The ninth victory is as sweet as a symphony. Indeed more, because the connection to Inter and the overtaking on Fiorentina represent the perfect way to close the first round. In short, the run-up is almost complete: only Napoli remains ahead of the Bianconeri and this in spite of a terrible start, however rehabilitated by a truly incredible ride. Marassi's victory, the 9th in a row in the league, extends a cycle that has put half of Serie A in line: Turin, Empoli, Milan, Palermo, Lazio, Fiorentina, Carpi, Verona and, indeed, Sampdoria.
“Winning 9 games in a row in Italy is not easy, the boys are doing excellent things – commented Allegri. – Being so high is a great success, let's not forget that after 10 races we only had 12 points. But now comes the difficult part: after all these successes it won't be easy to continue like this". However, the feeling is that it is the others who have to worry about Juve, which has now arrived close to leaders Napoli and is ready to fight to the end to win the fifth consecutive Scudetto.
Marassi's match was not an easy one: credit (or fault, depending on your point of view) to Sampdoria, who took the field with a very defensive attitude in an attempt to put the black and white fury to sleep. In such contexts, the plays of the individuals become fundamental and Juve, as we know, can count on unique individuals on the Italian scene. Pogba took care of breaking into the Sampdoria fort, very good at beating Viviano with a volley from his left foot to make it 1-0 for Juventus (17').
With a one-goal lead, the match changed: at that point, Montella's men were forced to raise their center of gravity and this, even without particular peaks, favored the show. The second half gave emotions right from the start but once again it was Juve who benefited from it. Dybala's assist for Khedira was splendid and his soft and precise right winger even more beautiful, who beat Viviano for the second time (46'). At 2-0, the Lady should have closed the accounts, perhaps scoring the third goal or in any case managing ball possession in the best possible way.
But the plan failed: Morata's fault, author of a mistake face to face with the Sampdoria goalkeeper, and of the defensive phase, decidedly too light. In the 64th minute the Spaniard devoured the 3-0 and, on the reversal in front, Sampdoria got back into the game with Cassano, whose shot mocked the innocent Buffon. And when Fernando came close to equalizing with a right-footed shot from outside the area, Allegri relived the Carpi match, one of the worst in terms of management and personality.
The finale, ignited by the result still in the balance, gave us moments of great nervousness culminating in the expulsion of Moisander, tough and uncoordinated in intervening on Zaza (94'). At Mazzoleni's final whistle, the Juventus crowd first heaved a big sigh of relief, then let themselves go into a more than justified exultation. The comeback on Inter and Fiorentina is complete, now Sarri and Higuain's Napoli are in the sights, only 2 points behind. Not bad for those who, just 2 months ago, were practically doomed.
