With 48 points from their first nineteen matches, Inter Milan are the Serie A “winter champions.”

Today’s print edition of Rome-based newspaper Corriere dello Sport, via FCInterNews, highlight the Nerazzurri’s impressive points haul, but also note that the title race is far from over.

Inter have now faced every team in Serie A once, either home or away.

There have been a few hiccups along the way.

The likes of Sassuolo, Bologna, and Genoa have all taken points off of Inter – in matches that the Nerazzurri had led, no less.

And a tight, hard-fought 1-1 draw against Juventus in November indicated how little there is to split the two teams at the top of the Serie A table.

But with the dust settled, Inter are top of the pile.

With the most goals scored, and the fewest conceded, the Nerazzurri are uncatchable at the end of the nineteenth round of fixtures.

Juventus are temporarily five points adrift. However, the Bianconeri can cut that deficit with a result against Salernitana – the team at the bottom of the table, who they just beat 6-1 in the Coppa Italia – later today.

Inter “Winter Champions” In Serie A Deservedly – But Much More Work To Be Done

The title of “winter champions” is more than just symbolic.

It is a deserved indicator that, over the first half of the campaign, Inter have been the strongest and most consistent team in the Italian top flight.

But the Nerazzurri have been here before – and recently.

At this stage of the 2021-22 season, Inter were on 46 points. This gave them a four-point advantage over city rivals AC Milan.

The Nerazzurri went on to lose that title race to the Rossoneri over the second half of the campaign. They lost out on the final day of the season by a two-point margin.

That will certainly be enough to make Inter know that the job is far from over against Juventus.

But for now, Inter can say that they’ve only twice collected more points at the halfway stage of a Serie A season than this one.

In the 2006-07 season, the Nerazzurri were on 49 points. And the following campaign, 2007-08, they had amassed a whopping 51 points.