It’s the red Half of Milan which is celebrating right now after the Rossoneri pulled off the Serie A result of the campaign on Sunday when they beat runaway leaders Napoli 4-0 at the Stadio Diego Maradona.
This SBOTOP writer was convinced that Napoli would beat AC Milan on Sunday, and I wasn’t alone, even though league top scorer Victor Osimhen was sidelined for the Azzurri.
But AC Milan simply blew away the side which still leads title race by 16 points with just 10 games remaining. Yes, the Scudetto is on its way to Naples and it’s just a matter of time, but Napoli’s celebrations have been delayed by a week by the rampant Rossoneri.
Stefano Pioli’s 2022 champions faced the league leaders without a victory in March, but they scored twice in each half as Rafael Leao bagged a goal either side of the halftime break with Brahim Diaz and Alexis Saelemaekers getting in on the Milan party.
After bursting on to the scene last season, Leao has been gradually improving through this campaign, and he was back to his very best with a man-of-the-match performance against Napoli.
He was at the centre of Milan’s game, particularly in attack, while skipper Davide Calabria also had a brilliant game, assisting Saelemaeker’s goal and keeping Azzurri danger man Khvicha Kvaratskhelia in his pocket.
The Serie A 2023 betting odds say Napoli have this in the bag but it was a huge result for I Rossoneri. The result put AC Milan back in charge of their top four destiny, lifting them to third, and Champions League football remains the target.
And with that in mind, the club has moved to dismiss reports that Premier League leaders Arsenal are preparing a move for their French wing-back Theo Hernandez.
He scored a brilliant opener for his country in the 2022 World Cup semi-final win over Morocco and has been on the radar of a number of Milan’s European rivals, but the club views him as untouchable and reports in Italy say they would turn down offers in the region of €60 million. To do that, they need to hold on to a top four place as Hernandez is one of the most gifted players in Pioli’s squad.
Inzaghi feels the heat
A third league loss on the bounce, this time to in-form Fiorentina, meant that Inter Milan fans had to watch I Rossoneri take their third place and Simone Inzaghi’s team is now fourth ahead of Roma on goal difference alone. And with Juventus, in seventh, now only six points behind, the race for the top four places will be frantic.
And there is already danger of panic setting in at the San Siro.
Even though La Viola are the most in-form side in Italy, the pressure is surely mounting on Inzaghi, who took over a Scudetto winning team from Antonio Conte in 2021.
Nerves seem to be creeping in on the pitch, notably from striker Romelu Lukaku, who looks to be a shadow of the player he was in 2021 as he missed a glaring chance against Fiorentina.
Inzaghi is a cup specialist with two Coppa Italia’s and four Supercoppas on his CV, and now club bosses are asking him to bring an unlikely Champions League win to the club.
With teams like Manchester City, Napoli, and FC Bayern still in the competition, that would be some feat. And finishing in the top four is a must, but one win in five league games doesn’t inspire much confidence.
Rumours of a replacement are already surfacing should Inzaghi meet his end. We couldn’t see a return of Conte or could we?
Coppa Italia updates
Max Allegri’s Juventus have put a fine run of Serie A 2023 results together to lift them back into top four contention, and they have silverware in view when they meet Inter Milan in a Coppa Italia semi-final clash on Tuesday night at the Allianz Arena.
Angel Di Maria will look to provide the ammunition for Juve striker Dusan Vlahovic, while Inzaghi looks likely to pair Edin Dzeko alongside Lautaro Martinez up front.
Both teams have big Serie A games coming up and European quarter-finals in the Europa League for I Biancioneri, who are at SBOTOP odds of 2.21 to win this first leg.
In the other semi-final, bottom club Cremonese entertain Fiorentina on Wednesday.
La Viola is priced at 1.73 to win the first leg, but their hosts, who are 12 points from safety, will play with some freedom without the pressure of the league relegation grind.
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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