A victory to close the games. There Juventus he plunges back into the Champions League with the awareness of being at a turning point, at least in terms of the standings: 3 points against Lokomotiv Moscow, in fact, would be worth a good chunk of qualifying. Bringing the round of 15 closer, with the aim of making them mathematical in Russia in XNUMX days, would allow concentration only on the championship, thus leaving European ambitions and tensions on standby at least until next spring.
A beautiful scenario, I must say, but it needs 6 points to become a reality, 3 tonight and 3 on November 6th. Nothing transcendental, mind you, because Lokomotiv, on paper, is not in the least bit comparable to Juventus, but woe to take something for granted: in football, you know, twists are always around the corner.
“It's a team that's having an excellent season – warned Sarri. – He's doing very well both at home and away, as evidenced by the Leverkusen game in which he was able to defend himself and restart in an insidious way. He's much stronger than we could have expected and this is the real pitfall: facing those who don't have a big name but have excellent qualities”.
Beyond the facade declarations this is a game to be won at all costs, possibly by convincing. The match against Bologna, in fact, saw a few steps back compared to the pre-break, when the team seemed to have found the right alchemy between Sarrio's ideas and the typical concreteness of the Lady. A matter of tiredness, probably, certainly not a lack of conviction.
The team seems to have completely married its new coach, so much so that Cristiano Ronaldo even showed up yesterday to plead the case at the press conference. "I think the team is doing better, we have more confidence in ourselves and we're playing a different kind of football than in the past," explained the Portuguese. – We are always in attack, we care a lot about the ball: we have changed to improve and we are doing it more and more”.
Very important words, anything but casual, which Sarri received with great pleasure. “Training someone like him is a source of pride – replied the coach. – He He has the ability to set himself ever higher goals, after scoring the 700th goal he was already thinking about the 800. he It is something contagious, he has a mental strength superior to that of anyone else ”.
The alchemy grows continuously, it is no coincidence that the coach has decided to face Lokomotiv with a formation very similar to that of Saturday, in an attempt to further refine the mechanisms. The Juventus 4-3-1-2 will see Szczesny in goal, Cuadrado, Bonucci, De Ligt and Alex Sandro in defense, Khedira, Pjanic and Matuidi in midfield, Bernardeschi in the frontline, Dybala and Ronaldo in attack. Semin will respond with a 4-1-4-1 with Guilherme in goal, Ignatjev, Howedes, Corluka and Rybus in the back, Murilo Cerqueira in the midfield, Zhemaletdinov, Barinov, Krychowiak and Joao Mario behind lone striker Smolov.
Much more complicated, if not prohibitive, is the mission of theAtalanta, awaited by the great match in Manchester against Guardiola's City. Thinking about the standings and results would make us cry but the Nerazzurri rightly want to experience this experience in the Champions League as a reward, without thinking too much about tomorrow.
Also because, in the light of current results, the chances of returning in a year's time are far from unfounded, perhaps with that bit of extra experience to avoid setbacks like the one in Zagreb or Shakhtar-style mockery. This does not mean that Gasperini does not want to try to put Guardiola in difficulty, on the contrary: if he were able to re-propose Atalanta from the first half in Rome he would also have some chance of succeeding.
“Being here is a great emotion, as is receiving compliments from Pep – the words of the Nerazzurri coach. – We need to increase our credibility internationally. We have to be able to play a good game here in Manchester, it won't be easy, but we are aware of the difficulties and I would be happy if we could repeat one of the performances we had in the league on this field".
“What I thought of Sarri I also think of Gasperini. What he did last year is incredible, it's as if he had won the championship – replied Guardiola. – They have courage, they play for the fans, they attack by taking many risks: it's a joy to watch them play."
The ball now passes to the pitch, with the citizens determined to attack right from the start with a 4-3-3 that will see Ederson in goal, Cancelo, Stones, Fernandinho and Zinchenko in defence, De Bruyne, Rodri and Gundogan in midfield, Mahrez , Aguero and Sterling up front. Usual 3-4-1-2 also for Gasperini, obviously net of the absences of Zapata, Palomino and Kjaer: Gollini between the posts, Toloi, Djimsiti and Masiello in the back department, Hateboer, De Roon, Freuler and Gosens in the midfield, Gomez behind the offensive duo made up of Ilicic and Muriel.
