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Four Serie A teams who will qualify for the Champions League

By John Vaccaro

TURIN, ITALY - MAY 19: Juventus FC coach Massimiliano Allegri celebrates with the trophy after winning the Serie A Championship at the end of the serie A match between Juventus and Hellas Verona FC at Allianz Stadium on May 19, 2018 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Emilio Andreoli/Getty Images)
TURIN, ITALY - MAY 19: Juventus FC coach Massimiliano Allegri celebrates with the trophy after winning the Serie A Championship at the end of the serie A match between Juventus and Hellas Verona FC at Allianz Stadium on May 19, 2018 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Emilio Andreoli/Getty Images) /
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STADIO CORNAREDO, LUGANO, SWITZERLAND – 2018/07/14: Radja Nainggolan of FC Internazionale in action during the friendly football match between FC Lugano and FC Internazionale. FC Internazionale won 3-0 over FC Lugano. (Photo by Nicolò Campo/LightRocket via Getty Images)
STADIO CORNAREDO, LUGANO, SWITZERLAND – 2018/07/14: Radja Nainggolan of FC Internazionale in action during the friendly football match between FC Lugano and FC Internazionale. FC Internazionale won 3-0 over FC Lugano. (Photo by Nicolò Campo/LightRocket via Getty Images) /

2. Inter

If anybody will challenge Juventus this year, these are the guys. The transfer window didn’t start out looking great when Inter didn’t activate Joao Cancelo’s option to buy at the end of his loan. They’ve certainly turned things around though. They brought in Sime Vrsaljko to replace Cancelo. They also added Stefan de Vrij to a defense that was already tough to break down last season. Inter only allowed 30 goals in Serie A last season and these moves will help them stay one of the best defenses in Italy.

More importantly, Inter’s offense took a big step forward this summer. They added Radja Nainggolan, Keita Balde Diao, Lautaro Martinez, Matteo Politano. Nainggolan had been a big part of Roma’s midfield for years and adding him to Inter’s midfield will help create a ton of chances for Mauro Icardi.

Keita Balde looked incredible during his last Serie A season. Lautaro Martinez will offer Inter another option up front along with Icardi or to rotate Icardi out when he needs some rest. If Keita Balde can get anywhere close to the form he was in during his 16 goal season at Lazio he will be a frightening option in a front three for Inter.

Inter’s improvement across the board makes them the only real challenger for Juve. They should see an increase in scoring while maintaining one of the best defenses in the league. They’ve done a great job of building off of last season where they qualified for the Champions League for the first time since the 2010-11 season.

Arturo Vidal and Luka Modric almost made them favorites to take the Scudetto from Juve. Even without making a major signing, Inter was able to strengthen their squad at multiple positions without regressing elsewhere. Their moves should be plenty to push them into a battle with Juve for the Scudetto that will end with them securing another Champions League season and a second place Serie A season.

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