After nine seasons of Juventus dominance within Serie A, there is a chance that things might just be starting to change and if the Scudetto goes to a different destination, then it is the San Siro which is looking set to welcome its arrival.
Of course, when it comes to the San Siro, it plays host to two Milan outfits and with both setting the early pace in this season’s title race, it could be a titanic tussle that ensues between table-toppers AC and second-place Inter Milan.
After 17 weeks of this current campaign, it is the red and black half of Milan who currently possess the bragging rights for the city, as Stefano Pioli’s men find themselves three points clear of their blue and black San Siro roommates.
Then again, that lead at the top could have been far more substantial and arguably more defining, had AC Milan avoided defeat against a Juventus side, that is now being led by their former mercurial midfielder Andrea Pirlo.
The two teams met on Wednesday January 6th and before the game had started, defending champions Juventus found themselves 10 points off the pace and up against it, even with a game in hand over their nearest rivals.
However, their bid for 10 Serie A titles in a row may have just been given some new life, after an impressive showing in Milan and although some of Andrea Pirlo’s tactical decisions have been confusing at times, his players showed no signs of confusion that evening.
A 3-1 away win means Juventus stay in the title hunt and that previous double figure gap at the top, has now been eroded to a more manageable single figure of seven – while not to mention, the Old Lady of Turin still has a game in hand to eventually make use of.
With Federico Chiesa scoring a double either side of Davide Calabria’s first half equaliser and United States international Weston Mckennie securing victory late on, it means that Juventus had avoided the unthinkable.
The unthinkable being, Juventus 13 points off the Serie A title pace and their streak of dominance perhaps being broken at the end of the season, something that would surely signify the end of Pirlo’s managerial tenure.
However, this result is a definite stay of execution for the former European Championship runner-up and now the focus will be, making up ground on not just AC Milan but their crosstown rivals Inter as well.
Even if Inter are favourites to win this season’s Serie A, they are not quite playing up to that status at present and you only need to look at their last two league outings, as proof that they are not firing on all cylinders.
On the same day that Juventus toppled the league leaders, Inter were being toppled themselves and with Alexis Sanchez missing a penalty, it meant he and his teammates would eventually end up losing to Sampdoria by two goals to one.
Of course, there is always the possibility to bounce back as soon as possible, especially at this time of year, as the fixtures come thick and fast. However, the fixture computer was certainly not kind to Antonio Conte’s men, as they subsequently had to travel to the Italian capital to face Roma.
An outfit, who can be considered the fourth genuine entry in this season’s title race and with the Romans holding Inter to a 2-2 draw at the Stadio Olimpico, it is a result that does neither of their hopes any real favours.
With just one point under their belt from the last six that are available, it means that Inter have ceded ground to their nearest neighbours and although they are the league’s top scorers to date, it is a slightly porous defence which is undoing all their attacking hard work.
If Antonio Conte can solve this problem in the second half of the season, then his side could be well placed to kick on and seriously challenge for the most important prizes. While whoever eventually comes out on top, will certainly prove to be worthy winners.
While the big question is, whether Juventus can do the unthinkable and land what now looks an unlikely tenth successive Italian championship or will 2021 finally be the year, in which a new king is crowned within the realm of Serie A?