Victories found. Juventus and Milan reconnect with the championship with two narrow victories over Lazio and Udinese, tight in the score but damn important for the standings. The Lady catches up with Napoli at 16 points, the Devils get back on track at 14 points at the end of two games, ironically, marked by numerical inferiority, even if in diametrically opposite ways. Today Conte's Azzurri will be called to respond on the Empoli field (12:30), as will Inzaghi's Inter, awaited by the big match at the Olimpico against Juric's Roma.
Juventus – Lazio 1-0: an own goal by Gila condemns the Biancocelesti to numerical inferiority
Let's start with the Turin match and Juventus' victory, back to smiling after the misstep against Cagliari. Three fundamental points collected by Thiago Motta, at the end of a match marked by absences, but above all by the expulsion of Romagnoli in the 24th minute: his intervention on Kalulu, judged as a red card by both the on-field referee and the VAR referee, changed the course of the match, which thus became a solo effort by the Bianconeri towards Provedel's goal. But beware of thinking of the Lazio goalkeeper as the best on the pitch: Juve struggled to get shots on target, limiting themselves to just one real chance at the start of the second half, when Vlahovic hit a crossbar that is still shaking. For the rest, Baroni's team, although forced to change their tactical plan and defend low, he held up well on the field, so much so that at a certain point a 0-0 seemed the most likely result. In fact, Juve, despite their numerical superiority and a one-way second half, had never managed to create any real danger, with the exception of the aforementioned Vlahovic crossbar. Everything suggested that Thiago's team would score yet another equaliser, a goalless one like against Roma, Empoli and Napoli, but then Lady Luck, evidently taking pity on so much ball possession, took to the field and forced Gila to misdirect a Cabal cross, with just five minutes to go.
Thiago Motta: “Important and deserved victory, we were good at being patient”
“We found a team that closed very well, with great generosity – the analysis of Thiago Motta -. With the enthusiasm and desire of the crowd, the lads were sometimes a bit frenetic, then in the second half we did better and the goal came at the right time. It's never easy to score against Lazio, it's an important and deserved victory. We will continue to work on everything, on many things, Patience in the second half paid off and it wasn't easy. We found a team that defended very well regardless of the fact that they were down to 10 men, they are very generous and are doing well. With the enthusiasm and the push of the crowd, sometimes the boys were frenetic, but it is better to create an opportunity than to go forward five times for nothing. In the second half we did better, the goal came at the right time when they were in difficulty, but it is not easy to score against a team like that, that's why this is an important and deserved victory".
DS Fabiani doesn't agree: "Patric's punch to Douglas Luiz, what's the point of VAR?"
“We congratulate our lads who played an exceptional match, but I would like to understand what the VAR is for – thundered the ds Fabiani -. Sometimes it seems to me that it goes in one direction, let's do a class action to abolish it. Douglas Luis punches Patric and the VAR doesn't intervene, Douglas himself enters with his foot hammered on Rovella and doesn't intervene, but he signals Romagnoli's foul. Juve doesn't need these things to win matches, however we are strong and we will get back up. If I make a mistake in a transfer campaign my president will kick me out, These gentlemen who are at the VAR and make decisions must be stopped, they are clearly not up to the job. Just as they call Sacchi for showing Romagnoli's contact, they should call the referee for Douglas' violent conduct. It remains an excellent performance by the team, an hour with ten players affected it, but I liked the team, it was a further step in growth. I'm sorry for the result, but the performance was one of personality".
