Suddenly, Paulo Dybala. La Joya transforms the night of Juve in a party overlooking the round of 77, just when the European witches were now taking over the Stadium, moreover well in advance of Halloween. In fact, in the 1th minute Lokomotiv won 0-XNUMX and the Bianconeri, despite their hyper-attacking line-up, weren't managing to change the course of things. Then, as previously mentioned, here is the double play of the Argentine to give away a draw and overtaking, thus transforming the general frustration into an important joy, second only to that of San Siro.
That evening Juve enchanted and took the lead in the standings, yesterday instead less glitter but equally important points, indeed perhaps even more, in the light of a qualification that now seems to be in the safe. To secure it, 3 points will be needed in Russia, but in the meantime Lokomotiv are at a safe distance and this, in the light of how the game went, is decidedly good news.
It wasn't the best Juve of the season, on the contrary: for long stretches the defensive organization of Semin suffered, good at closing the spaces without however lowering the pace and intensity. But then, as has already happened on other occasions, the black and white substitutions made the difference, for once more on a tactical than a technical level.
The entrances of Higuain and Rabiot in place of Khedira and Matuidi have increased the revs of the Juventus engine fearfully, forcing Lokomotiv to "drop" Pjanic to manage all the Sarrian guns. And so the Lady, down by a goal from the 30th minute due to a double mistake by the De Ligt-Bonucci duo (Miranchuk was cold to take advantage of it), was able to crush the opponents in her own trocar: a pressing which, as was hoped, made the enormous technical superiority, best expressed by Dybala.
The equalizing goal in the 77th minute was splendid (left footed shot with Guilherme immobile), the robbery instead that of the definitive 2-1 (79', close tap-in after a so-so rejection by the goalkeeper on Alex Sandro's shot), for a double hook to the chin of the Russians which earned him the remuntada. Now it will be enough to win in Moscow to be certain of the round of XNUMX with two rounds to spare, but already like this there is reason to be optimistic, even if first place, in the light of Atletico's victory over Bayer Leverkusen, will probably be sweaty until the very end.
“Unfortunately we went under and they made a lot of density – commented Sarri. – It was a difficult situation, but we were good at not losing our heads. We took risks with so many attacking players on the pitch together, but we knew the game could be put right, even if we were less brilliant than usual."
Bad, very bad evening instead for Atalanta, leaving Manchester with broken bones. The final 5-1 confirms that the Gasperini gang, so brilliant in the league, just can't measure up to the Champions League, evidently still too far away on a technical, tactical and physical level.
Of course, the qualification points were certainly not taken at the Etihad, but from the third force in the championship (last and current) it was reasonable to expect, if not the result, at least a shred of more resistance, especially with a City without central defenders. . And for half of the first half, Atalanta actually took advantage of it by playing without fear, so much so that they even took the lead through Malinovski, cold to convert the penalty obtained by Ilicic for a foul by Fernandinho (28').
For a few minutes Bergamo dreamed of the coup, but then the award-winning couple Aguero-Sterling brought it back to harsh reality. The Argentinian first equalized with a strike in front of goal (34'), then doubled his lead from a penalty (38', foul by Masiello on Sterling).
Guardiola's team, once the danger had escaped, was thus able to relax, returning to play the football that fans from all over the world like so much. To help her, as always, the usual Sterling, author of an amazing second half: his hat-trick (58', 64' and 69') transformed the second half into a friendly match, confirming that Atalanta are not yet ready for certain stages.
“The result is heavy – sighed Gasperini. – The two goals conceded in a short time made me angry, especially from the penalty. We could have conceded another type of goal, not like this, it complicated the result and the game, even if City are one of the best teams in the world. In any case, however heavy the result is, we return home with some positive indications”.
It is legitimate to ask which ones, even if the opponent obviously has too much thickness. Now head to the championship, with the rematch postponed for a couple of weeks. In 15 days Juventus and Atalanta will face the same opponents again, with the hope of having learned something useful and important.
