THEInter is sewing on itself a piece of title. Only time will tell how big it is, but it is clear that this victory, although not decisive, shifts the balance a lot. L'1-0 at San Siro certifies the Nerazzurri's first place, now at plus 4 on Juve with one game less: on 28 February, recovery day against Atalanta, the advantage could rise to 7, although it is good to remember that first there will be the matches against Roma, Salernitana, Atletico Madrid and Lecce. Inter takes the cover, but on championship Sunday it also signals the Atalanta's victories e Napoli on Lazio and Verona, for an increasingly exciting Champions League fight, awaiting today's postponement between Roma and Cagliari.
Inter – Juventus 1-0: an own goal from Gatti was enough for the Nerazzurri to go on the run
The match at San Siro was decided by a Gatti's own goal, but that doesn't mean that Inter didn't deserve it. Overall, in fact, it was she who had the greatest number of opportunities, even if the biggest ones came in the second half, when Juve went unbalanced in search of an equalizer. The final 1-0 weighs like a boulder on the championship, because if it is true that at the end there are still 15 matchdays left (therefore 45 points), it is also true that now the Inzaghi's team has an undeniable advantage, thanks to the match to recover against Atalanta.
The dueling teams fought each other for a good half hour, with Inter close to scoring with Thuram (splendid closure by Bremer) and Juve very dangerous with Vlahovic, unfortunate in wasting a great move by McKennie with a wrong one-to-one stop with Sommer. Missed goal conceded goal, this is how Inter advanced in the 37th minute thanks to an own goal by Gatti, in an attempt to anticipate Thuram after a half turn by Pavard. In the second half the match, which until then was on the edge of balance, finally opened up: Juve, after all, had to try to equalize it and Inter, as we know, are happy in spaces. The Bianconeri caused problems for Sommer with some tricky scrums, but the Nerazzurri had the best opportunities, with Szczesny the absolute protagonist thanks to great saves on Barella and Arnautovic.
Inzaghi: “Important and well-deserved victory, but the journey is still long”
“Inter took one important and well-deserved victory, we are very happy, also because Juve and Milan will not give up an inch – the cInzaghi's comment -. It was a beautiful evening in front of our fans, but it is only one stage in a still very long journey. There are still 4 intense months to go and we must continue in this way, we have won 18 games out of 22 in the league, yet we are only +4 behind Juve and Milan are still there; other teams are keeping a very high gear, last year Napoli was much further ahead. We must work, with Juve defending very low we were very good, perhaps we should have escaped better on McKennie's restart, but when we win and when we lose we always analyze the matches carefully to understand where to do better: in any case the result is very close, Szczesny did two crazy interventions on Barella and Arnautovic”.
Allegri: “We had a negative week, now we need to get back together”
"We will make our own journey, but the first half was blocked and they found the advantage through an own goal – he countered Allegri -. In the second half the match was split with opportunities on both sides, Inter were very precise at the restart. Nothing to reproach the team for now Let's put a bad week behind us for the results and let's start again. They are used to playing matches at this level, while we hadn't done so for three years: it was a step forward that needed to be taken, but now we will have to be good at recomposing ourselves for the rest of the championship, we have to work and fix some things . Nobody would have expected to be in this ranking position in February, then the media plays on this duel even if the paths and expectations are different. L'Inter are favorites for the scudetto, but it's nothing new, then we'll see if we're good at staying close to her, but we have to pay attention to Milan because unforeseen events are always around the corner."
Atalanta – Lazio 3-1: De Ketelaere leads the Nerazzurri, the Biancocelesti dominate
Championship Sunday also smiles on the Nerazzurri from Bergamo, victorious over Lazio in the direct clash and increasingly masters of the Champions League zone. Atalanta's success was very clear, much more so than the final 3-1 suggests: they dominated from start to finish, so much so that the result could have taken on much larger dimensions. Gasperini annihilated Sarri with a 4-3-1-2 without regular attackers, but which ended up enhancing the characteristics of The Ketelaere, the absolute protagonist of the match. The former Milan player offered a performance of the highest level, in which he favored Pasalic's 1-0 (16'), converted the penalty to make it 2-0 (43', touch with Marusic's arm) and made it 3- 0 with a splendid move from the right (76'). Lazio? Little or nothing, except for the penalty scored by Immobile (84') at the end of the match, when the game was already over.
"De Ketelaere puts a lot of his effort into it, he found an environment where he felt good and his trust grew exponentially – he was pampered Gasperini -. He tries difficult plays, doesn't lose balls and recovers them. It is our point of reference and it is my greatest compliment. The fourth place? We are all there within a few points behind three teams that are further away, the others are all accredited to play it with us".
