Today’s edition of La Gazzetta dello Sport has focused on the three biggest teams in Serie A – AC Milan, Inter and Juventus – and how each have failed miserably in their Scudetto bid.
This season marks the first time in a very long time that Milan, Inter and Juventus are out of the Scudetto fight with six rounds to go, with different reasons contributing to the success of each side.
Looking at the Rossoneri, a different summer mercato would certainly have made their life easier given that Dest, Adli and Vranckx have been ‘ghosts’ while Origi and De Ketelaere have also struggles.
Only Thiaw has shown his qualities consistently, but that came when Pioli switched to a more defensive tactical system that in turn seemed to hurt the amount that Theo Hernandez and Leao were able to impact the game.
Maignan’s five-month absence due to injury was a big blow and while it is not easy to quantify the points lost that would have been gained, the Frenchman is a player that can decide games on his own like Leao.
In some key roles there was a lack of credible alternatives, especially at the centre of an attack led by a 36-year-old Giroud. The worst moment was in January, when it seemed that Milan were imploding as they lost 3-0 to Inter in the Supercoppa, 4-0 to Lazio and 5-2 to Sassuolo in the league.
Both Milan and Inter must secure qualification for the next edition of the Champions League with a top four finish before dreaming of European glory this time around, and the Rossoneri have just two wins in their last eight games.
