At long last, the Serie A race has been finally decided, with one team now being crowned as champions of Italy. Certainly, it's been a very fascinating battle for the Scudetto as for the first time in many years, reigning champs Juventus had to fight off multiple challengers - and this time around, La Vecchia Signora found things even more difficult than in prior seasons.
Let's have a look at what happened over this weekend's round of fixtures.
Top five teams in Serie A up to May 3
With Inter now celebrating their first Scudetto title since 2010, it's going to be very interesting which three teams will join the Nerazzurri in the Champions League next season. Will Juventus, Milan, and Napoli make up the other three, or will Atalanta hang firm to remain in second and make sure that one of those other sides will have to settle for the Europa League next term?
Who are the top three scorers in Serie A?
He may not have been able to help his team win a tenth straight Scudetto, but Cristiano Ronaldo is still the top man to clinch the Capocannoniere this term. Unless if...Romelu Lukaku, who's had a simply outstanding season in helping Inter to their 19th league title, manages to go on a goal-scoring blitz over the next four matches...
Top Serie A headlines
Inter win first title since 2010...and end Juve's reign as champs of Italy: It's been a long time coming for Nerazzurri fans, but finally, Inter have achieved what they've been fighting to do since 2010 - to become champions of Italy once again. This makes it the 19th Scudetto for Inter, which now pulls them ahead of cross town rivals Milan as the two teams were joint-tied on 18 for nearly a decade. It's also Antonio Conte's first title with Inter, having won three Scudetti during his overhaul of Juventus that saw them transformed from fallen giants to back to Turin titans.
Crotone relegated: Unfortunately, while Inter were celebrating their milestone achievement, it meant that the end of road had finally arrived for struggling Crotone. Despite their best efforts, largely spearheaded by the amazing goal-scoring efforts of Nigerian striker Simy, it wasn't enough to keep the Squali afloat as they slumped to a 2-0 loss over the weekend. With Simy gaining a lot of attention lately, it'll be really interesting to see if he remains with his current side or if another team - whether in Italy or elsewhere - decide to snap him up for a fair price this summer.
Bologna's Palacio sets record in six goal thriller: Elsewhere, Bologna and Fiorentina played out a six goal thriller that resulted in a stalemate between the Rossoblu and the Viola. For fans and neutrals alike, it was certainly an entertaining match, but what made the game especially notable was that all of Bologna's goals were scored by veteran striker Rodrigo Palacio:
39 & 86 - Rodrigo #Palacio (39 years and 86 days) is the oldest player to score an hat-trick in Serie A's history. Endless.#BolognaFiorentina #SerieA pic.twitter.com/LZU0E4UNwL
— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) May 2, 2021
Top Serie A matches: May 8-9, 2021
Inter vs Sampdoria: This will be Inter's first game since being crowned champions of Italy, and the Nerazzurri will be eager to take on Sampdoria at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza. Why? Because the Blucerchiati are the only team who have managed to beat Conte's swashbuckling side in Serie A since the start of 2021. So it goes without saying that Inter will be looking to get some measure of revenge on the Genoa-based outfit, who presently sit in ninth place and aren't going to qualify for Europe but will be quite satisfied with having secured their top-flight position for next season.
Juventus vs Milan: A very interesting match-up between two teams who attempted to challenge for the Scudetto, but came up short. The Bianconeri were the first team to beat a previously high-flying Rossoneri this season, thus ending Stefano Pioli's side's unbeaten run in what had initially looked to be the season in which they could've won some silverware. As things stand, Andrea Pirlo's Juventus, who sit in third spot, are now battling to secure Champions League football for next term. The same applies to Milan, who are hoping to feature in the elite tournament for the first time since 2013. Both teams will be certainly gunning for all three points, especially as Napoli still continue to lurk, and there's also Lazio who are hoping to have a late say in a top four place.
Make sure you don't miss out on these key games and stay on top of all the action by checking out our bespoke Serie A match page.
