Milan (AFP)
Inter, the leaders and runners-up, Juventus, revive memories of the good old days, during an era during which the fuse of competition ignited between them for the Italian Football League title, when the “Nerazzurri” visited Empoli and the “Old Lady” visited Sassuolo in the fifth stage competitions.
Inter leads the standings with 12 points, two points ahead of Juventus, before its trip on Sunday to face the bottom of the standings, Empoli, without points or goals, which is followed on Wednesday by a visit to Sassuolo, which hosts the Turin City Club on Saturday.
Coach Simone Inzaghi’s team, runner-up to the European champions last season, tightened its grip on the lead with a “full mark”, after crushing its rival Milan 5-1 at home, Giuseppe Meazza, 5-1 in the last stage, only to return 4 days later and snatch an undeserved point against Real Madrid. Spanish Sociedad is at the beginning of its adventure in the Champions League competition.
Inter appears to be an extraordinary candidate to regain the league title that it snatched from the clutches of Juventus two years ago, while it struggled to the last breath in the following season (2022) with neighbor Milan, but lost the bet in the final meters.
As the curtain falls on the final chapter of the football battle in the economic capital of Italy, Juventus has advanced this season, becoming the most prominent competitor for the “Scudetto” instead of “defending champion” Napoli, which is in fifth place with 7 points, or faltering Milan, which is in third place with… 9 points.
Inter’s task appears easy on paper against bottom-of-the-table Empoli, even though the latter decided to dismiss Paolo Zanetti, who became the first coach to lose his job in the league this season, and appointed his new, old coach, Aurelio Andreazzoli, 69 years old, in his place, after the crushing loss to Roma. -7 last weekend.
It is expected that Inzaghi will re-select the same squad that won the Milan derby, and field players who were thrown into the disappointing draw in the Basque Country to the bench, noting that he made 5 changes to the starting lineup on the continental evening.
Inter is likely to miss the efforts of former Milan midfielder, Turkish international Hakan Calhanoglu, who scored the fourth goal from a penalty kick in the “derby”, due to an injury to his thigh, which opens the door for Davide Fratesse to start for the first time, since his arrival from Sassuolo this summer. .
Fratesse quickly became one of the Inter fans’ favorite players, especially after he concluded the offensive display in the “derby” with the fifth goal, causing the 23-year-old player, who came off the bench, tore his shirt with joy.
Fratesse also assisted the goal of Argentine striker Lautaro Martinez, the top scorer in Serie A with 5 goals, which allowed Inter to return with a 1-1 draw against Sociedad.
On the other hand, Juventus is content with competing in local competitions, after the continental ban imposed on it this season, due to suspicious financial activities regarding the transfer of players, which led to 10 points being deducted from its score last season.
The “Bianconeri” was afflicted by crises, after it received a strong blow with the temporary suspension of its veteran French midfielder, Paul Pogba, 30, due to doping abuse. He suffered financial losses amounting to 115 million euros, and faced legal measures from his former centre-back, Leonardo Bonucci, who objected to the transfer. The “humiliating” way to keep him away from team training, before he ended up with Germany’s Union Berlin.
As for inside the “green rectangle”, the coach of the “Old Lady” Massimiliano Allegri is missing the efforts of the veteran Brazilian full-back Alex Sandro (32 years old), who will be absent from the field for at least two weeks, due to a muscle injury in his thigh in training, and he will also miss the match against Lecce. Tuesday” within the sixth stage competitions.
Juventus is well aware of the importance of not participating in European competitions this season, and being limited to local tournaments with a less crowded schedule of matches than its competitors and a greater period of rest, in order to focus its efforts on winning the Italian League title for the first time in four years.
Napoli is going through a difficult trip to Bologna on Sunday, armed with a last-minute victory over Portuguese Braga 2-1, which is the only victory for an Italian club in the main continental competition in the first round of the group stage.
The beginning of the French coach Rudi Garcia, who replaced Luciano Spalletti, the current Italian coach, and who led the southern club to its third title in its history, was difficult, as it occupies fifth place, five points behind leaders Inter, after saving a point in Genoa 2-2 last weekend. Milan faces its guest, Verona, and Lazio faces its guest, Montsa, on Saturday.
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