Simone Inzaghi's Inter have started off the new Serie A season quite well. After winning the opening home game against Monza last week, the Nerazzurri managed to win their second game of the season against Cagliari away on Monday and are currently top of the Serie A table alongside AC Milan, Napoli and Hellas Verona. It's not a coincidence that these teams are now at the top of the league because they are also the clear leading candidates to win the 2023-24 Scudetto. In fact, while Napoli will try to defend the title under the new coach Rudi Garcia, AC Milan and Inter will fight again to win the Scudetto as has been the case two out of the last three seasons.
The two clubs of Milan are the ones probably better positioned for the final win for different reasons. Their goal is to win their 20th Serie A title since both sides have already won the Italian championship 19 times in their history so far. This is why a potential Scudetto competition between the city rivals might be even more special this campaign especially after the two teams played in the 2022-23 Champions League semifinals, when Inter won both legs before losing to Manchester City in the final.
The rivalry between Inter and AC Milan is historical but escalated over the past years when Inter won the league in 2021 and AC Milan did it one year after, winning in the last game of the season against Sassuolo after an incredible comeback that started against the same Inter in the Derby della Madonnina in February. Inzaghi has failed to win the Scudetto since he's been in charge of the club, but at the same time, he twice won the Coppa Italia and twice the Supercoppa Italiana and brought the Nerazzurri to the final of the 2023 Champions League. Let's rank the Serie A winner candidates for this season after the first couple weeks.
2. Inter Inter, on the other hand, this summer decided to sell two key players of the past seasons, goalkeeper Andre Onana to Manchester United for around €55 million and midfielder Marcelo Brozovic to Al-Nassr for €18 million. In one summer, Inter sold or did not extend the contracts of at least four regular starters, plus Romelu Lukaku. Inter have pulled out of the race to re-sign Lukaku from Chelsea, who is now set to join Jose Mourinho's AS Roma. Inter signed free agents Juan Cuadrado from Juventus and Marcus Thuram to replace Edin Dzeko, alongside Marko Arnautovic from Bologna and free agent Alexis Sanchez, who came back at the club only one year after he left the Italian team to join Olympique Marseille. The Nerazzurri decided to sign Yann Sommer from Bayern Munich for €6 million to replace Andre Onana but made the most important investments in the midfield. Former Sassuolo player Davide Frattesi joined the Italian giants for a deal worth around €35 million. Inzaghi kept the same tactical structure, the 3-5-2, despite the summer changes. The feeling is that there is still some room for improvement in the coming weeks, as Inter lost several key players of the past years but the start of the new season has been good so far.
3. Napoli
Despite the multiple changes that happened over the summer for the other teams, Napoli kept the same identical structure even if they sold the best defender of the 2022-23 season, Kim Min-Jae, to Bayern Munich and they also changed the coach, since Luciano Spalletti decided to leave the club before accepting the Italian national team role after Roberto Mancini left for Saudi Arabia. The new coach of the club, Garcia, decided to continue the path started by Spalletti two seasons ago, and so far it seems to be working pretty well. Players like Victor Osimhen and Matteo Politano had a solid start under Garcia during the games against Frosinone and Sassuolo and it seems that the Azzurri can be part of the Scudetto race.
2. Inter
Inter, on the other hand, this summer decided to sell two key players of the past seasons, goalkeeper Andre Onana to Manchester United for around €55 million and midfielder Marcelo Brozovic to Al-Nassr for €18 million. In one summer, Inter sold or did not extend the contracts of at least four regular starters, plus Romelu Lukaku. Inter have pulled out of the race to re-sign Lukaku from Chelsea, and the Belgian is now set to join Jose Mourinho's AS Roma. Inter signed free agents Juan Cuadrado from Juventus and Marcus Thuram to replace Edin Dzeko, alongside Marko Arnautovic from Bologna and free agent Alexis Sanchez, who came back to the club only one year after he left the Italian team to join Olympique Marseille. The Nerazzurri decided to sign Yann Sommer from Bayern Munich for €6 million to replace Andre Onana but made the most important investments in the midfield. Former Sassuolo player Davide Frattesi joined in a deal worth around €35 million. Inzaghi kept the same tactical structure, 3-5-2, despite the summer changes. The feeling is that there is still some room for improvement in the coming weeks, as Inter lost several key players of the past years but the start of the new season has been good so far.
1. AC Milan
Stefano Pioli won the Scudetto with the Rossoneri and this summer started a big revolution at the club after the former director and club legend Paolo Maldini left. American owner Gerry Cardinale took charge of the club alongside the new CEO Giorgio Furlani, who replaced Ivan Gazidis last November and the former head of scouting Geoffrey Moncada, who is now taking care of the negotiations directly. In the summer star Sandro Tonali left his childhood club to join Newcastle for €70 million plus €5 million in add-ons. That money was immediately used to make some signings, as the Rossoneri signed goalkeeper Marco Sportiello and midfielder Luka Romero as free agents. Then, they signed USMNT winger Christian Pulisic from Chelsea for around €20 million and USMNT midfielder Yunus Musah for €20 million, add-ons included, then midfielders Tijjani Reijnders from Feyenoord for €19 million and Ruben Loftus-Cheek from Chelsea for €16 million. They then added Samuel Chukwueze from Villarreal for €20 million and striker Noah Okafor from RB Salzburg for €14 million. AC Milan started off the new season strongly with two wins and showed some big improvements compared to the past season, as coach Pioli decided to switch the tactical system to a 4-3-3. Pulisic already scored two goals and his impact as a right winger has been very positive, playing alongside Rafael Leao and Olivier Giroud.