“We challenged a team that is currently in full physical and mental health, if they continue like this for 3 months it will be right for them to go to the Champions League – he replied Sarri -. We struggled to get out, we were never able to break their pressure. What if I expected more from the market? My job is to think about the team, for the rest I adapt...".
Napoli – Verona 2-1: a spell from Kvaratskhelia gives Mazzarri a breather
In the race for fourth place Napoli also advances, who beat Verona at the end of a very difficult match, in which they even risked losing. The Azzurri, in fact, found each other again one goal down to 72' and they literally saw the witches, before the players with the highest offensive quality took over. Mazzarri's changes were decisive, given that the 1-1 goal was born on the Mazzocchi-Lindstrom-Ngonge axis (the ex's classic goal), but also, if not above all, kvaratskhelia, author of the 2-1 in the 87th minute with one splendid right hand from distance.
Naples thus rising to seventh place 4 behind Atalanta, but this is not enough to sweep away doubts about the consistency of the team: the problems in playing remain the same, with a maneuver that is too Kvara-dependent (the return of Osimhen, in this sense, will help), as well as errors in the defensive phase.
“When you work hard, in the end there is more pleasure, even if it would have been better to open and close it earlier – he sighed Mazzarri -. We played the game, we created and then we found ourselves at a disadvantage: other teams would probably have given up, but we always believed in it, fighting and looking for victory. It seemed like a haunted race, we had crushed Verona in the first half, the one on Kvara was a fairly clear penalty but the VAR should have called it: I am convinced that by scoring immediately we could have put in an even better performance. Kvara? He is a champion, in Italian football we are good at studying them and limiting them. This year he struggled a little more, but he has immense class and many times you have to make him play centrally like he does in the national team."
Rome – Cagliari (20.45pm, Dazn and Sky)
The roll call for this 23rd day is missing Roma-Cagliari, which became even more important after the weekend's results. The Giallorossi, currently in sixth place, 4 points behind Atalanta, could move into the Champions League zone, while the Sardinians, at 18 points like Empoli and Verona, have a chance to get out of the red zone. The underdogs, as is obvious, however, are for the De Rossi's team, call a take their third consecutive victory after those against Verona and Salernitana: succeeding would be very important for the standings, but also to better prepare for next week's match against Inter, when the bar will rise dramatically again. The Giallorossi coach started very strong and has no intention of stopping, even if it would be wrong to think he has solved all the problems. His path, up to this point, has been facilitated by a favorable calendar, but now it's time to see some progress from the gaming point of view, at times pleasant, at others decidedly not. The Cagliari, for his part, must stop a haemorrhage of points that has lasted since 14 January (2-1 against Bologna, after which defeats against Frosinone and Turin): doing so today will not be easy at all, but Ranieri is ready to play a trick on the team his heart.
De Rossi: “We worked great! Dybala? I want him to become our Totti"
"I'm happy to meet Ranieri again, I have a beautiful bond with him – he underlined The Rossi -. I spent the two most emotional moments of my history with him: the year we came close to winning the Scudetto and my last months as a footballer at Roma. He has a keen intelligence, you always come away enriched by a chat with him. However, we are coming off a very positive week, we pushed hard in training and worked both on our physical condition and on our game ideas. Dybala? He has a reading of the play and a different talent, so if he bends down to get the ball someone has to fill the space. When he is in the last twenty meters he can do as he wants: I played for twenty years with Totti and no one told him where to position himself. When he had the ball we knew we had to throw ourselves into spaces because then it would arrive."
Rome – Cagliari, the lineups: De Rossi confirms the 4-3-3, Angelino immediately starting
Il yellow and red coach he will therefore continue on his way 4-3-3 decidedly offensive. The transfer market, moreover, brought him the left back he wanted (Angelino) and an attacking midfielder/winger as Baldanzi, capable of both playing with Dybala and replacing him. The talented former Empoli player will start from the bench, while the Brazilian will immediately be thrown into the fray in a defensive line with Karsdorp, Mancini and Llorente, all to protect Rui Patricio. For the rest, Cristante, Paredes and Pellegrini in midfield and the trident Dybala, Lukaku and El Shaarawy in attack. Classic 3-5-1-1 for Ranieri, who will respond with Scuffet between the posts, Wieteska, Mina and Dossena in the back department, Zappa, Nandez, Makoumbou, Prati and Augello in the midfield, Viola behind the lone striker Petagna.