Milan – Udinese 1-0: Chukwueze decides, Rossoneri down to 10 men for an hour
Milan also returns to victory, albeit with methods diametrically opposed to those of Juve. At San Siro, in fact, It was the Rossoneri who were left with ten men for over an hour, but managed to tame Udinese thanks to the goal of Chukwueze (13') and a pinch of luck, as the Friulians had two goals disallowed for offsides of a few centimetres. Fonseca can smile more than anyone else, in light of a success obtained without Leao, Theo Hernandez (suspended) and the Tomori-Abraham duo, protagonists in the negative on the second penalty in Florence and who only came on during the match (the striker, moreover, immediately hurt his shoulder and was forced to leave the pitch). The Devil has managed to do without some of his most prized pieces, offering a very good performance until Reijnders' red card (29', foul on Lovric running towards goal), then changing skin and thinking essentially about defending, except for a couple of counterattacks that could have closed the game. Udinese tried without any particular flashes of brilliance, but she came very close to scoring two goals, both of which were disallowed for offsides of just a few centimetres. The first by Ehizibue, just before half-time, for a piece of shoulder, the second by Kabasele, in the fifth minute of injury time, for a bad foot: it cannot be said that Runjaic he was lucky, but his team still made the mistake of not being able to score even one goal against a team in numerical inferiority, which is why Milan's success, as well as being very important for the league table, appears deserved.
Fonseca satisfied: “Close to what I want from Milan, deserved victory”
“We were close to what I want from this Milan – he exulted Fonseca -. After the red card it was a team spirit match, we suffered together and if anyone had doubts about the unity of the group, we showed unity, this is the most important thing. The players who came on were decisive, also working for the team. True, we suffered, but against a team like Udinese, who are good and make a lot of crosses, it's also normal. What I've been looking for since day one is a team that works, suffers and defends together., for this I am very satisfied. This is the spirit we want, everyone sacrificed themselves: if we had conceded a draw it would have been an injustice, for how we played and for the opportunities created, the boys deserved the three points”.
Rome – Inter (20.45pm, Dazn)
Let's now move on to today's challenges, starting with the postponement between Rome and Inter. A match will be staged at the Olimpico big match for strong hearts, with two teams going through diametrically opposed moments. Inzaghi's Nerazzurri, after the defeat in the derby, have started to grind out points both in Italy and in Europe, albeit with a few too many distractions compared to past standards. The five goals conceded between Udinese and Torino confirm a slightly too "happy" start to the season, but then there are the six scored (which become ten considering the Champions League) to reaffirm the strength of a team and the undeniable ambitions of the Scudetto. Roma, on the other hand, after the promising victories with Udinese and Venezia, stumbled on the obstacles of Elfsborg and Monza, but His problems, paradoxically, go far beyond his results. The Curva Sud continues to behave in a hostile manner towards the club, coach and team and this evening, just like in previous home games, will leave the sector empty for the first quarter of an hour. Both, in short, have excellent reasons to want to win the challenge, even more so if Napoli were to win the 3 points in the lunch match in Empoli: the standings, however short, are destined to get longer and the continuity of results becomes fundamental. Juric knows he is at a crossroads, even if the rumours that the management is ready to recall The Rossi, at the moment, they find no confirmation of any kind, Inzaghi on the other hand does not have these problems, but he too is aware of having already used his wild card in the derby lost against Milan.
Juric: “Inter are very strong, but we can score more goals”
“We know everything about them, they have been playing great football for years – he underlined Juric -. They have no weak points, it will be difficult, but I see enthusiasm in the boys, they have known each other for a long time and they know exactly how to handle every situation. We will try to play our game, we have had so many potential dangerous opportunities and we need to improve in the finishing phase, our players have a lot of goals in their DNA. I hope it is just a moment, also looking at the numbers in the past, we can score more goals than we are doing. Dybala and Dovbyk are 100%, Artem came back with a little discomfort but he recovered very well in the last few days, Paulo went through a recovery phase in which we wanted to get him back on track with 3-4 great training sessions, we will manage him based on the match”.
Inzaghi: “We stopped with three consecutive victories, let's continue like this”
“The international break must not influence us or distract us from our concentration – he warned Inzaghi -. We were coming off three wins, we have to continue our journey. The lads have come back quite well, some with a few problems, but in these last two-three days we have worked well, knowing that we are starting again with a very difficult match at the Olimpico against Roma. We know what kind of opponent we will face, we have met Juric many times in recent years. He is bringing his philosophy to Roma and we will have to be ready to play a great match both in the possession and non-possession phase, we will need a great Inter. We know that we will face seven matches in twenty days, we will all have to be good: compared to the last break we will have one more game, we will try to exploit the whole squad with these lads who daily put me and my staff in difficulty in our choices”.
