Throughout the last decade, the Premier League has been widely considered as the most exciting league in Europe. The money involved in the PL from TV broadcast rights in particular have led to a major increase in spending across the league.
Cash-rich PL sides now all boast strong squads meaning there are no easy games, which is what has brought on the label of the most competitive league in the world.
But is it really? Manchester City have won 4 out of the last 5 campaigns and would have pretty much ran away with the title in each season had it not been for Liverpool applying pressure and winning the league themselves in 2020.
Serie A right now hosts 5 teams fighting for the Scudetto: AC Milan, Inter, Juventus, Napoli and Roma. Former Chelsea and Juve boss Maurizio Sarri’s Lazio can also be considered an outside shout, although they are more likely to be challenging for a European place this season.
Speaking to New York Times in 2019, Romelu Lukaku spoke about Cristiano Ronaldo, saying “He told me this is the hardest defensive league in the world. He said he’d scored goals everywhere, but this was the toughest place to do it. And if Cristiano Ronaldo thinks it’s difficult, then it must be really difficult. It’s harder than England. The football is more intense there, but here everything is pattern of play.”
Ronaldo himself admitted this in an interview with DAZN during the same year. The superstar was quoted saying “It’s the most difficult league for me, it’s full of quality players.” CR7 then carried on, saying “It’s harder to score in the Italian league, in my opinion. I didn’t expect this much quality in the league, they’re very good.”
AC Milan are the current Scudetto holders and have strengthened the squad admirably, with the signing of Charles De Ketelaere from Club Brugge particularly eye-catching. Rafael Leao also seems to have progressed his game further this season, evident by his two goals and an assist in Milan’s 3-2 win over rivals Inter this past weekend, which will excite Milan fans as his performances last season already won him Serie A’s MVP for 2021/2022.
Despite the loss in the Milan Derby, the return of Lukaku to Inter has established the Nerazzurri as the favourites for the Scudetto. Simone Inzaghi will be hoping the Belgian striker can rekindle his partnership with Lautaro Martinez which fired them to the title two seasons ago. Keeping hold of Škriniar amid interest from PSG is a massive plus, as is retaining Alessandro Bastoni.
Juventus are always in the conversation for title contenders, and with the business they’ve done in the transfer window, Allegri should fancy his sides chances. They adequately replaced De Ligt with Gleison Bremer, Serie A’s best defender last season. Angel Di Maria is still world class and will prove to be a very savvy signing given Juve’s creative problems last season. And to top it all off, they signed Paul Pogba. Once he returns, he is bound to show the world why he was once the most expensive player ever.
The Premier League may have the most quality (especially managerially), but it’s still a race for second place. Scudetto winners are much harder to call. That’s what makes Serie A the most exciting league in Europe: it’s the most competitive.
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