The consequences of the “December 31 Law” for Cristi Chivu » What happened in the last three seasons in Serie A!

Most points scored (36), most successes (12), most goals scored (35) and top scorer (9 goals, Lautaro Martinez).

This is how Chivu's Interior is presented on New Year's Eve, and this hint could be an argument statistic for the Nerazzurri to win their 21st Scudetto.

After 16 games played (Inter and the other three semi-finalists of the Italian Super Cup have one to recover), Inter remains one point above rivals AC Milan (35) and two above champions Napoli (34).

The Italians consulted the archives and discovered a change in trend over the last three seasons: the team that ended the calendar year on top also crossed the finish line first. If the Nerazzurri would not give up the leadership, then we are witnessing the fourth season in which the “December 31 Law” is applied.

Simone Inzaghi put the second star on Inter's shirt / Photo: Imago

Inter have won once and lost the title three times after finishing top of the year in the last 11 Serie A seasons

In 2022-23, Napoli were eight points ahead of AC Milan and won the title with a huge 16 point lead over Lazio.

In 2023-2024, Inter entered New Year's Eve in 1st place, +2 ahead of Juventus, finishing 19 points ahead of second place, occupied by AC Milan.

And in the last edition of Serie A, Napoli shared the leadership with Atalanta, both having a minimum lead over Inter, so that in the end Antonio Conte's team took the title with a single point over Inter.

Antonio Conte writes history after winning the title with Napoli in Serie A / PHOTO: Getty Images

Prior to this series there were “three years of delusion”, as the Italian press called it. The data reveals a very interesting statistical anomaly in the period 2019-2022. In these seasons, the title of “year-end champion” brought unfavorable epilogues.

Conte's Inter (2019) and Inzaghi's (2021) started the year at the top of the table, but were overtaken by Juventus and Milan respectively. Likewise, Pioli's Milan (2020) ended an extraordinary calendar year as leaders, but it was Inter who ultimately won the championship.