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‘OLIVER GIROUD PUT THE CAT AMONGST THE PIGEONS' Maradona on matchday 14, prior to their meltdown in the lead up to Christmas. In the meantime, champions Inter, who got off to a rocky start by dropping points in four of their opening nine games, cemented their title credentials with a 3-2 win at home over the Partenopei on November 21. That victory propelled the Nerazzurri into an eight-match winning run and the top of the division, before a goalless draw in Bergamo halted the train. The coming months are crucial for this Scudetto love triangle. Milan are out of European competition already, which may help them in the title race. Inter face two ties with Liverpool in the Champions League last 16, the first coming just four days after their trip to Naples. The Azzurri, meanwhile, head to Barcelona in the Europa League knockout rounds straight after that top-of-the-table clash. In the Coppa Italia,
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SOCCER360 MARCH • APRIL 2022
ABOVE: Are Milan too dependant on Olivier Giroud for goals? BOTTOM LEFT: Inter hope Simone Inzaghi can lead them to back-to-back titles BOTTOM RIGHT: Inter's Edin Dzeko celebrates after scoring RIGHT: Ivan Perisic is keeping up his production
the two Milanese clubs will meet again in the semi-finals. That potentially heated twolegged affair between title rivals during the home stretch would of course be beneficial to Napoli, who exited the cup in the round of 16. On the domestic front, things will really begin to heat up from March onwards, when Juventus welcome Inter to the Allianz Stadium for the Derby d’Italia and Milan travel to the Maradona. Inter will also host Fiorentina and Roma, while Milan will need to overcome Atalanta at home before a tough test on the final day of the season with continual thorn in their side, Sassuolo. Napoli must travel to Bergamo to play Atalanta, before hosting Fiorentina and contesting the Derby della Sud with Roma in back-to-back games at the start of April. The