Roma – Inter, probable formations
Rome (3-4-2-1): Svilar; Mancini, Ndicka, Hermoso; Celik, Koné, Cristante, Angelino; Dybala, Pellegrini; Dovbyk
On the bench: Ryan, Marin, Sangaré, Hummels, Abdulhamid, Soulé, Dahl, Zalewski, Paredes, Pisilli, Baldanzi, Shomurodov, Le Fée
Coach: Juric
Unavailable: Saelemaekers, El Shaarawy
Disqualified: none
Inter (3-5-2): Sommer; Pavard, Acerbi, Bastoni; Darmian, Barella, Calhanoglu, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco; Thuram, Lautaro
On the bench: Martinez, Di Gennaro, Bisseck, De Vrij, Palacios, Dumfries, Carlos Augusto, Frattesi, Asllani, Taremi, Arnautovic, Correa
Coach: Inzaghi
Unavailable: Buchanan, Zielinski
Disqualified: none
Empoli – Naples (12.30pm, Dazn)
The league leaders will open the Sunday dances Naplesengaged in the field of Empoli surpriseThe Tuscans lost their unbeaten run in the last match against Lazio, but their path remains decidedly above expectations, which is why the Azzurri will have to face them with the "right" head. It is no coincidence Tale, a master at this kind of thing, he has already stigmatized the excessive enthusiasm of critics and fans towards his team, but he also knows well that it is only the consequence of what has been done so far. His Napoli, after the embarrassment in Verona, has made an almost clean sweep beating Bologna, Parma, Cagliari, Monza and Como and drawing in Turin with Juve: a score that has earned them first place in the standings, as well as the newfound enthusiasm of the fans. Of course, the calendar has played an undeniable role and the next two with Empoli and Lecce are still smiling on the Italian coach, provided he wins them. After that, in fact, there will be big matches in series (Milan, Atalanta, Inter and Roma), which is why losing points is not even an option now. D'Aversa, for his part, will try to set the most classic of traps, strong in an excellent defense (only four goals conceded) and a standing that erases any type of anxiety, regardless of the value of the opponent. The post-break fatigue could help him out, especially since Napoli has lost an untouchable like Lobotka and must deal with Olivera's ailments, but it is clear that a lot will depend on the Azzurri and their approach to the match.
Conte: “There is too much excitement, I tell the fans to be patient”
“During the break I felt too much excitement, only seven days have passed… – the thought of Tale -. Luckily we are back to playing, we are happy to start again from this position, but we know very well that the standings are short, in four points there are many areas and we will have to be good at starting again in the right way. We are with the sign 'work in progress', but there is certainly satisfaction because we are working hard and well. There is a desire to take this path and in difficult moments we will all have to be strong, when things are going well it is much easier, but I know that during this path there will be moments in which it will count to be strong in mind, in heart, in person. I like to live in the city and when they tell me 'mister, the Scudetto', I answer 'patience'. Victories are built, not invented, but what I feel I can guarantee is to rebuild solid foundations that can last over time. For the rest I say patience, knowing that the goal is to make the Neapolitan people proud”.
Empoli – Naples, the probable lineups
Empoli (3-4-2-1): Vasquez; Goglichidze, Ismajli, Viti; Gyasi, Grassi, Henderson, Pezzella; Fazzini, Esposito; Colombo
On the bench: Brancolini, Seghetti, Tosto, Sambia, Cacace, De Sciglio, Marianucci, Anjorin, Ekong, Haas, Solbakken, Pellegri, Konaté
Coach: D'Aversa
Unavailable: Ebuehi, Maleh, Belardinelli, Zurkowski, Perisan, Sazonov
Disqualified: none
Naples (4-3-3): Caprile; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Buongiorno, Spinazzola; Anguissa, Gilmour, McTominay; Politano, Lukaku, Kvaratskhelia
On the bench: Contini, Turi, Juan Jesus, Olivera, Marin, Mazzocchi, Folorunsho, Neres, Simeone, Ngonge, Raspadori, Zerbin
Coach: Conte
Unavailable: Meret, Lobotka
Disqualified: none
