MATCH OF THE WEEK - AC MILAN v INTER
Lots of scoring chances, three red cards, three goals, tears of joy from Lautaro Martinez and his teammates: this and much more happened in Monday night's derby.
What happened at the San Siro Stadium during the derby is a historical event: never had a team won the Scudetto arithmetically at the end of the match against the rival team from the same city. It had never happened, it was the first time in the history of Serie A, and that is why the Nerazzurri chased this goal so hard.
It was the dream of Simone Inzaghi and his boys and so it happened. First the goal scored by Francesco Acerbi, the most talked-about man of the last period in Italy, then the 0-2 signed by Marcus Thuram, the striker who came to the Nerazzurri in the summer after saying no thanks" to AC Milan. Between the first and second goals there were other great chances for Inter, particularly one for Lautaro, who worked hard on Monday but could not find the goal.
FikayoTomori lit up the end of the game with a goal that later turned out to be useless: it was the Milan defender who momentarily shortened the gap. Everything happened in the last minutes of the game, obviously due to the great anger experienced by the Rossoneri: Theo Hernandez, Denzel Dumfries and Davide Calabria were sent off. The first two for a scuffle in the centre of the field, the third for a violent gesture towards Davide Frattesi. Probably the final skirmishes, the nervousness shown by Milan helped make Inter's victory even sweeter.
The Nerazzurri fans have been celebrating since Monday night and rightly so. Inzaghi and his men dominated the league from the first day to the last: there was never any doubt about who would win the title. And this is absolute credit to the Inter coach, in the past too often underestimated. Brava Inter!
SURPRISE OF THE WEEK - EMPOLI BEAT NAPOLI
Another result from this Serie A season that no one could have imagined at the beginning of the year. Davide Nicola's Empoli, a team embroiled in the fight not to be relegated (especially before the arrival of a coach who turns everything he touches into gold), deservedly beat the team that dominated the Italian league last year.
Empoli won 1-0, the decisive goal was scored by Alberto Cerri, and watching the highlights you will notice one thing: the Tuscans came closer to scoring the second goal than Francesco Calzona's boys to the equaliser. Of course, all credit is due to Nicola, a coach capable of feats often considered impossible or at least particularly complicated.
Empoli is playing well, winning important games and racing toward staying in Serie A. By now it is clear: we are talking about a coach who would deserve a real chance on the bench of a team bigger than Empoli, perhaps a team with the goal of going to Europe. He would deserve it, no doubt about it.
COACH OF THE WEEK - LUCA GOTTI
Some fans joke and to glorify Gotti called him "Goatti", playing on the term "goat," meaning "greatest of all times". The former Udinese coach has turned Lecce around and made it a fearsome team, capable in recent times of winning decisive matches to avoid relegation.
Tactically he solved Lecce's problems and managed to enhance the team's qualities while hiding, or limiting, its flaws. Last weekend his boys crushed Sassuolo, a rival team to remain in Serie A, winning with a resounding 0-3 away from home.
Now the standings say +4 over the third-last place, so a one-game margin over the hot zone. If Lecce continues like this, at this pace, there will be no problem.