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The five pivotal moments on the road to Inter's dominant Serie A triumph

Massimiliano Macaluso
Simone Inzaghi overseeing the Serie A match between Inter and Cagliari
Simone Inzaghi overseeing the Serie A match between Inter and CagliariAFP
It took just 33 matches in a 38-game season for Inter to be crowned 2023/2024 Serie A champions. Their success was seldom in doubt in a season interrupted by just one defeat to date, against Sassuolo in September. Although the Nerazzurri's path has been fairly linear, there have undoubtedly been matches more decisive than others on the way to the Scudetto.

September 16th: Inter 5 Milan 1

Winning the first derby of the season, especially in such a clear-cut manner, was a huge boost to Inter. Even more so because it was just the fourth match of the league season.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan's brace and Marcus Thuram, Hakan Calhanoglu and Davide Frattesi's goals immediately launched Inter into first place with maximum points, defeating 'cousins' Milan again after winning both derbies last season, too.

November 26th: Juventus 1 Inter 1

The first clash between Juventus and Inter (who were title rivals for much of the season) was not to be missed. And it was a match that went exactly how you would expect a game between title rivals to go. 

Simone Inzaghi's side deserved a lot of credit for coming back from a goal down and settling for a draw instead of risking a damaging defeat at that stage of the season. 

January 6th: Inter 2 Verona 1

This was probably the most discussed match of the season from a controversial point of view - a game with many twists and turns. Inter found the winning goal deep into added time from Frattesi reacting quickest to a rebound. But just minutes later a penalty was given to Verona at the death but the spot kick was sensationally missed by Thomas Henry.

Inter, who had come away with just a point the week before against Genoa, found a way to claim all three points in this one - just about.

January 28th: Fiorentina 0 Inter 1

The calendar was not in Inter's favour in the new year as their away match in Florence came immediately after the Supercoppa and the week before their all-important clash against Juventus.

The Nerazzurri showed up without Nicolo Barella and Calhanoglu but took the lead with a goal from Lautaro Martinez and then defended strongly against a Fiorentina side who wasted a penalty.

February 4th & 10th: Inter 1 Juventus 0 & Roma 2 Inter 4

February was a decisive month on Inter's road to the title. After what happened in Florence, the Nerazzurri further secured first place at home against Juventus. They dominated for large stretches and the game was decided by Federico Gatti's own goal, giving Inter a tight 1-0 win. 

Then, in the following away match at the Olimpico against Daniele De Rossi's Roma, Inzaghi's men went down 2-1 at half-time but came back fully motivated and overturned the match with goals from Thuram, Alessandro Bastoni and an own goal from Angelino.

Their lead at the top went from seven points to 10 a few hours later due to Juventus' loss at home to Udinese. 

Surely, it must not have been an easy start to the season for Inter, being such strong favourites. This year, though, apart from the strong start made by Juventus, Inter have always been the team to beat and despite the inevitable pressure, the team have not failed psychologically at all. On the contrary, they have excelled and made this monumental achievement seem quite simple.

The consequence of Inzaghi's work can also be seen from an economic point of view: thanks to the performances and results, Inter's squad has increased in value by no end. Now many of their players can be considered top players at a European level. In addition to Martinez, this season has had people talking about the likes of Bastoni and Federico Dimarco who have proved themselves in Europe and with the Italian national team.

Their success has also seen Inzaghi's reputation blow up and he has now reached the status of a great European manager.