of the 2021/22 campaign, two points is all that divides AC Milan and Inter at the top of the Serie A table. This is a similar gap to the one between City and Liverpool at the top of the Premier League, but unlike in England where the two contenders are in a sprint to the finish, there have been countless twists and turns in Italy.
Until recently, Napoli were also involved in the Scudetto race. Luciano Spalletti’s team won their first league fixtures to go clear at the top of the Serie A table, but faltered over the winter as injuries hit them hard. Victor Osimhen had nine goals to his name by the end of October, but was sidelined from November to mid-January with a facial injury.
Had Osimhen not been sidelined for this period Napoli may not have dropped points to Sassuolo, Atalanta, Empoli and Spezia in the run-up to Christmas. They might have come out of the winter period still atop of Serie A and in charge of their Scudetto destiny. By the time Osimhen returned, Napoli were chasing others.
Juventus also threatened a late title charge after the January capture of Dusan Vlahovic from Fiorentina, with the Serbian striker giving the Old Lady the cutting edge they had lacked in the first half of the season. Had Max Allegri’s side beaten Inter in early April, they might have applied some pressure on the Scudetto frontrunners.
Instead, Inter won that match and used it as a springboard to win six of their next seven fixtures. Until that victory in Turin, Simone Inzaghi’s team appeared to be running out of steam. Since then, though, Lautaro Martinez has rediscovered form. Inter have enjoyed a resurgence as an attacking outfit, scoring three or more goals in wins over AC Milan, Roma and Empoli.
As the successor to Antonio Conte at Inter, Inzaghi faced a challenge this season. The former Lazio boss, who lost Achraf Hakimi and Romelu Lukaku before he’d even taken over, wanted to turn the Nerazzurri into a more expansive team and has achieved success over the course of the campaign.
And yet AC Milan have stayed ahead of their rivals. If the Rossoneri can hold on to the top spot, they will win their first title since 2011. One of European soccer’s super-clubs will have returned to the summit of the sport after a decade of financial issues and ownership scandals. It’s been a long road back to the top.
AC Milan’s success this season is the culmination of a multi-season process under Stefano Pioli. The Rossoneri set the pace for much of the 2020/21 campaign, but fell away down the stretch as Inter came out on top with the trophy in-hand. Now, they look a stronger team, both physically and mentally, for that experience.
The Rossoneri’s resurgence hasn’t happened by accident. The club has deliberately targeted under-appreciated young players that it can develop. Theo Hernandez, for instance, was discarded by Real Madrid, but has been turned into one of the best wing backs in the game by AC Milan. Brahim Diaz is another who has found a home at San Siro after leaving Real Madrid.
It’s widely expected that a takeover of AC Milan will be completed by one of the many consortiums and investment groups vying to gain control of the club. This could elevate AC Milan even further, but they have already done enough good work to regain their place at the top of the Italian and European game.
Whether by design or not, Serie A has achieved a level of parity at the top end that has led to the most exciting Scudetto race in years and given the league a selling point against the other ‘Big Five’ divisions. AC Milan and Inter have emerged as the best, but this doesn’t mean they can’t be tripped up by the outfits circling from below.
