The Inter stays in the slipstream, now it's the others' turn. The advance at San Siro smiles on the Nerazzurri, who thanks to the success on Turin rise to second place in the standings, just two points behind Conte's Napoli. The result is positive, but the performance is less so: Inzaghi's team, despite being numerically superior for over 70 minutes, still conceded two goals, confirming that they are far from last season's standards. In any case, the 3 points have arrived and the pressure is shifting to Juventus e Milan, called to respond with Cagliarie Fiorentina, Without to forget Lazio e Rome, forced to beat Empoli e Monza in order not to lose ground from the Europe zone, also by virtue of the victories of Atalanta (5-1 on the unfortunate Genoa) to Udinese (1-0 against the Lecce).
Inter – Torino 3-2: Thuram leads the way with a hat-trick, but Torino (with 10 men) scares Inzaghi
Inter closes the mini-cycle of early autumn with another victory, the third consecutive after those against Udinese and Red Star, climbing to the top second and, above all, putting the derby's aftermath behind us. Overall a good scenario, yet in the Nerazzurri environment there is a hint of concern for the too many goals conceded, the result of an attitude that was a bit too light-hearted. It cannot be a coincidence that yesterday too, despite a Torino reduced to 10 men from the 20th minute (Maripan expelled for a foul on Thuram), Inzaghi's team conceded two goals, exactly like in Udine. In the Champions League, however, Sommer's goal is still intact, proving that the attention threshold, evidently, is much higher.
Overall, Inter deserved the victory, forcing Toro to play a very painful match, made worse by the expulsion of the unfortunate Maripan: the foul on Thuram it deserves a straight red card, with the aggravating circumstance of having arrived after just 20 minutes of the match. Shortly after, the French striker unlocked the result with a nice head shot (25'), repeating himself with an action quite similar to the 35'. The script seemed to be written, instead Bisseck's sleep brought about the goal by Zapata and to reopen the match (36'). A scenario that was repeated in the second half, with Thuram to close his splendid evening with a hat-trick (60', even if he was then forced to leave due to a physical problem) and Toro to get back into the race in the 86th minute thanks to a Vlasic penalty, caused by a foul by Calhanoglu on Masina.
Unfortunately, the night at San Siro did not only provide positive emotions: there is something to report Zapata's injury, who was carried out on a stretcher after a bad twist of his left knee. Today's tests will make the diagnosis, but the scene was reminiscent of what happened to Bremer a few days ago, hoping that this time things might go differently.
Inzaghi: “Good reaction after the derby, but we need to improve the details”
“We had to react after the derby and we deservedly won all three games, I can't say anything to the team – he commented Inzaghi -. Sure, there are some things to improve, some details, a match like this shouldn't have ended like this, especially for what was created. But seeing a team that plays matches like this after the defeat against Milan I can only say one thing to my players, that is 'well done'. At the moment we are paying for every single lack of attention, on the eve of the match we were on the pitch a lot to fix the details and not leave anything to chance. We are paying more than we should in some matches, but I can say that the lads are putting everything into it. Thuram's condition doesn't make me feel at ease though: he took a blow to the tendon at the end of the first half. He asked me to be substituted, then I saw him on the bed with the ice pack in the locker room. We'll see what the doctors say, I'm a little worried"
Juventus – Cagliari (12:30, Dazn)
The Serie A Sunday will be opened by Juventus e Cagliari, engaged in the lunch match at the Stadium. The Bianconeri, fresh from the splendid victory in Leipzig, want to confirm themselves in the championship and continue the positive trend that has lasted since the beginning of the season, also taking advantage of the long wave of an increasingly contagious enthusiasm. The praise, after the success in Germany, has been many and has concerned first and foremost Thiago Motta, the architect of an evident change of mentality compared to the past.
