No Clear Favorite Against Atalanta As Inter Eye More Financial Gains From UCL

Written By Onyeka Daniel

Tonight in Bergamo , it is going to be an even match between 3rd placed Atalanta and 1st placed Inter Milan in a top of the table clash at the Gewiss stadium and for legendary manager, Arrigo Sacchi, he has explained what to expect from both teams ahead of their Serie A title showdown.

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He also admitted that the game is impossible to call, given how close the leading teams are in a three horse race. With Napoli’s disappointing goalless draw away to Venezia, any result from this encounter would have a definite effect on the standings at the end of the day.

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For Sacchi, he has now revealed that it is “impossible” to predict which team will be on top of the Serie A table by the end today n“Impossible, it’s a very open challenge,” Sacchi wrote in his Gazzetta dello Sport column. “Atalanta is a model for all Italian clubs and has an entire city pushing behind it.”

“Inter have the experience and the history, that is not a minor detail.” The legendary former coach detailed what specifically to expect from both sides ahead of kick-off: “Atalanta plays man for man all over the pitch in the defensive phases. They are fantastic in terms of athletic qualities,” he explained.

“In Turin, against Juve, they dominated the game thanks to that physical exuberance. Gasperini’s boys come at you and don’t give you an inch of space. It’s difficult for anyone to come up with a solution other than giving the ball away in those conditions. I think they’ll do that to Inter as well.”

For league leaders, Sacchi added: “The Nerazzurri have grown a lot recently. They boast experience, height and strength in the defensive phase. Maybe sometimes they should drop back less and press more in the offensive areas, but that is a detail.” Sacchi believes that Atalanta-Inter could be decided in the midfield battle, though:

“There will be a great fight on the wings, and also in the middle. The Ederson-De Roon duo will try to block the Inter midfielders, who are very good in intercepting and managing the game. I like Inzaghi’s team because they look like an accordion. They open and close, lengthen and shorten while always keeping the right distances between the departments on the pitch.” He concluded.

Meanwhile, it has been a dream Champions League campaign for the reigning Serie A champions thus far as they’ve reached the quarter-finals without breaking a sweat. According to reports, they’re among the competition’s highest earners, but also have the second-lowest wage bill in the competition.

Inzaghi oversaw a dominant 4-1 aggregate win against Feyenoord in the Round of 16 and as a result, Inter will meet Bayern Munich in a blockbuster quarter-final tie in April. Furthermore, they’ve barely dropped points en route to the last eight.

Only Bayern Munich (€105.9m) and Paris Saint-Germain (€104.4m) have earned more prize money than Inter’s €103.1m this term. The Bavarians also have the highest wage bill of the eight teams left in Europe’s elite competition lat €275.8 million. Inter Milan’s total gross wage bill for this season is €141.6 million.

That is some way ahead of Borussia Dortmund’s wage bill of €113.6 million. Furthermore, Real Madrid are second behind the German Bundesliga leaders in terms of wage bill, which is at a total of €273.8 million, then PSG are in third with €221.8 million and behind them are Arsenal and Barcelona, with €204.7 million and €201.4 million respectively.

Then Aston Villa have a wage bill a few million euros higher than Inter’s at €146.9 million. Back to the Serie A, Atalanta are the second-most-profitable Italian team in UEFA competitions this season. However, they’ve only made €67.1m in prize money and Juventus are third with €66.4m,

Read Also: “Both Teams Are Similar, In Good Form And Are Doing Well”

Meanwhile AC Milan pocketed only €61.4m as the three teams failed to progress beyond the knockout playoff round and didn’t impress in the league phase either, as they fell to Club Brugge, PSV and Feyenoord respectively, but the Bianconeri will have another chance to earn more money in the summer during the FIFA Club World Cup.

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