Scudetto race: Is it finally Milan’s time this season?
In 2011, Milan, then under the leadership of Massimiliano Allegri, won their 18th Scudetto. That helped the Rossoneri pull level with city rivals Inter, and was the first league title for them since the 2003/2004 season. Although light-years behind Juventus in terms of numbers, there were still hopes that this could be the start of a new era for the seven-time Champions League winners.
Unfortunately, however, it turned out just to be a one-off as Juventus went on to win the Scudetto the following season, and since then, it’s been the Turin giants who have dominated the Italian football landscape. Allegri, who was unceremoniously sacked by Milan in 2014 following their embarrassing 4-3 loss to newly promoted Sassuolo, would eventually go on to help La Vecchia Signora win five of those titles; in addition, he’s, to date, the only manager to win four straight domestic doubles (between 2015 and 2018) in any of Europe’s top five leagues.
However, Juventus seem to have hit a plateau as it’s been Milan and Inter who now occupy the top two spots in the table. That’s been the case for much of the season, as the Bianconeri struggle to find their footing under their third manager in just three seasons, while both Milan and Inter have had more time to adjust under Stefano Pioli and Antonio Conte respectively. Pioli, who once managed Fiorentina, has overseen a remarkable turnaround in Milan’s fortunes; brought in to replace Marco Giampaolo in October 2019, he oversaw Milan’s ten match unbeaten streak after Serie A resumed action following the interruption due to COVID-19. Over the course of that period, the Diavolo won seven of those matches, including vital victories over reigning champs Juventus, Lazio, and Roma, and concluded the 2019/2020 campaign in sixth spot in the table.
Pioli wasn’t done there. Milan came roaring out of the gate once the 2020/2021 season got underway, going the entire half of the season unbeaten in Serie A and finishing as winter champions. While that title is just in name only, the team who are crowned champions as the midway point do have a tendency to win the league title; of course, there have been exceptions to this, namely Inter last season, who ended up finishing as runners-up by just a point. That being said, Milan’s form from September through December was nothing short of outstanding as they did not lost a single league match , which helped them to hang on to the top spot once they seized control on matchday four.
On January 6th, Juventus brought them crashing back down to earth. A 3-1 loss at the Stadio San Siro ended Milan’s 15 match unbeaten run; still, this wasn’t enough to dislodge them from top spot. Even Atalanta pulling off a shock 3-0 victory less than three weeks later at the same ground, while unnerving, was also not enough to cause Milan to lose their grip on first place. However, after that, cracks began to show. Milan had gone the entire of 2020 unbeaten, and now had picked up two losses in just the span of one month in 2021. Including a 2-1 defeat to Inter in the Coppa Italia semi’s – the two sides’ second Derby della Madonnina meeting – Pioli’s men had a January to forget.
Many fans hoped that this was just a minor blip – after all, the last team to complete a season without losing was Juventus nearly a decade ago. Unfortunately, it was more than just a small dip, as February rolled around, and despite rebounding with a resounding 4-0 win over Crotone, newly promoted Spezia had other plans.
Despite being debutants, Vincenzo Italiano’s plucky side have shown they are not afraid to mix it up on the big stage with Italy’s top teams. The Aquilotti have pulled off some impressive upsets this season, notably beating Napoli and dumping Roma out of the Coppa Italia following a 3-0 scalp at the Stadio Olimpico in the round of 16. And at the moment, they are not in danger of relegation just yet. So, when it came to facing Milan, they took to the pitch without fear despite being given a 3-0 hiding by the same Rossoneri at the Stadio San Siro on matchday three.
It goes without saying that many punters lost quite some cash on this match, as by the time the dust settled, it was Italiano’s side celebrating. Just three weeks after suffering their second defeat of the season, Milan had now picked up a third loss, and were seeing their narrow lead over Inter crumble. Coupled with Inter’s 3-1 win over Lazio, thus ending a seven-match winning streak for the soaring Aquile, the stakes were now even higher as the two sides prepared to square off in this weekend’s highly anticipated Derby della Madonnina showdown.
Inter, so far, have only lost twice this season. One was to Juventus in Janaury, and the other was to none other than Milan in the first Derby della Madonnina meeting back in October. The Nerazzurri, who have been in resurgent form, now saw their chance to finally snatch top spot, and all eyes were on whether Milan would be able to rebound from their shock loss in the prior round.
90 minutes later, fans and neutrals alike got their answer. Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez combined for all three of Inter’s goals as the Nerazzurri ran riot, outplaying Milan from start to finish and just like that, jumped to four points clear top of the table. This is the first time Milan have lost consecutive matches all season, and more worrying, three of their four defeats have now come in their last five matches. Are they collapsing at the worst possible time? Juventus may sit seven points behind, but the Bianconeri have yet to play Crotone on Monday, and even after that, they do have another game in hand.
Milan’s shocking results from the past month certainly have Diavolo fans really worried as to whether their team will be able to get back on track as hopes of a 19th Scudetto now hang in the balance. Faced with adversity, Milan haven’t been able to gather and regroup, and the loss on Sunday just caps off what has been a very aggravating fortnight for Pioli’s troops. Following the 2-0 defeat to Spezia, Milan had to settle for a two-two draw with Serbian side Red Star Belgrade, although having two vital away goals in hand will certainly give them a huge boost ahead of the home leg next week.
But unlike Inter, who are only featuring in one competition, Milan still have the Europa League to contend with. Veteran striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic hasn’t seemed like himself since being sent off during the Diavolo’s 2-1 loss to Inter in the Coppa Italia. Although the evergreen star netted a brace in the 4-0 demolition of Crotone, he cut a surprisingly subdued figure as the Rossoneri fell to Spezia, and crucially, to Inter in this Sunday’s crunch derby clash. While Milan is far from a one-man team, Pioli will obviously hope that the Swedish superstar will find his goal-scoring boots sooner rather than later.
Another question, though, that will be really bothering Milan supporters is to whether their team truly were Scudetto contenders in the first place, or whether the Rossoneri were simply riding a positive wave of good fortune due to Juve’s struggles. And now that has seemingly caught up to them. In 2020, they hadn’t lost a single Serie A match. Now, in the span of fewer than two months, they’ve lost four, and face a tricky trip to the Stadio Olimpico to face Roma next week.
So the question is – is this Milan’s time? Or have the Rossoneri already blown that small glimmer of opportunity, thus allowing Inter to close the gap and overtake them? Is there any way back for Pioli’s team, given that there are still well over ten matches remaining between now and May?
The answers to those questions can be best described as “maybe, maybe, and maybe”. Key, though, will be Milan’s performance not just against Roma, but also when facing minnows like Hellas Verona and Udinese. After all, beating the Giallorossi will mean nothing if they then turn around and throw it all away in upcoming matches against the Gialloblu and the Zebrette. In short, the onus will be on the 18-time Scudetto winners to not this opportunity slip through their hands. All eyes will be on how – and if – they can show that they are ready to be taken seriously as title challengers by recovering from a few hiccups along the way.