There is no counter-proof, what is certain is that to find such a strong Juve in the European field we have to go back many years and the credit goes first of all to him, as well as to some players who have finally returned to the required standards. Vlahovic, inundated with criticism for a poor start to the season, made up for it with four goals between Genoa and Leipzig, Conceiçao, who was sidelined in the early stages due to a physical problem, has already made the difference with goals and amazing plays, not to mention Rabbit e beans, both of whom ended up in oblivion (although for very different reasons) and returned to be great protagonists. The climate was ruined a bit by the injuries of Nico Gonzalez and, especially, Bremer, the latter out until the end of the season for tear of the meniscus. Thiago Motta will have to make a virtue of necessity at least until January, when Giuntoli, barring second thoughts, will buy a reinforcement in defense, but certainly the absence of the Brazilian will weigh heavily on the economy of a practically perfect department.
Thiago Motta: “Bremer's absence weighs, but everyone will give something more”
“Gleison is an important player for us, I feel very sorry for the boy, even on a human level – he reiterated Thiago Motta -. Now we will all give something more, he would have taken responsibility to give a hand to his teammates. He must stay calm and quiet, in the meantime we must do well and wait for him. This match against Cagliari will be different to the Champions League, they are coming from a good win and defending very well, Piccoli is in good shape, Luvumbo is very fast, Viola has confirmed he is in excellent condition. For this reason we will have to do our job well, everyone can play and is very well, whoever comes in tomorrow will also give something more for the team. There are no substitutes for anyone, they are all strong players and the difference can only be made if you always work at a high level. Pogba? The club will make a decision as soon as the communication from the TAS arrives. He was a great player, he hasn't played for a long time, but now I am focused on the match and I am not worried about this situation".
Juventus – Cagliari, probable formations
Juventus (4-2-3-1): Di Gregorio; Savona, Gatti, Kalulu, Cambiaso; Fagioli, McKennie; Conceicao, Koopmeiners, Yildiz; Vlahovic
In bench: Perin, Pinsoglio, Danilo, Rouhi, Cabal, Thuram, Locatelli, Douglas Luiz, Mbangula
Coach: Thiago Motta
Unavailable: Milik, Adzic, Weah, Bremer, Nico Gonzalez
Disqualified: Pogba (until March 2025)
Cagliari (4-2-3-1): Scuffet; Zappa, Mina, Luperto, Obert; Makoumbou, Adopo; Zortea, Viola, Luvumbo; Piccoli
In bench: Sherri, Ciocci, Kingstone, Augello, Palomino, Azzi, Prati, Felici, Gaetano, Deiola, Marin
Coach: Nicholas
Unavailable: Wieteska, Jankto, Pavoletti, Lapadula
Disqualified: nobody
Fiorentina – Milan (20:45 pm, Dazn)
The big match on Sunday will be that of Florence, where is the Milan will be chasing a third consecutive victory after those against Inter and Lecce. For the Rossoneri, to tell the truth, the stakes seem even higher: a victory would mark the definitive rebirth of the Fonseca project, while a misstep, due to the break for the national teams, would bring clouds back over Milanello. The premises to do well are all there, given that even at Leverkusen, despite losing, the Devil has shown interesting progress in the game, as well as a reactive spirit that was difficult to imagine until a couple of weeks ago. The away match at the Franchi, in short, takes on the shape of a counter-test, especially since they will be facing a dangerous opponent, capable of creating problems despite a start to the season below expectations. The Viola, so far, has only won against Lazio, limiting the only other smiles to the Conference League matches: a bit little considering the quality of the squad, certainly superior to the 7 points collected in the standings.
Milan, on the other hand, after the hardships of the first few days, found new life, giving themselves a victory in the derby that had been missing for two years. The injection of enthusiasm has borne fruit, so much so that now, around Fonseca, there is a positive air. The coach had the merit of launching the Morata-Abraham couple, a move that seemed like a gamble but instead turned out to be very positive in the economy of the game, both offensive and defensive. The Spaniard, in fact, “ties” the departments together well, and also brings a leadership that is good for the whole team as was also seen in Leverkusen, despite a defeat that still stings.
