⚽️Serie A's worst in 10 years! Inter remains, but it's already a failure ⚽️ | OneFootball

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What a debacle, Serie A! The two-day Champions League that ended last night presents a worrying picture for Italian football.

Three eliminations out of three, it's hard to do worse. A real Caporetto. We thought we would bring four clubs to the round of 16, already calculating who between Milan and Juventus would have more chances to play against Inter in the next round.

The cold Dutch wind, however, took away this dilemma. There will be no Italian derby, and Inter will face either PSV or Feyenoord instead.

Inter smiles, but it's the only one

Simone Inzaghi probably couldn't help but smile in front of the TV. No one has put his Inter in as much trouble as their two eternal rivals this year.

📸 OLI SCARFF - AFP or licensors

In the big matches against Milan and Juventus, for the first time in the last ten years, the Italian champions did not collect even a single victory. That's why avoiding the Euroderby is good news for Inzaghi, who will be the clear favorite against either PSV or Feyenoord.

In the end, reaching the round of 16 directly, without going through the playoffs, was more important than anyone could have thought. For Inter, it's the 12th qualification for the Champions League round of 16, which means they overtake Milan, who are stuck at 11. Juventus leads with 13, but that's just a detail.

Juve, Milan, and Dea: a double disaster

As for the three eliminated teams, the picture is clear. If Atalanta has the mitigating circumstance of not being considered a great team yet, and therefore their elimination can be an opportunity to focus on the Scudetto, for Milan and Juventus the situation is dramatically bad.

📸 NICOLAS TUCAT - AFP or licensors

The elimination of three Italian teams means that, unless the Spanish teams have an incredible meltdown, we won't have a fifth team in the Champions League next year. This means that either Conceição or Thiago Motta will be left out, unless Lazio manages to keep their current pace until the end. Without a fourth place, we would be facing a zero year.

Never so bad since 2014

From an economic point of view, Juventus is the one that can't afford to stay out, as they desperately need the Champions League money. Milan, on the other hand, has a healthy financial situation and can worry less about this aspect, but it would still be a significant setback for the project.

It's been a black week, which will have consequences for the future. And to think that in the last two years, between the Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League, Serie A had performed more than excellently.

Today, as shown by Kickest, we're instead facing the worst result since the 2014/15, the last season in which Serie A had only one team in the round of 16. Back then, it was Juventus, now it's Inter. The times of the Euroderby two years ago in the semifinals between Inter and Milan are far away, much more than they actually are.

📸 Marco Luzzani - 2025 Getty Images