With four matches left to be played in 2020/2021 Seria A season, Inter Milan has clinched its first league title after 11 years, ending Juventus’ nine-year dominance as Italian champions.
The Antonio Conte-led team was aided to lift the trophy earlier than expected after their closest rival, Atalanta, drew 1-1 with Sassuolo, widening the gap between them to 13 points.
And with a maximum of 12 points left to vie for by all teams, Inter Milan was declared winner of the league title after defeating Crotone 2-0 24 hours before the Atalanta game on Sunday.
The three points, courtesy of Christian Eriksen and Achraf Hakimi goals, already brought an end to Juventus’ nine-year winning cycle which was kick-started by Conte himself in 2012 and continued by Max Allegri and Maurizio Sarri the last term.
Inter have only twice tasted defeat this season, losing 2-1 in both games against Milan during the derby in October and at Sampdoria in January, the latter followed by an ongoing 18-game unbeaten run which saw them collect 14 wins, 11 of them in a row.
Conte’s side snatched the top spot from AC Milan on February 14 and have held it ever since, with a 3-0 triumph over their cross-city rivals in February making them the runaway leaders during the business end of the season.
Juventus were expected to compete for the title yet again but endured a torrid season under Andrea Pirlo, with their spot in next season’s Champions League still hanging in the balance.
Stefano Pioli’s AC Milan looked like the closest contenders and was top of the table at Christmas, but they failed to keep up with their spectacular early-season form and have now also slipped into a top-four dogfight.
