Inter Milan and Napoli will take their fight for the Serie A title down to the final day this week, with the simultaneous fixtures being moved to Friday night in order to fit in a potential playoff should the two finish level on points.
Both clubs dropped points last weekend, meaning Napoli remain one point clear at the top ahead of their home clash with Cagliari.
That means Antonio Conte‘s men are big favourites to take the Scudetto, but Inter will be waiting in the wings to pounce, and will seek to make it a nervy evening when they face Como.
It will not be the first time that the Serie A title has been as tense as this though, as it was commonplace especially during the glory years in the late-90s and early-00s, with many strong teams all battling for supremacy in the Italian top flight.
Here, Sports Mole looks back at the seven occasions when the Scudetto was decided on the final day in the three-points-per-win era, ranked in order of the drama that ensued.
7: 2021-22: Milan hold off rivals Inter
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AC Milan entered the final day of the 2021-22 season two points ahead of bitter rivals Inter, needing to win away to Sassuolo to be sure of the title, while Inter faced Sampdoria at home waiting to capitalise on any slip-ups.
Ionut Radu‘s disastrous error in the Inter goal away to Bologna at the end of April had put Milan in the driving seat, and the Rossoneri won five in a row leading up to the final day, making them huge favourites to get over the line.
There was still plenty of pressure on Stefano Pioli‘s men, as it had been 11 years since their last title, but they did not show it, as Milan went in at half time 3-0 up thanks a brace from Olivier Giroud and a third from Franck Kessie, making Inter’s 3-0 win over Samp irrelevant, as Milan took all the drama out of the occasion with a straightforward success, lifting the title in Reggio Emilia.
6: 2000-01: Capello holds off future employers Juve to reign supreme with Roma
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There was no stronger division in world football than Serie A during the late-90s and early-00s, with numerous clubs all enjoying success on the continent, and serving up compelling title races that were very difficult to call.
After watching city rivals Lazio take the crown a year earlier, Roma were determined to get their hands on a Scudetto in 2000-01, and they led Juventus by two points heading into the final day.
It had been almost two decades since Roma reigned supreme in Italy, but legendary manager Fabio Capello ended that long wait, seeing off Parma 3-1 on the final day, thanks to goals from Francesco Totti, Vincenzo Montella and Gabriel Batistuta.
David Trezeguet had given Roma an early scare by putting Juve ahead inside six minutes against Atalanta, but the Giallorossi never looked flustered, and lifted a third Serie A title, and to this day, their most recent.
5: 1998-99: Milan rally late to keep Lazio at bay
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Ahead of the 1998-99 season, Alberto Zaccheroni came in at the helm at San Siro for Milan, and they entered the final day just one point ahead of Sven-Goran Eriksson‘s Lazio.
Both clubs had tricky tests, with Milan travelling to Perugia, while Lazio hosted a strong Parma outfit, but the Rossoneri showed no initial nerves, racing into an early 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Andres Guglielminpietro and Oliver Bierhoff, but Hidetoshi Nakata pulled one back before the interval for the hosts, making it nervy in the Milan camp.
Tension will have been raised when news filtered through that Marcelo Salas had put Lazio back in front against Parma with 15 minutes remaining too, but Milan held firm, and got over the line with a 2-1 win at Perugia to take the title by a point, with a surprisingly low tally of just 70, in a very competitive campaign.
4: 2009-10: Inter keep ‘tripletta’ hopes alive despite Roman rampage
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The 2009-10 campaign will forever live on in Inter and Italian history, as Jose Mourinho‘s men became the first club from the country to win the treble, taking the Serie A title, the Coppa Italia, and the Champions League in Madrid.
However, the Nerazzurri made life unnecessarily difficult for themselves, initially leading Roma by 14 points earlier in the campaign, they briefly surrendered top spot in April, after losing 2-1 at the Stadio Olimpico to the Giallorossi.
Roma were beaten at home to Sampdoria on matchday 35 though, allowing Inter to capitalise, and that saw Mourinho’s side take a two-point lead into the final day, and a superior goal difference meant they only needed a point away to Siena, assuming Roma won at Chievo Verona.
First-half goals from Roma duo Mirko Vucinic and Daniele De Rossi made it tense though, as Inter were still tied at 0-0 at the interval in Siena, but Diego Milito‘s goal just shy of the hour relieved all of that stress, and ensured the Nerazzurri took a staggering 19 points from their final seven games of the season to take the title, while still fighting on three fronts.
3: 2007-08: Faltering Inter hold on despite resurgent Roma resistance
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Two years prior to the final-day drama of 2009-10, Inter and Roma also had a title showdown that went to the last weekend, with Inter taking an even narrower lead into that one.
Both sides were away to clubs who were also battling relegation on the final day, adding to the drama that was bound to occur, as Inter made the trip to Parma, while Roma faced Catania.
Mirko Vucinic’s eighth-minute opener meant Roma were top of the table on the final day for over an hour, as Inter went in at half time drawing 0-0 with Parma, but an inspired substitution from Roberto Mancini saw Zlatan Ibrahimovic enter the fold, and his brace ensured that the title would stay in Milan.
It was quite a falloff considering Inter amassed 97 points the season before, and only won six of the 14 matches heading into the final day, but they ultimately won the title by three points, as Jorge Martinez‘s late equaliser meant Roma only drew at Catania, who survived at Parma’s expense thanks to that goal.
2: 1999-00: Lazio perform footballing miracle on 100th birthday
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The 1999-00 season will always remain the pinnacle in Lazio’s football history, and arguably in the career of the late, great Sven-Goran Eriksson, who guided the Biancocelesti to the Scudetto on their 100-year anniversary.
With eight games remaining, Juventus led Lazio by nine points, but that had been cut to just two heading into the final day thanks to defeats at Milan, Verona and at home to Lazio, while Eriksson’s men also had a superior goal difference.
Juve were still big favourites, travelling to Perugia on the final day, while Lazio faced Reggina at home, and Eriksson’s side done the business, winning 3-0 courtesy of goals from Simone Inzaghi, Juan Sebastian Veron and Diego Simeone, but many would have believed it was going to be in vain, given that the Old Lady were big favourites to win too.
In a sodden Perugia though, the game was briefly stopped due to the ensuing storm, and another was brewing, as Alessandro Calori etched his name into Lazio folklore by scoring the goal that saw Perugia beat Juventus 1-0, meaning Lazio leapfrogged the Bianconeri at the death, winning a second Scudetto, and their most recent.
1: 2001-02: Three-horse race goes Juve’s way in dramatic final day
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No title race can claim to have had as much drama as the 2001-02 season though, as three teams were all in with a chance of the Scudetto heading into the final day.
Inter led the way on 69 points, Juve were in hot pursuit on 68, while Roma were just one further back on 67, but Inter had the trickiest test, going to Lazio, while Juve travelled to Udinese, and Roma faced Torino away from home.
Lazio faced Inter knowing they may hand bitter rivals Roma the title if they won, but that was soon extinguished when Juve led 2-0 thanks to goals from David Trezeguet and Alessandro Del Piero, meaning it was down to Inter to hold off the Old Lady.
Inter led twice at Lazio thanks to Christian Vieri and Luigi Di Biagio‘s goals, but the pivotal and infamous moment came just before the interval, when Vratislav Gresko‘s blind header back towards his own goal was pounced upon by Karel Poborsky who made it 2-2 at the Olimpico, and Lazio would go on to win 4-2 thanks to goals from Diego Simeone and Simone Inzaghi in the second half, handing the title to Juve in heartbreaking circumstances for the Nerazzurri.
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