One successful overtaking and one… postponed. Juventus celebrate first place at the expense of Chelsea, thus applying for a less complicated draw than expected, Atalanta instead he does not yet know what his fate will be, given that the match against Villarreal has been postponed to 19pm today due to the heavy snowfall that hit Bergamo. Choice arrived only in the night, given that initially UEFA had opted to play at 16.30, which would have allowed them not to overlap a Champions League match with those of Europe and the Conference League.
However, the schedule didn't suit Percassi's club, determined to protect the fans who, evidently, would have had difficulty going to the stadium for obvious work reasons, and so Nyon decided to accept a compromise, evidently also appreciated by Villarreal. So it will still take some time to know if the Goddess will be able to qualify for the round of XNUMX, or if they will be forced to relegate to the Europa League (the draw between Manchester United and Young Boys makes at least third place mathematical).
In the meantime, however, Italian football can enjoy Juventus' first place, which came as a surprise on an evening that seemed already written and which instead reserved a nice twist. A real coup that of the bianconeri, favored by the1-0 on Malmoe, but especially since 3-3 between Zenit and Chelsea, which overturned the Group H standings. Ozdoev's goal in the 95th minute was undoubtedly the greatest emotion of the evening, which however arrived when the match in Turin had just finished, with the people of the Stadium now resigned to second place and therefore, at least theoretically, to a more complicated draw.
Now, however, the Lady is in the first batch together with Manchester City, Liverpool, Ajax, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Manchester United and Lille, and on Monday will be able to meet one of PSG, Atletico Madrid, Sporting Lisbon, Benfica, Salzburg and, if Atalanta fails to win, Villarreal. Allegri could find himself forced to give his Zenit colleague a nice present, who turned an ordinary 1-0 win against Malmoe into an evening to remember.
Result, just like against Salernitana and Genoa, skimpy, but son of many opportunities wasted by the Juventus forward, also here in perfect harmony with the two aforementioned championship races. Kean's goal (18', header from Bernardeschi's splendid cross) seemed like the prelude to a great strike against a much weaker opponent; instead, it was the only point of the match, in the face of a flood of opportunities thrown away to score the double.
In short, the appointment with a round and serene victory is postponed again, which leads us to wonder about an attack that has been struggling a lot since the beginning of the season. Kean, beyond scoring, has failed at least three sensational situations, one with an empty net and another one meter from the goalkeeper, Morata seems to have lost the feeling with the goal for some time, Dybala, perhaps because he is not physically at his best, still cannot make a difference. In short, celebrating is a must after qualifying first at Chelsea's expense, but also asking yourself questions: to make your way in the league and in the Champions League, it's essential to find the way to score again.
“We have to be serene, but we can't have such a low goal percentage – he sighed Allegri – The match was good, but we missed too many goals. We absolutely need to improve because it is necessary to be meaner and more cynical in front of the gates. We're happy for first place, it shows that winning isn't easy, but now it's time to think about Venice, it will be a complicated match and a different performance will also be needed from a mental point of view. It's a narrower field, they play well and attack, we'll need an orderly and fair performance: we absolutely need the three points."
The Champions League, with the exception of Monday's draw, will only be thought of starting from February: now the comeback operation in the league is starting and here the margin of error is practically non-existent.