For a long time now, Italian Calcio has not been a European league ‘number one’. But if each of the remaining four leagues of the ‘top five’ can envy Calcio of something, then it is this season’s excitement and by far the most uncertain race for the title. What awaits AC Milan, Inter and Napoli at the finish line?In that sense, two of the three candidates for the Italian throne will remember the weekend behind us with uneasiness – all competitors for the title have lost points. In fact, only Fiorentina won all three when it comes to the top 10 teams, but it is clear that AC Milan, Inter and Napoli could suffer the biggest consequences.Fri 20:45: (1.45) Milan (4.30) Udinese (7.75)A reminder, the league leaders disappointed with a 2-2 performance in Salerno, the Nerazzurri became the new victim of the miraculous Sassuolo (0-2), while the Neapolitans survived against Cagliari (1-1) last night.It is still early for final calculations, there are still 12 rounds to play, but the fact that the three biggest favorites are just two points from each other requires us to take a look at the schedule and draw some conclusions…
AC MILAN (56 points)Udinese (H)Napoli (A)Empoli (H)Cagliari (A)Bologna (H)Torino (A)Genoa (H)Lazio (A)Fiorentina (H)Verona (A)Atalanta (H)Sassuolo (A)INTER (54 points)Genoa (A)Salernitana (H)Torino (A)Fiorentina (H)Juventus (A)Verona (H)Spezia (A)Roma (H)Bologna (A)Udinese (A)Empoli (H)Cagliari (A)Sampdoria (H)NAPOLI (54 points)Lazio (G)AC Milan (D)Verona (G)Udinese (D)Atalanta (G)Fiorentina (D)Roma (D)Empoli (G)Sassuolo (D)Torino (G)Genoa (D)Spezia (G)From the list above, it can be seen that Inter, in addition to having fewer games (the one against Bologna postponed in January), also has the fewest duels with the teams from the upper part of the table – 5/13. When we talk about the biggest challenges, there is no doubt that it will be two visits to Turin (first to the Bulls, then to Juventus) and the arrival of Roma. It should not be neglected that all the most difficult games for Inter come after the Champions League visit to Anfield, therefore their European journey could affect Inter’s Serie A form.Fri 23:00: (9.00) Genoa (5.00) Inter (1.35)AC Milan have no European worries, but their visit to San Paolo (Diego Armando Maradona Stadium) is already at the beginning of March. This huge clash is followed by difficult challenges against Torino, Lazio and Verona away, and to top it all off – a hell of a finish of the season with Atalanta in the penultimate round and Sassuolo in the last. The overall impression is that Rossoneri’s schedule is tougher than Inter’s is.If we follow the same path, then Napoli have the least chances in this race, because out of the remaining 12 rivals, as many as seven come from the top 10. And the unpredictable Sassuolo. For the Neapolitans, next month is the key. In addition to the rematch against Barcelona in the Europa League, there are clashes against Lazio, AC Milan, Verona, Atalanta.Sun 22:45: (2.95) Lazio (3.30) Napoli (2.45)Juventus can also be considered one of the losers of the past weekend. Well, to be more precise – Juve are actually the biggest loser in the last ten days. Allegri’s team lost four points with drawing against Atalanta and Torino. With those four points, the Old Lady would be only five points away from AC Milan.Regardless of how bad the Bianconeri were this season, they would still be legit contenders in the race for the title.Sat 20:00: (5.80) Empoli (3.80) Juventus (1.62)