MILAN (AP) — Inter Milan could be. Serie A He was a champion even before he kicked a ball against Parma on Sunday.
Cristian Chivu’s side have a 10-point advantage over second-placed Napoli and a 12-point advantage over AC Milan with four matches remaining.
A home win on Sunday night would seal Inter’s title. Depending on the result of the match between Napoli and Milan, even one point could be enough.
But the Nerazzurri will still be champions even if Napoli lose to Champions League chasers Como on Saturday, and Milan fail to beat Sassuolo about four hours before Inter kick-off at the San Siro.
This is Chivu’s first manager’s trophy, although his only senior coaching experience prior to joining Inter was managing 13 games for Parma at the end of last season.
“I know what the players are going through, how they experience these situations and what it means to play for Inter,” said Chivu, who was part of Inter’s famous team that won the treble in 2010. “We have to accept them, always tell them the truth and be consistent without abandoning our ideas. I can try to play my part, but in the end it all depends on the players.”
“I was lucky that they agreed to it right away. We had a great season with 25 wins, 80 league goals and over 100 in total. It’s not easy to achieve that and they deserve all the credit for accommodating everything we asked.”
Inter will face Lazio in the Italian Cup final on May 13th, potentially clinching a league and cup double.
major matches
Behind Inter, the battle for the remaining three Champions League spots is heating up.
Juventus are fourth, just three points behind Como and Roma. Juve are also three points behind third-place Milan.
Juventus host relegation-threatened Hellas Verona on Sunday, while Roma host Fiorentina on Monday.
At the other end of the table, Pisa will be mathematically relegated if they fail to beat Lecce in the last safe spot in Serie A.
Cremonese are one place below Lecce and will play Lazio on Monday. The other team in the relegation zone is Verona, who are 10 points below Lecce.
Featured players
Inter midfielder Federico Dimarco broke the record He scored both goals in one game, when he recorded the most assists in a single season in Serie A. 2-2 draw against Torino.
This brings his tally to 18 for this campaign. Teammate Lautaro Martinez will be hoping to target DiMarco’s trademark pinpoint crosses as he returns from injury.
Lautaro has missed eight of the last nine league games with a calf problem and played less than an hour in the game against Roma, where he scored twice. The World Cup winner returned to training on Wednesday.
Activity suspended
Milan midfielder Luka Modric fractured his cheekbone in last weekend’s match against Juventus and will miss the remaining four matches. The Croatian captain is one of Milan’s best players. underwent surgery He will be back on Monday and will be in a race to recover for the World Cup.
off the field
Italian soccer is being shaken by another team referee scandal.
Gianluca Rocchi, the head referee of Serie A and Serie B, is under criminal investigation on suspicion of sports fraud. VAR supervisor Andrea Gervasoni, who appeared in a Milan court on Thursday, is also under investigation.
Rocchi is said to have influenced VAR decisions and assigned referees in Inter’s favor for some matches in the 2024-25 season.
No players or managers from Inter or other Serie A clubs are involved.
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