Milan rises again. After the bad defeat against Udinese, the Rossoneri were called to a test of character, possibly complemented by a victory. Mission accomplished: the 0-1 over Sampdoria in anticipation of the 4th matchday is a real panacea for Montella's ambitions, smiling again like a few weeks ago. Decisive Carlos Bacca and this is also good news. The Colombian, left on the bench after last Sunday's bad performance, was able to turn disappointment into competitive rage, once again proving to be a relentless sniper. “I'm happy for him, he entered the field with the right determination and resolved the match – commented Montella. – I want to congratulate Sampdoria, he played a really good game, but we were very good both in the approach and in the interpretation. Now let's think about Lazio but without forgetting what we have given here, only by putting this intensity we can obtain results".
The excellent game of the blucerchiati also remains in the eyes, good at facing Milan without any awe just like Giampaolo's dogma. The final 0-1 is the logical consequence of a balanced confrontation, made up of chances on both sides, which only unblocked itself for one episode right in the final, when the draw seemed to be a done deal. In the 85th minute, however, Skriniar gave Suso a bloody ball: the Spaniard saw Bacca dislocate and served him face to face with Viviano, thus sanctioning the Rossoneri overtake. First many goals for both starting with Torreira, stopped only by the excellent Donnarumma and Lapadula, wasteful from close range. The fireworks, however, arrived in the second half: first Bacca's post (74', Viviano's deviation was decisive), then Muriel's (80', again with Donnarumma's hand). In the middle, two red-penned referee errors: a goal disallowed by Barreto for an alleged offside (but Montolivo was there to make everything legal) and a penalty denied to Bonaventura (Pereira's intervention had to be punished, Irrati instead let it go) . And then, when everything suggested a written 0-0, here's the paw of Bacca, ruthless in killing Viviano and giving away 3 points to the coach and his teammates.
This evening (20.45 pm) it will be Napoli's turn, once again engaged in the championship after the good victory in the Champions League. Donadoni's Bologna, a mangy and difficult-to-read opponent, will arrive at the San Paolo. We don't know what Sarri thinks of the rossoblu (the pre-match conferences in Fuorigrotta are now a distant memory), but he certainly doesn't trust him and will want maximum commitment and concentration. Given the imminent midweek round (Wednesday in Marassi against Genoa) it is probable that we will see some turnover, without distorting the trademark of the 4-3-3. The big doubt concerns the attack: who, between Milik and Gabbiadini, will take the starting shirt? Logic would say the Pole (his decisive brace in Kiev) but the tight schedule and the need not to create cases could favor Manolo. Napoli against Bologna should see Reina in goal, Hysaj, Albiol (or Maksimovic), Koulibaly and Ghoulam in defense, Zielinski, Jorginho and Hamsik in midfield, Callejon, Milik and Insigne (or Mertens) in attack. Donadoni's margin of choice was decidedly smaller, forced to give up on Destro stopped by low back pain. In his place will be the young Di Francesco, for the rest all confirmed with Da Costa between the posts, Krafth, Gastaldello, Oikonomou and Masina in the back department, Dzemaili, Nagy and Taider in the midfield, Verdi and Krejci to complete the offensive trident.
