Inter senses the title – defeats for Napoli and Milan in a single day

For seasons, Napoli had been successful on the road in Bergamo, but this week they let the title slip there. They put it up for auction. For the first time in five years, Napoli lost away to Atalanta and effectively removed themselves from the Scudetto race.

This is a defeat that means Antonio Conte’s team will have to come to terms with losing the title and focus on salvaging what they can until the end of the season. With 12 rounds remaining, they are 14 points behind first-placed Inter, and it would be wiser to focus on the teams behind them, as one by one they enter the battle for Champions League qualification.

Yesterday, Como did that by beating Juventus, and today Atalanta joined the party, who, despite being seventh, are only five points behind Napoli—and are in much better form than their rivals.

Having been eliminated from both remaining competitions in the last twenty days, Napoli rested during the week and arrived in Bergamo fresher than their opponents. As a result, they started the match much better, playing with energy and directness, which led to the opening goal in the 18th minute.

However, it wasn’t from open play but from a set piece, specifically a free kick orchestrated by this season’s new signings. Miguel Gutierrez delivered the ball into the box for Sam Bekuema, who had little difficulty heading it past Marco Carnesecchi from five metres.

It was a fully deserved lead, as Napoli had been the better side, and they went on to score two more goals. Both were disallowed, though completely legitimately. The first, for Alisson, was ruled out for offside just four minutes after the opening goal, and the second, for Gutierrez early in the second half, was canceled due to a foul by Rasmus Hojlund on Isak Hien at the start of the action.

On top of that, Alisson had another very good chance in first-half stoppage time, almost won a penalty (initially awarded, then overturned), but despite everything, Napoli went into halftime with only a minimal lead—not enough to survive a trip to Atalanta this time.

Rafaele Paladino, dissatisfied with the team’s performance, made the first substitution at halftime, bringing Lazar Samardzic onto the field. What seemed illogical at the time was that Palladino withdrew Kamaldeen Sulemana from the game—the home team’s most dangerous player, who had troubled Vanja Milinkovic-Savic three times in the first half alone. It turned out, however, that Palladino knew exactly what he was doing, because with the entry of the Serbian international, Atalanta came to life.

The Atalanta turnaround was signaled by Mario Pasalic who, after an hour of football, scored his 50th Serie A goal. Since his first goal in the 2018/19 season, only Hakan Calhanoglu (51) has scored more among midfielders in Italy.

The final result was set by Lazar Samardzic in the 81st minute. Lorenzo Bernasconi delivered the ball from the left flank into the box, and the Atalanta attacking midfielder got ahead of Mathias Olivera, shrugged him off in a duel, and flicked the ball into the net to complete an emphatic defeat for Napoli.

In this way, Atalanta handed Napoli a crushing and extremely difficult loss.

AC Milan - Parma 0-1 (0-0)

When AC Milan were defeated at home by Cremonese in the opening round of Serie A, their fans would probably have watched with disbelief anyone who offered them a promise that in the next 24 league matches they would not suffer a single defeat. And they would have eagerly accepted such an offer.

Now, nine draws – after Pisa and Lazio the most in the entire league – are only enough for second place, while first remains a dream. Everything comes to an end, including Milan’s unbeaten run in the league, which lasted 183 days. That streak ended this afternoon when Parma took all three points from San Siro with a classic outsider’s victory.

Almost the only time the visitors entered the opponent’s box, they scored, and it came from a corner in the 80th minute. Initially, referee Marco Piccinini disallowed the goal for an attacking foul, but after a VAR review and slow-motion replay, he confirmed there was nothing contentious. Maignan fell easily after contact with an opposing player, and Bartezaghi essentially allowed the shorter Mariano Troilo to jump over him and head the ball into the net.

Milan’s old weakness under Max Allegri – the “small” matches – was on full display. Milan didn’t know what to do tonight. They dominated and attacked throughout, and Rafael Leao had a volley in the 64th minute that hit the post instead of the net, but there was no way through Parma’s block.

Milan were quite slow, and the only player capable of creating something for the home team was Adrien Rabiot. He set up the aforementioned chance for the Portuguese player, Milan’s best opportunity in the match.

In the first half, he headed a return pass to Pulisic, who in the 42nd minute had the most favorable chance in that period, but his shot was off target. Niclas Fullkrug entered in the final half-hour – at the same time Strahinja Pavlovic came on – but neither of them could help an anemic Milan.

The match was also marked by a serious injury to Ruben Loftus-Cheek in the 7th minute. He collided with Parma goalkeeper Edoardo Corvi and was knocked out cold. Medical staff attended him for a long time, his neck was immobilized, and he was carried off the pitch on a stretcher, then taken by ambulance to the hospital. Reports later confirmed that the English international suffered several broken teeth and remained under observation.

Inter may still have to worry about the Champions League round of 16, but they are getting closer to the Scudetto. Their rivals seem to be competing in mistakes – Milan collected only one point in two matches in a few days (Como and Parma) and now trails their city rival by a full ten points, with even 12 rounds left in the championship – a gap that looks very difficult to close.

SERIE A - MATCHDAY 26

Friday

Sassuolo - Hellas Verona 3-0 (2-0)

/Pinamonti 40, Berardi 44, 62/

Saturday

Juventus - Como 0-2 (0-1)

/Vojvoda 11, Caqueret 61/

Lecce - Inter 0-2 (0-0)

/Mkhitaryan 75, Akanji 82/

Cagliari - Lazio 0-0

Sunday

Genoa - Torino 3-0 (2-0)

/Norton-Cuffy 21, Ekuban 40, Messias 83/

Atalanta - Napoli 2-1 (0-1)

/Pasalic 61, Samardzic 81 - Beukema 18/

Milan - Parma 0-1 (0-0)

/Troilo 80/

22.45: (1.37) Roma (5.00) Cremonese (9.50)

Monday

20.30: (1.67) Fiorentina (3.85) Pisa (5.50)

22.45: (1.90) Bologna (3.45) Udinese (4.60)

***odds are subject to change***