MILAN, QUALIFICATION BUT NOT VICTORY ARRIVE IN MINSK!
FIRST PLACE WILL NEED A COMPANY AGAINST BARCELONA.
THE MEDICAL BULLETIN ON CASSANO AWAITED IN THE MORNING.
VOTE: 6
The goal was to win, to qualify for the second round of the Champions League with two rounds to spare, and to be able to focus solely on the championship until February. Mission half accomplished, because in Minsk the Rossoneri didn't go beyond a draw against a very modest Bate Borisov. Then in the evening, Barcelona's victory against Viktoria Plzen gave Milan a discounted qualification, but damned complicated the race for first place in group H. Now the superBarça (also yesterday led by an incredible Messi, author of a hat-trick) is leading the group with 10 points, while Allegri's men are chasing on 8. The next round of the Champions League will give us the direct match at San Siro, which the Rossoneri will have to win by force, otherwise we will have to prepare for a complicated draw for the round of 5 of final. It was a two-faced Milan that we saw in Belarus: excellent in the first half, where Allegri's men were solely to blame for not closing the match, bad in the second half, when Bate Borisov even tried to win. On this pitch, a few weeks ago, Barcelona won 0-XNUMX, and this perfectly captures the difference between Milan and the reigning European champions.
A (partial) defense of the Rossoneri is to remember the Cassano case. The illness from Bari upset everyone a bit, especially the players, who perhaps didn't have the mental clarity necessary to better prepare for the cup match. After three days of silence (on the part of Milan), official news will finally arrive this morning, given that, as confirmed by Galliani, the first medical bulletin will be issued. Good luck, Fantantonio!
INTER, BEAT LILLE TO SAVE THE SEASON.
RANIERI KEEPS CALM: "KEEP IT GOING AND WE WILL GET OUT OF THE CRISIS"
When a team used to winning everything ends up in the quicksand of the crisis, the risk is that they let themselves go. This is exactly what shouldn't happen to Inter, who, at least in the Champions League, can still have their say. Of course, a possible misstep against Lille would complicate things a lot, but the Nerazzurri still start from an advantageous position in the table. That's why Ranieri above all asks for calm and coolness: “We know the value of the French, who haven't lost away from home for a long time, and they also have a top-level player like Hazard. But we will try to win to secure qualification." Paradoxically, playing at the San Siro could be a disadvantage, given the anger that has been building up among the Nerazzurri fans for some time. The sensation then is that some players (especially the new signings) are suffering from the Milanese stadium, which has now branded them as "bins" unworthy of the Inter shirt. A match with a big heart and experience will therefore be needed, but on this point Ranieri seems calm: “The group is strong, mentally and physically. Sure, the defeat against Juve left a lot of bitterness, but woe to you if that weren't the case. We are on the right track, time will prove us right". For sure, Inter fans can't wait to do it.
NAPLES, MONACO NEEDS A LONG NIGHT!
MAZZARRI: “IT WILL SERVE A PERFECT NIGHT”
They've been waiting for it since the end of August, and it's finally here. The away match in Monaco represents for Napoli the crowning achievement of the work done last year, but now that the ice with the Champions League has been broken, the Azzurri have made their mouths open to a qualification for the round of 3 that would be sensational. Let's be clear, Napoli is an excellent team, but few would have bet to see them in front of Manchester City after 2 days. Tonight, therefore, the Azzurri will not only play for prestige, but also for the possibility of progressing in the cup. To achieve results at the Allianz Arena in Munich (which, among other things, will host the final in May) a miracle would be needed: Bayern seem like a steamroller, especially within their friendly walls (even Mancini knows something about this, defeated against his City with a flat 0 to XNUMX). Mazzarri knows it too, who, with slightly different words from ours, expressed the same concept: “We'll need a perfect night, a lot of concentration, no mistakes. We will go on the pitch to impose our game, and I'm really curious to see if we can do it. Everything we'll be able to do from here on out would be a feat, that's why I'd like the lads to receive nothing but compliments”. In words, the mentality seems the right one, even listening to Morgan De Sanctis, so far a great protagonist with his saves: “If I would sign for an equal? No, because games like this should be played aiming for the maximum. Otherwise there is a big risk…”. Or the goleada, as happened in Barcelona in the Gamper trophy. Will Napoli have learned the lesson of Messi and his companions? To Bayern Monaco the arduous sentence.
