With last night’s match in Madrid, the championship race in Spain was practically decided. The question of the champion does not appear in France. In Germany, it has been solved mathematically since last week, and this Tuesday in Italy, too, an end could be put to the battle for the throne, which was not really fought for most of the season.Tonight, Inter Milan have the opportunity to put their hands on the Scudetto officially. Against, for this occasion, the most desirable possible rival, and also the most hated – AC Milan, in the Derby della Madonnina (9.45 PM EAT).If they celebrate in the 33rd round of Serie A, the Nerazzurri will sew another star on their coat of arms and thus overtake their neighbor who entered the current season with the same ambition. So, all the prerequisites for the biggest party in the blue part of the City of Fashion are here. Except, AC Milan should have a say in this. But do they really?The Rossoneri enter the last Milan derby of the season with a devastating record, which could probably cost Stefano Pioli his job. The Italian expert, together with his team, lost five consecutive games against the city rival, which had never happened to any Milan coach before. And although most fans will say that every derby is equally important, four of the previous five defeats have burned the hearts of the club’s supporters more than any previous ones, as one came in the Italian Super Cup final, two in last year’s Champions League semi-final, and the last at the start of the current season when they were humiliated by Inter in the championship (5-1).##EDITORS_CHOICE##In those five clashes with the arch-enemy, Stefano Pioli’s chosen team demonstrated the helplessness shown in the fact that in more than 450 minutes of football they scored only one goal, the consolation goal by Rafael Leao in that September debacle… And that’s why the Italian expert, writes Gazzetta dello Sport in one from the texts on the eve of the Derby della Madonnina, has the opportunity to atone for the inconveniences he caused the fans in the previous year and a half.It will most certainly be the last opportunity for such a thing because, as things stand at the end of the season, a thank-you note is being prepared for him. In the club, they do not forget that during his five-year tenure Pioli brought Milan the long-awaited Scudetto and brought the club back to the Euroscene, but they feel that the moment is right to say goodbye. In recent weeks, the Italian press has presented an almost double-digit number of candidates who could succeed Pioli, although the 58-year-old expert believes that he still has something to offer the team…”At the end of the year I will give my evaluations and I will certainly learn some lessons, because I have experience. I gave everything from the first day, I got a lot and I still feel that I can give a lot to this team,” Pioli said at the conference, and then reflected on the game itself:”Pride, redemption, belonging, responsibility. These are all good terms that we could use to describe the game that awaits us. Due to the league table, relegation from the Europa League and the fact that they want to win the Scudetto in this very game, we have a great opportunity. A win would be important for a number of reasons.”Empoli send Napoli further from next season’s European adventureThe defeats against Inter are far from the only reason for Pioli’s announced departure from Milan. Elimination from Roma in the Europa League, the competition that could only save his status as coach of the Rossoneri, was just the last straw. It was just one in a series of big matches that Pioli failed to win, and his team management also saw him spend a fair amount of credit, as well as often making strange decisions in important games. He also prepared one of those for the duel with Inter, as if the previous defeats had caused insecurity, so Pioli is trying in every way to break Inter’s dominance…Anyway, Milanese Gazzetta writes that Pioli has prepared a surprise for tonight’s game in a formation in which there will be no place for Olivier Giroud. Rafael Leao should take his position as the most attacking option, although the Italian media remind that the Portuguese did not like having to partner the French goalscorer in the attack during the period when Pioli decided to switch to a 3-5-2 formation…Simone Inzaghi, on the other hand, without calculations, aware that with tonight’s triumph he would reach the long-awaited, first Scudetto in his coaching career, but also equal the record of six straight victories in city derbies, which Milan set twice (1911-1913, 1946-1948).”If we win the Scudetto tomorrow even better. But for me and the players it’s not an obsession. A derby is always a derby. We feel great ahead of it. We’ve been working hard because tomorrow could be special. The last few derbies have been good for us but tomorrow it won’t mean anything. It will only mean what we do on the field. They will do everything to make life difficult for us,” Inzaghi said at the press conference.Let the auditions for the new AC Milan coach begin!The only thing missing in order for the party, if it happens, to be complete, is the fans. Inter’s, of course. Since Milan are the nominal hosts, they will receive 90 percent of the tickets. At the crowded San Siro, as it will be tonight, there are about 7,500 fans in blue and black colors. Or at least that’s how it should be in theory. However, Calcomercato writes that thousands of Milan fans resold their tickets to Inter fans, who, in order to get them, had to sign a Rossoneri membership card. Thus, the aforementioned source claims, there will be over 10,000,000 Inter fans in the stands.In Milan, they announce a rainy and cold evening, but the atmosphere will be hellish. And hardly any storm will prevent Inter fans from celebrating the championship title – except maybe AC Milan. They could put it off for at least a while.À la veille du Derby della Madonnina, l’Inter Milan a sorti un teaser. 🔥🔊En cas de victoire contre l’AC Milan, les Interistes seraient champions d’Italie pour la 20e fois. 🏆pic.twitter.com/4sAMPehi8N— PFC (@PassionFootClub) April 21, 2024 SERIE A – MATCHDAY 33FridayGenoa – Lazio 0-1 (0-0)/Luis Alberto 67/Cagliari – Juventus 2-2 (2-0)/Gaetano 30 pen, Mina 36 pen – Vlahovic 61, Dossena 87 og/SaturdayEmpoli – Napoli 1-0 (1-0)/Cerri 4/Verona – Udinese 0-1 (0-0)/Coppola 90+3/SundaySassuolo – Lecce 0-3 (0-2)/Gendrey 11, Dorgu 15, Piccoli 61/Torino – Frosinone 0-0Salernitana – Fiorentina 0-2 (0-0)/Kouame 80, Ikone 90+5/Monza – Atalanta 0-1 (0-1)/De Ketelaere 44/Monday19:30: (2.45) Roma (3.10) Bologna (3.15)21:45: (3.80) Milan (3.60) Inter (2.05)***odds are subject to change***
