Inter’s chaotic 3-2 comeback win over Napoli on Saturday had the feel of a genuine title-race classic, all late drama and momentum swings at San Siro. Twenty-four hours later in Turin, Juventus and Milan produced something far flatter: a goalless stalemate for over an hour before Federico Gatti’s late header rescued a 1-1 draw. According to The Guardian, the contrast between those two results offered an early but telling clue about where Serie A’s power currently sits.
Inter and Napoli have shared five of the last six Scudetti between them during the 2020s, and Saturday’s win reaffirmed why they remain the standard. Juventus and Milan, by contrast, both arrived at the Allianz Stadium having won their opening two league fixtures, only for the head-to-head to reveal how far off that pace they still are.
The Guardian’s own framing was careful not to overstate it – seasons are not defined in early September, and one flat draw between two rebuilding sides does not settle anything. But as an early test of progress for both clubs, it was a revealing one.
After three rounds, Milan sit fourth on seven points and Juventus fifth, also on seven, both some way adrift of Roma and Inter, who share the top of the table on nine points apiece. Napoli, despite their attacking football against Inter, sit 13th with just three points from three games – a reminder of how unsettled the early standings remain.
What makes the draw sting more is the outlay behind it. Juventus and Milan each spent more than €160m on transfers this summer, and neither the table nor Sunday’s performance has yet reflected that investment. It is only a three-game snapshot, not proof of a final hierarchy, but it is hardly the start either club was hoping to point to.
Randal Kolo Muani and Gonçalo Ramos, both salvaged from Paris Saint-Germain’s surplus, started up front for Juventus and Milan respectively. Between them they managed one shot, and it was off target – a damning statistic for two forwards signed to solve exactly this kind of problem.
Juventus at least had willing runners in Francisco Conceição, Nico González and Kerim Alajbegovic, with Conceição testing Mike Maignan early and later striking a post. Milan were far less threatening, finishing the match with just 0.10 expected goals – about half of that total coming from a stoppage-era chance for substitute Alphadjo Cisse. The struggles up front are a theme already being scrutinised around Kolo Muani specifically, and Sunday’s performance will only add to that conversation.
It wasn’t all bleak. Cisse, on loan at Catanzaro in Serie B just last season, nutmegged Pierre Kalulu to open the scoring – his second goal in three games and a genuine highlight of an otherwise sterile Milan display.
Juventus’ response was to throw everything forward, and it was Gatti – a repurposed centre-back rather than record signing Nick Woltemade – who got on the end of Teun Koopmeiners’ cross to equalise. It echoed his 93rd-minute leveller against Roma back in March, further proof that Gatti’s knack for late goals is becoming a genuine pattern rather than a fluke.
The Guardian’s own conclusion was blunt: both Juventus and Milan still have a way to travel before they can dream of title challenges. It’s a fair reading of Sunday’s evidence, even allowing for the fact that Inter themselves showed real vulnerabilities in conceding twice to Napoli the night before.
Serie A’s hierarchy is emerging, not settled, and this early in the season a single draw shouldn’t be treated as definitive. But for a Juventus side still searching for fluency going forward, it’s another data point in a top-four race that remains wide open – and one they’ll want to start addressing with more urgency than they showed in Turin.
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