The en plein is served. The second day of the Champions League ends with the victories of Juventus and Roma which, in addition to that of Napoli on Tuesday, ensure that the balance is more than positive. Of course, the calendar was far from unfavorable and missing the 9 overall points would have been far more sensational than obtaining them, in any case there is no need to be too "snobby" but to look at the half-full side of the glass.
There was great curiosity to see if Juventus would return to raise their voices in Europe too and the victory over Olympiacos, in this sense, did not satisfy in all respects. The 2-0 final is in fact the result of a certain degree of suffering that cannot be foreseen on the eve, with the Bianconeri bogged down for a long time at 0-0 and with many prominent elements still in the "Mr Hyde Champions" version compared to the "Dr. Jekill" version of the championship.
Above all Dybala, far from the phenomenon capable of enchanting everyone over the weekend, demonstrating that the growth to truly become a world top player has yet to be fully accomplished. But Allegri however, in addition to 3 platinum points in terms of qualification, brings home another good news, undoubtedly the most awaited: Higuain is back.
Pipita, left on the bench just like in Saturday's derby, entered the second half and unblocked the impasse with one of his paws (69'), before also giving way to Mandzukic's 2-0 action (80 '). "Gonzalo will never be a problem - Allegri's satisfied comment - he moved much better than the last few times and when he plays so fast and bad he makes us win games".
“I've always been calm, I've been playing in Europe for 11 years and I've always scored – echoed the person concerned – Criticisms don't upset me, I'm used to working calmly without being conditioned by anyone”. Heavy victory (Sporting Lisbon, defeated by Barça, was hooked) and striker found: the black and white people have something to smile about.
Even Roma returns home with 3 golden points, although the performance definitely needs to be reviewed. Of course, the victory was basically the most important thing but the little Qarabag, bringing up the rear of the group, created too many problems also by virtue of the clear difference in values.
The evening had begun in the carriage, with the Giallorossi leading by two goals after just a quarter of an hour (Manolas 7', Dzeko 15') and in clear control of the match. Then a gift from Gonalons gave the Azeris the ball to make it 2-1 (28' Pedro Henrique) and a different direction for the evening, which remained positive only thanks to the imprecision of Qarabag, who was closer to a draw than one might have expected.
“When you win you can't not be satisfied – Di Francesco's analysis – Of course, we could have closed it earlier but as I had already said, it wasn't easy to beat Qarabag. It's never easy in the Champions League and let's remember that this club hasn't achieved success for several years..."
Two to be precise (November 4, 2015, 3-2 at Bayer Leverkusen), which become even seven if we consider away games (November 3, 2010, 3-2 at Basel): heavy numbers, which do justice to Di Francesco despite the clear technical superiority over the Qarabag. Roma still don't have a European dimension worthy of their talents, but in the meantime they are in full swing in a group which, according to many, saw them already eliminated before even playing.
Now the Giallorossi are in second place +3 on Atletico Madrid and only 2 points behind Chelsea leaders and victorious in Spain with a thrilling 2-1. The road to qualifying is still long but in the meantime Roma, standings in hand, are the best Italian of all. And the round of XNUMX, even for her, is no longer a mirage.
