ROME – MILAN 2-3
INTER – JUVENTUS 1 – 2
CATANIA – NAPLES 2 – 1
The big moment, the one that all Inter and Juventus fans have been waiting for since last summer, has arrived. This evening (San Siro, 20.45 pm) the eternal rivals will face off in what cannot be considered a simple football match. In fact, always Inter – Juventus is at the center of a thousand controversies, raised to the nth degree from Calciopoli onwards.
Aware of all this, Claudio Ranieri and Antonio Conte they have tried to temper spirits, which however, in defiance of their words, are already very heated. The Inter coach is going through a very difficult moment: his team occupies 16th place in the standings, has the third worst defense in the league (14 goals conceded in 8 games) and is demonstrating, day after day, a truly precarious physical condition . The muscle injuries continue (the last one, in chronological order, that of Julio Cesar) and victories are in short supply.
Loading the challenge with too many expectations could be harmful, Ranieri must have thought, aware however that the last train for a top classification will pass tonight. Inter will have only one result available: “We want to win and be the first to beat Juve this season. For us it's not a particular match, it's certainly not a last resort, we'll have to play without thinking about the standings”. The Nerazzurri coach shows confidence, both for tonight's match and for the continuation of the championship: “I don't know if we will win the Scudetto, but we will certainly fight until the end. I like looking at the positive signs: the penalty saved by Castellazzi is one of them”.
Speaking of penalties, the inevitable topic of referees in the press conference of Ranieri: “If we continue at this pace, at the end of the season we will have 25 penalties against. In history, only Rome and Parma have suffered more than us in 8 days. I hope the referees are more careful." Further pressure for Nicola Rizzoli, who tonight will have to direct the "derby d'Italia" number 157.
Juventus come to the challenge with a completely different frame of mind: solitary league leaders with 16 points, Conte's team is still unbeaten, has an excellent defense (6 goals conceded, less than half of those conceded by Inter) and has the post Calciopoli rage on his side. After the "crimes" of 2006, Juventus has always faced the Nerazzurri with particular motivations, often managing to beat them. The problems then occurred in the matches against the small teams, and Conte absolutely wants to reverse the trend. “When I say that the match against Inter must go back to being a normal match for us, it means not thinking like a provincial, because last year, in any case, the data, the numbers, say that against Inter it was the match of the life : you won it and then you finished seventh. Provincial attitude and we shouldn't think like that. We have to go back to winning all the time, and above all to being disliked by everyone."
In closing, some numbers on the super challenge. In the 78 matches at San Siro between Inter and Juventus, the Nerazzurri have prevailed 34 times, against 19 for the Bianconeri. There were 25 draws, the last one just last year (finished 0 to 0). Inter – Juventus was staged twice on matchday 10: in 1933/34 they finished 3-2 for the hosts, while in 1988/89 the match ended in a draw (1 – 1). For bettors who like to bet on the fixed result, we point out the most frequent results that took place at the Meazza: the 0 - 0 came out 11 times, followed by draws for 2 - 2 and 1 - 1 (7 times). Juve's victory for 1 – 2 was also frequent: the last time was on 12 February 2006, Ibrahimovic (still in black and white) and Del Piero scored on a free kick. Other times (pre Calciopoli), other football. But the same fiery rivalry.
ROME – MILAN, THE SCUDETTO ALSO PASSES THROUGH HERE.
ALLEGRI DOES NOT OFFER DISCOUNTS: "WE NEED A VICTORY FOR THE STANDINGS".
LUIS ENRIQUE PLAYS A LOT: "I WANT TO SEE ROME IN GENOA".
Before Inter - Juventus, however, the 10th day will offer another big match. Rome - Milan in fact it cannot be considered otherwise. The two teams come from opposite results, even if, technically speaking, both have made excellent performances. Because of this Luis Enrique, despite the Marassi match ending badly, he hopes to see Roma again on Wednesday evening: “I'd like to see the same team against Milan that I saw against Genoa. But changing all the mistakes we made. We would have a good chance of winning against a difficult team."
The Spanish coach he has a lot of respect for his opponents, but he knows that a win tonight would be very important. Conversely, the pressure would become very high: “They are aiming for the Scudetto because they are the current champions, it is a great team, it will be a strong test for us, without a doubt. I'm happy with the attitude of the team even if there are still some things missing, such as finishing and concentration in certain moments. Sure, all of us coaches depend on the standings but I don't look at it. The results depend on our work and it will always be like this”.
The atmosphere at Milan is different, with the Rossoneri coming off 3 consecutive victories. The 9 points scored against Palermo, Lecce and Parma brought the Italian champions just 2 points behind leaders Juventus. In light of the Bianconeri's difficult commitment, a victory at the Olimpico could launch Milan really high: “It's a match that is worth the Scudetto, it's a direct match and we have to interpret it in this way. We have to stay hooked on the summit. There are 3 points up for grabs and we have to try to bring home a positive result to continue the streak and to arrive at the stop in the best possible position". To get out of the capital with full booty, Milan will have to improve the defensive phase. So far, the Rossoneri have the 5th worst defense in Serie A, with 12 goals conceded. Definitely too many, for those who, last season, made defense their strong point: "We're on the right track, we're correcting some defensive errors, but above all we need to improve in some situations in which we build play". Definitely yes, because, as Galliani reminded him this week, to win the Scudetto you need to concede fewer goals.
NAPLES DREAMS OF THE TOP IN CATANIA.
BUT THE SICILIANS ARE THE SURPRISE OF THE CHAMPIONSHIP.
Another advance of this very rich Serie A Saturday will be Catania – Naples. At the Massimino stadium (at 18.00, at the same time as Rome – Milan) the Azzurri will try to obtain an away victory that has been missing since before the break (0 – 3 at San Siro against Inter). In the Mazzarri's polemical silence (Inler also showed up yesterday at the press conference) Napoli enjoyed their success over Udinese, which restored enthusiasm to a somewhat preoccupied environment. A possible victory in Catania would bring the Neapolitans to 17 points in the standings, and this could also mean supremacy (obviously everything will also depend on the results of the others). But winning at Massimino won't be easy: with their 11 points, Catania are to all intents and purposes the true revelation of this first glimpse of the championship. The Sicilians then, so far they have done very well with the big ones. In order, they stopped Juve (1 – 1), Fiorentina (2 – 2) and Lazio (1 – 1), even managing to win against Inter (2 – 1). Montella, however, doesn't get carried away by enthusiasm, and asks him for a game of great sacrifice: “Napoli are the most difficult team to face in this cycle of terrible matches. They are very well organized and have great quality, we will have to be cynical and careful. Mazzarri has given them the right mentality, they too can fight for the Scudetto”. The Neapolitan fans are authorized to make the spells.