Fonseca: “We are growing, but the Milan I want is still far away”
“The group was disappointed and angry after Leverkusen, but I felt good feelings these days – he explained Fonseca -. The team has worked well and we want to win, even though we know that it is always hard to play in Florence because they have a good team, but we are ready to put in a good performance. Even after the victories against Lecce and Inter I have always said that the group is improving, but that we still have a lot of work to do. The real Milan is not close yet, we have to do more because I want a team close to what we did in the second half of Leverkusen. All the games are different and the way of playing is different, the important thing is that the team is growing, continuity is important at this moment. Turnover? If the team is doing well and is growing, the important thing is to get the most out of the players we have, not because I don't have faith in the others: Lotfus-Cheek and Chukwueze, for example, did well when they came in, but now we have to insist on a base that supports the growth of the team”.
Fiorentina – Milan, the probable lineups
Fiorentina (3-4-2-1): De Gea; Martinez Quarta, Comuzzo, Ranieri; Dodo, Cataldi, Bove, Gosens; Colpani, Gudmundsson; Kean
In bench: Terracciano, Martinelli, Kayode, Biraghi, Moreno, Parisi, Richardson, Adli, Sottil, Kouamé, Beltran, Ikoné
Coach: Palladino
Unavailable: Pongracic, Mandrake
Disqualified: nobody
Milan (4-2-3-1): Maignan; Emerson Royal, Gabbia, Tomori, Theo Hernandez; Fofana, Reijnders; Pulisic, Morata, Leao; Abraham
In bench: Torriani, Raveyre, Terracciano, Pavlovic, Thiaw, Jimenez, Musah, Zeroli, Chukwueze, Okafor, Camarda
Coach: Fonseca
Unavailable: Florenzi, Sportiello, Bennacer, Calabria, Loftus-Cheek, Jovic
Disqualified: Bartesaghi
Lazio – Empoli (15pm, Dazn), Monza – Roma (18pm, Dazn and Sky)
To complete the Sunday picture, in addition to Bologna-Parma (15pm, Dazn), the challenges of the two Roman teams, respectively engaged against Empoli e Monza. Baroni's Lazio, so far, is one of the revelations of the tournament, at least thinking back to the summer worries of the fans, but D'Aversa's Empoli is even more so. In fact, no one could have imagined them in seventh place in the standings, still undefeated (despite having faced Roma, Bologna, Juventus and Fiorentina) and with only two goals conceded. On the other hand, there are only five goals scored, numbers opposite to those of the Biancocelesti, very strong in the offensive phase (twelve), decidedly less so in the defensive phase (ten). Lazio-Empoli, in short, it brings together two opposing styles of football, which makes the challenge really interesting. Monza-Rome, instead, is a match between two teams in difficulty and forced to get points, otherwise the break will be really grey. The speech, for obvious reasons, is especially valid for the Giallorossi, fresh from the defeat in Boras against Elfsborg that rejected the environment amid controversy. The fans who followed heavily contested the players, but also ended up under accusation Juric, both for the choices on the field (see the massive turnover) and some statements that were not very welcome to the fans (“the team did positive things, I am not disappointed”). An immediate reaction is needed, especially since the results in the league are not that bad (two wins out of two with Udinese and Venezia): a success in Monza would project Roma among the top of the class, allowing its coach to spend the break in a decidedly less poisonous climate.
Baroni in silence, Juric: "The objective remains the Champions League, in Monza it's like a final"
“The main objective remains the Champions League, but we all have to grow to be able to compete with the others – the thought of Juric -. We started a little late, but in the last two games we have scored six points and we have a great opportunity to finish this cycle well in Monza. The two wins obtained in the championship were not a given, getting the third would be another step that would allow us to get closer to the top of the table. With Monza it's like a small final, winning would be wonderful. On Thursday I wanted to let everyone play and see if the new arrivals this year were ready, if we could count on them, what their ability to react was. We played a game with many good things, but we have to work better in many others".
