The Champions League quarter-finals are upon us and, for the first time in 17 years, there are three Italian sides among the final eight. Before anyone gets carried away contemplating brave new eras, they might consider the growing possibility that two of those teams might not even qualify for next season’s tournament.
Inter have won none of their last six games and slipped out of Serie A’s top four after drawing 1-1 with Salernitana on Good Friday. Milan clobbered Napoli 4-0 this month but otherwise have taken two points from four matches. They could only manage a goalless stalemate at home to Empoli later the same evening.
The Rossoneri paid a price for overconfidence. Stefano Pioli swapped out five starters, including the entire front three – Rafael Leão, Olivier Giroud and Brahim Díaz making way for Ante Rebic, Divock Origi and Alexis Saelemaekers. Milan wound up taking 23 shots to Empoli’s two yet barely forced a save out of the opposition goalkeeper after the 15th minute.
It was a similar, yet different, story for their neighbours. The Nerazzurri have lately turned not scoring goals into an art form. They took the lead against Salernitana in the sixth minute, Robin Gosens converting Romelu Lukaku’s flick beautifully, but after that it was a masterclass in how to combine everything but the finish.
There were stepovers, no-look passes and backheel volleys to lead us anywhere but the back of the net. Point-blank headers were scrambled off the line or crashed off the underside of the crossbar. Memo Ochoa, keeping goal for Salernitana, summoned that version of himself that appears every four years for Mexico at World Cups: springing, leaping, soaring to make saves he had no right to make.
All of which set up Antonio Candreva to equalise in the 90th minute with a mishit pass that sailed over André Onana. “It was supposed to be a cross,” said the former Inter winger. “You need a bit of luck every now and then.”
Lukaku is overdue. He has not scored from open play in Serie A since the opening weekend yet it is not for want of trying. His application and movement were excellent on Sunday, repeatedly creating opportunities for himself and his teammates, but the ball simply would not go in.
At full time he stood shirtless, hand on his chest in a gesture of apology to his team’s supporters. It was a vivid contrast to the midweek Coppa Italia semi-final against Juventus, when he was shown a second yellow and sent off for shushing Juventus fans who racially abused him after he scored a game-tying penalty.
The response from Italian football’s organisers has been pathetic and predictable. Juventus were punished with a partial stadium closure, while the club identified two fans responsible and banned them from attending in future. But Lukaku’s red card, and consequent suspension for the second leg, was upheld despite the fact countless players – himself included – have made shushing gestures without punishment before.
How will things ever improve when this is so often the reaction to instances of racism against footballers in Italy, any attempt to make things better buried beneath a compulsion to equivocate and imply that the victim somehow brought it on themselves? Just four days later, Lazio’s stadium announcer had to warn fans to stop racist chants or see their game against Juventus suspended.
Simone Inzaghi’s former team won that game 2-1, strengthening their hold on second place. If both Milan clubs are at risk of missing out on Champions League football next season it is, in part, because Lazio have hit new heights under Maurizio Sarri. This was their first win over Juventus since 2019 and fully deserved, the Biancocelesti showing resolve to push on and win even after they let a lead slip in the first half.
Their opening goal sparked a debate, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic placing his hand on Alex Sandro’s back before stepping away to tame Mattia Zaccagni’s cross and finish. The defender was incredulous, claiming to have been pushed, but he certainly exaggerated the extent of the contact.
Afterwards Sarri said that, from his position on the sidelines, “it looked like something you could whistle for, but then I had other impressions too: that Juve should have finished on nine players.” On Sunday, Lazio’s official Instagram account wished followers a “Happy Easter!” with a supercut of fouls committed by the Bianconeri.
Adrien Rabiot equalised for Juventus almost immediately, but Lazio reclaimed their lead at the start of the second half with an exhilarating move. Felipe Anderson got the better of Sandro down the right before playing a square ball to Luis Alberto, who kept it moving with a nonchalant heel flick to Zaccagni behind him. The Italian buried his shot first time back across goal.
Both he and Alberto told reporters at full time that they had done the exact same move in training the day before, only that time a defender slid in to block it. “Luckily he scored this one,” said the Spaniard. “If not, I would have had to kill him.”
Zaccagni is Lazio’s top scorer this season, as well as the most prolific Italian in Serie A on 10 goals, but their climb to second – five points clear of Roma, now, in third place – is a triumph of the collective. Milinkovic-Savic, around whose talent this team has orbited for half a decade, went two months without a goal or assist, and Ciro Immobile, a four-time capocannoniere, scored just twice in the same period. The team rolled on regardless.
They have delivered in the big games, too, taking 21 points from 10 games against other members of Serie A’s top seven. Only Napoli can match that number, and nobody can better it. Little wonder that Sarri should be presented with Serie A’s Manager of the Month award before kick-off. He received that recognition as only he could, telling reporters: “I spend my pre-game closed in a room; people trying to talk to me get on my nuts. The prize was nice, the moment of receiving it not so much.”
He had been similarly honest as his team exited the Europa Conference League last month, saying he cared more about the Rome derby that his team would go on to win days later. His argument then, that his team lacked the depth to sustain a European run and still give the best of themselves in domestic competition, might resonate with fans of Milan and Inter.
Friday: Lecce 1-2 Napoli; Milan 0-0 Empoli; Salernitana 1-1 Inter. Sat: Atalanta 0-2 Bologna; Fiorentina 1-1 Spezia; Lazio 2-1 Juventus; Sampdoria 2-3 Cremonese; Torino 0-1 Roma; Udinese 2-2 Monza; Verona 2-1 Sassuolo.
Neither club could regret their Champions League achievements this season. What is the point of fighting to get into Europe’s top competition if you’re not going to give it your all? Returning to the quarter-final is already a meaningful landmark for two great clubs that have missed that stage for too long. They could yet meet one another in the semis.
The fight for the top four will not be on anybody’s mind as Inter head to the Estádio da Luz on Tuesday, nor when Milan host Napoli at San Siro a day later. That will sit just fine with Lazio’s players as they enjoy the two-day Easter break that Sarri granted them as reward for another important league victory.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Napoli | 29 | 45 | 74 |
| 2 | Lazio | 29 | 26 | 58 |
| 3 | Roma | 29 | 13 | 53 |
| 4 | AC Milan | 29 | 12 | 52 |
| 5 | Inter Milan | 29 | 15 | 51 |
| 6 | Atalanta | 29 | 13 | 48 |
| 7 | Juventus | 29 | 23 | 44 |
| 8 | Bologna | 29 | 2 | 43 |
| 9 | Fiorentina | 29 | 2 | 41 |
| 10 | Udinese | 29 | 3 | 39 |
| 11 | Torino | 29 | -5 | 38 |
| 12 | Sassuolo | 29 | -6 | 37 |
| 13 | Monza | 29 | -7 | 35 |
| 14 | Empoli | 29 | -11 | 32 |
| 15 | Salernitana | 29 | -16 | 29 |
| 16 | Lecce | 29 | -10 | 27 |
| 17 | Spezia | 29 | -20 | 26 |
| 18 | Verona | 29 | -19 | 22 |
| 19 | Cremonese | 29 | -28 | 16 |
| 20 | Sampdoria | 29 | -32 | 15 |
