Inter retake Serie A throne in Milan derby

There is a new champion in Italy. After Napoli's spectacular year in the 2022-23 season, Inter Milan have reclaimed their golden sceptre and won a Serie A that they have dominated with an iron fist. No one has been able to even come close to Simone Inzaghi's side, who lift the title in the most special of matches and with five games to play.

There are few things better for the 'Nerazzurri' fans than being champions of Italy on the same day that you play against your biggest rivals at home, a Milan side who are in second place in the standings but at a considerable distance from their neighbours. The victory in the 'Derby della Madonnina' gave them enough to celebrate, even in April, a new Serie A title.

It has been a two-year drought, much less than the last time. Inter, in 2021, broke the hegemony of a Juventus side that continues to sink in Italian competition and is no longer the great team that used to win the Scudetto every year. They made a good start to the current campaign, but they have been dissolved like sugar in water.

There has been no rival for a superlative team that only Atletico Madrid, in the Champions League, and the surprising Bologna, in the Coppa Italia, have been able to overshadow. Inter have become the true dominators of the 'Calcio', bringing out the best of the 'Catenaccio' in defence and the school of goalscoring in attack.

Until the match against Milan, Inter Milan had kept 19 clean sheets. Nineteen times in which, moreover, they have won the Serie A to leave no chance to any team that has dared to challenge them.

The architect

This Inter Milan cannot be understood without the figure of Simone Inzaghi. He arrived from Lazio just after Conte won the last Serie A 'Nerazzurri'. His great role with Lazio helped him to take another step forward in his career, and in three years he has managed to complete a masterpiece.

They came so close last season with the pairing of Lautaro Martinez and Romelu Lukaku, but the Belgian's failings prevented Inter from becoming the kings of Europe. But now, with Lukaku at Roma, Inter have taken the crown in their own country with overwhelming dominance. Not since 2007 have they been able to win a Scudetto with five games to play.

With 3 centre-backs but 2 attacking full-backs, this Inter team is committed to attack, having a midfield with a lot of touch - formed by Barella, Calhanoglu and Mkhytarian - and one of the best goalscoring duos on the European continent.

The compass

The metronome, the player who sets the tone for Inter Milan, is Nicolo Barella. The Italian midfielder has already become a man in the 'Nerazzurri' ranks and has the control of the entire Italian attack. You can't understand Inter without the Cagliari man.

Together with Mkhytarian and Calhanoglu, he constitutes a midfield with a lot of touch, a midfield that is committed to attacking without a '5' of containment and that leaves all the defensive work to the centre-backs. A midfield that dominates with the ball and doesn't let their opponents breathe.

Able to give that last pass to the strikers, Inter's play relies on the transitions of Barella, who despite not having brilliant numbers, is the most important part of the midfield.

In addition to all this, Calhanoglu is a penalty-taker who never misses a penalty. Along with Marcus Thuram, he is Inter's second top scorer in the competition with eleven goals, almost all of them from eleven yards. Because scoring matters regardless of where you score from.

Lautaro... and one more partner

Lautaro Martinez is the piece that has remained constant in Inter Milan's recent past and present. He has never had the role of world star, he has always been undervalued, but this season he has finally exploded. World Cup winner with Argentina, he has earned enough confidence to be considered one of the best in the big five leagues.

In his sixth season with Inter Milan, Lautaro has already broken his Serie A goalscoring record. He has left behind the 21 of last season to become the 'Capocannoniere' of the transalpine competition.

His great partner Lukaku left, but Inter brought in another who has given him a similar return. Marcus Thuram has landed on his feet at the Giuseppe Meazza and has been the player Lautaro so desperately craved to play his game.

Their tally, 34 goals between them in the Serie A alone, makes them the third-highest-scoring pair in the five major leagues. Only Kane and Musiala (43), Guirassy and Undav (41) have more goals than the Argentinian and the Frenchman.