Marcus Thuram (2nd from left) scored against AC Milan to make it 2-0 and sent the Inter family into collective ecstasy.
Photo: imago/Insidefoto
Something historic happened on Monday evening in Milan. Inter Milan won the Italian football championship in a convincing manner. It is already the 20th for the Milanese, and according to Italian customs, it now deserves a second star on the jerseys. So far only Juventus Turin has achieved this mark. The record champions already have three under their belt, with officially 36 titles. There are 38 complaints internally, including two that were rejected. At Inter there are no such alternative counts.
What was special was that the Nerazzurri clinched the championship title with a 2-1 win at AC Milan – and by winning the title they also overtook their city rivals (19 titles). »It’s fantastic that we managed to do that in the derby. This day will never be forgotten,” said coach Simone Inzaghi on the pitch. And captain Lautaro Martinez couldn’t even finish all the interviews undisturbed because of her tears of joy.
Inter were crowned champions with an impressive record. The lead is 17 points ahead of the second place. Martinez is the top scorer in Serie A. The best assist provider also wears black and blue: ex-Mönchengladbach player Marcus Thuram made eleven assists. The defense was also extremely masterful with only 18 goals conceded and 17 games to zero. Yann Sommer, who came from FC Bayern at the start of the season, provided great support. He brought full-back Benjamin Pavard with him straight from the Isar. Both continued their personal championship series, while the former teammates on the other side of the Alps lost their permanent subscription to Bayer Leverkusen.
Championship battles in Europe’s top leagues
The Bundesliga has been in good company since Monday evening: Like Leverkusen, Inter Milan also secured the Serie A title very early on. But what about in the other leagues?
- Spain
There couldn’t have been a nicer victory for Toni Kroos, Antonio Rüdiger and Real Madrid than the one in the 257th Clasico against arch-rivals FC Barcelona to make the Spanish championship almost perfect. After the 3-2 win on Sunday, the Royals are now eleven points ahead of Barca with 81 points and 13 points ahead of the long-rebellious FC Girona. The 36th coronation, six game days before the end of the season, is probably only a matter of time. - France
It’s actually not surprising that Paris St. Germain leads Ligue 1 with an eleven-point lead over AS Monaco with five games to go. However, after the departures of superstars Neymar and Lionel Messi in the summer, France’s record champions no longer radiate the splendor of previous years. The last remaining star striker Kylian Mbappe was still enough to put Paris safely on the way to their twelfth title. Perhaps the league will experience real championship battles again in the future after his expected departure during the summer break. - England
The Premier League is the only top league in Europe where there is still a real title fight – and it is tough. With league leaders Arsenal FC (74 points), Liverpool FC and Manchester City (73 points), three teams are dueling at the top. Everyone has made mistakes in the past few weeks, giving the competition hope. No team is in the European Cup anymore. The Premier League season finale promises a lot of excitement. SID/nd
The only drawback of Milan’s season was the unfortunate exit in the round of 16 in the Champions League against Atletico Madrid. Here, of all people, Martinez failed in the penalty shootout. After reaching the final in 2023, the championship was the top goal this time anyway. And here the team and coach delivered. Inzaghi started the rotation machine for the first time in his coaching career and achieved optimal load control. Regular players were spared on the international stage, while additional players such as the new national player Davide Frattesi or the former DFB youth selection player Yann Aurel Bisseck took advantage of their new freedom.
Inter’s breakthrough was, of course, promoted by weaknesses in the competition. Naples’ championship team fell apart completely due to a wrong choice of coach. Juventus could not cope with the failures of midfielders Paul Pogba (doping ban) and Niccolò Fagioli (illegal betting) and are content with one of the Champions League places behind Inter.
As things stand, even fifth place is enough. Thanks to their lead in the nations rankings, Italy can send five clubs to the expanded premier class next year. On the one hand, this is Inter’s achievement for reaching the final last year. Above all, Italian clubs are taking the two smaller European competitions more seriously again this season. AS Roma won the Conference League in 2022 and reached the final of the Europa League the following year. The Romans are currently there and are fighting against Leverkusen for a place in the final. Atalanta Bergamo is in the other semi-final, and there is also an Italian representative in the Conference League, AC Fiorentina. This allowed Italy’s points account with UEFA to continue to grow.
Incidentally, all three clubs still represented in Europe have renounced the bone-dry results football of previous decades. Bergamo has become a small but fine brand in Europe under offensive guru Gian Piero Gasperini. Roma veteran Daniele De Rossi has given his club new vitality. And thanks to his offensive style in Florence, Vincenzo Italiano has long been considered the new coach either in Naples or at the stagnating series champions Juventus. He needs positive impulses most now – if something is to happen with the fourth star.
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