By Frank Ulom
Inter Milan secured their 20th Serie A title by defeating their neighbours AC Milan 2-1 at San Siro, in the Derby della Madonnina on Monday night. The Nerazzurri’s victory ensured that their closest challengers, Milan, could not catch up with them, with just five games left to play.
Milan had added some new talents to their squad this season, including Samuel Chukwueze, Christian Pulisic, Yunus Musah, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, and Tijjani Reijnders, in the hope of reclaiming the Scudetto they won in the 2021-22 season.
However, they were no match for Inter’s well-oiled machine, with the Nerazzurri having held a 14-point lead in the table before the match.
The game was a tense affair, with both sides showing their determination to come out on top.
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Inter took the lead in the 18th minute through defender Francesco Acerbi, before striker Marcus Thuram doubled their advantage early in the second half. Milan’s Fikayo Tomori pulled one back for the Rossoneri 10 minutes before the end, but it was too little too late to change the outcome.
As the match drew to a close, tensions boiled over, and there were three red cards shown in stoppage time. First, Theo Hernandez and Denzel Dumfries got into a physical confrontation, and then Milan’s Davide Calabria was sent off for lashing out with an elbow.
With this victory, Inter has now edged ahead of Milan in the race for city supremacy. Before this season, both clubs had won Serie A on 19 occasions, finishing runners-up 16 times. However, Inter has now secured their 20th title, while Milan’s second-place tally is at 17. Juventus is still way ahead on 36 titles, having won the last nine consecutively from 2011 to 2020.
Despite missing out on the title, Milan has virtually guaranteed a top-four finish and Champions League qualification, with a 14-point cushion over fifth-placed Roma, who have only 18 points left to play for. At worst, the Rossoneri could be caught by Juventus and Bologna and potentially fall to fourth.