The stage is set for a breathtaking epilogue to the 2021/22 Serie A campaign.
After a riveting season, it will be either AC Milan or Inter Milan that will be crowned champions of Italy on Sunday, when the Serie A final match day kicks off.
While Inter are shooting for their second consecutive league title, AC Milan are looking to end an 11-year Scudetto drought: The last time they finished on top of the Serie A table dates back to 2010/11, when Massimiliano Allegri was sitting on the Rossoneri bench.
That season, the team could rely on the experience of world-class champions like Andrea Pirlo, Clarence Seedorf and Gennaro Gattuso and boasted incredible attacking power in Alexandre Pato, Robinho, Ronaldinho and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
This year, the AC Milan roster doesn’t feature such high-profile names, as it is mostly made up of young, talented players who are still somewhat unproven at the European level (with 40-year-old Ibrahimovic being the most notable exception).
That’s why at the beginning of the season, the club made it very clear that the primary goal was to secure a top-4 finish that would grant access to the UEFA Champions League.
The budget allocated by AC Milan for player salaries is also in line with the goal originally set by the club of competing for a spot in Europe’s most remunerative tournament.
AC Milan have only the fourth largest wage bill in this Serie A season, according to Gazzetta dello Sport estimates: With €100 million ($105m), they stand below Napoli, Inter and Juventus in this ranking.
Under the wise management of head coach Stefano Pioli, however, this young AC Milan side has overachieved in the league and it’s now one step away from clinching the much coveted Scudetto, a fate that the majority of soccer pundits had not forecast before the Serie A season kicked off.
Among the players who have shone the most this year are Rafael Leao, the 23-year-old Portuguese winger that is now on the radar of major European soccer clubs; Theo Hernandez, the tireless French left-back who continues to showcase unparalleled athleticism with his runs down the flank; and Sandro Tonali, the Italian midfielder who has become a regular starter despite being just in his second season in Italy’s top-flight.
On Sunday, AC Milan are traveling to Reggio Emilia, where they are scheduled to face Sassuolo in a sold-out Mapei Stadium. The Rossoneri fans are flocking to the stadium to witness what could be a historic moment for their favorite team.
AC Milan, who are two points ahead of Inter in the Serie A table (83 and 81, respectively), need a draw to be crowned champions of Italy. Meanwhile, Inter will be hosting Udinese at San Siro, knowing that they must win and hope that their city rivals fail to collect points on the road.
If Inter and AC Milan are level on Sunday night, the head-to-head record from this season will break the tie in favor of the Rossoneri, who were able to win the latest Milan derby.
The Inter and AC Milan games will kick off simultaneously at 6pm, wrapping up a Scudetto race that hasn’t offered Italian fans this kind of drama in a long time.
Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn.