The Champions League Push: Round 29 Review

With Inter looking to push for a top-three Serie A finish — and an all-important Champions League spot — in the second half of the season, let’s check-in on how the Nerazzurri’s rivals fared this weekend.

Round 29

Inter entered Serie A’s round 29 in fifth place, trailing third place Napoli by six points in the table. While Inter remain in that position, the club’s disappointing 2-2 draw against Torino could very well have served as a final blow to their Champions League ambitions. Napoli’s victory over Empoli leaves Inter eight points adrift in the top-three race.

At this stage in the season, that’s likely too large of a gap to overcome. But, Napoli do still have to play Juventus, and of course Inter. If they lose both matches, and Inter go on another winning-streak — much easier said than done given our final nine matches of the season include Milan, Fiorentina, Napoli and Lazio — Napoli’s lead would be cut down to two points. A comeback is still possible, just don’t hold your breath.

Here’s a recap of the Round 29 results, and what’s on the horizon in Round 30 for Inter’s rivals.

Thanks to the international break, Inter’s next match won’t be until Monday, April 3^rd, when the Nerazzurri host Sampdoria.

AC Milan

Result: 1-0 win over Genoa

Points behind Inter: 2

Up next in the league: Pescara away on Sunday, April 2^nd

Atalanta

Result: 3-0 over Pescara

Level with Inter on points

Up next in the league: Genoa away on Sunday, April 2^nd

Lazio

Result: 0-0 draw with Cagliari

Points ahead of Inter: 2

Up next in the league: Sassuolo away on Saturday, April 1^st

Napoli

Result: 2-3 win over Empoli

Points ahead of Inter: 8

Up next in the league: Juventus at home on Sunday, April 2^nd

AS Roma

Result: 3-1 over Sassuolo

Points ahead of Inter: 10

Up next in the league: Empoli at home on Saturday, April 1^st

Juventus

Result: 0-1 win over Sampdoria

Points ahead of Inter: 18 (and 8 over second-place Roma)

Up next up in the league: Napoli away on Sunday, April 2^nd

Table

Here’s how the table looks after Round 29:

The harsh reality is that Inter are closer in the standings to eighth place Fiorentina than to third place Napoli. But as I mentioned above, Napoli will have a few difficult fixtures to end the season. Hope is not lost yet, but it’s time to start mentally preparing for another year of Thursday night football in the Europa League.