Juve flies to the round of 3, Atalanta can still hope. A festive Wednesday for Italian football after the disappointments of the previous day, with the Bianconeri victorious in Moscow and therefore qualified with two rounds to spare and the Bergamo players able to stop Manchester City, thus remaining in the running for a changeover that would really of the sensational. Merit of Douglas Costa on one side and… the 3-XNUMX between Dinamo Zagreb and Shakhtar on the other, factors that allow Sarri and Gasperini to smile, albeit for different reasons.
Up until the 93rd minute it hadn't been a happy evening for the Juventus, bogged down at 1-1 in Moscow after a performance that was anything but brilliant, in line with the latest in the championship. But then Douglas Costa took the chair, taking over for Khedira in the 70th minute and capable of a simply amazing play, with the help of Higuain, for the goal that froze Lokomotiv and gave him the pass for the round of XNUMX.
“I think someone with his qualities can play in any position, even if he hasn't yet recovered 100% in condition – praised Sarri. – It wasn't one of our best performances, we gave up on some counterattacks, but then we showed that we wanted to win at all costs and we achieved it with this great play. But now it's enough to talk about "resultists" or "game players": these are just bullshit, in the end it's whoever wins who has played well...".
The debate leaves the time it finds thanks to the result, but without Douglas' number it would be much hotter. In fact, Juventus has once again shown a game that is too slow and predictable, in which the personal initiatives of the individuals make the difference, more than the schemes, all while conceding a few too many chances to the opponents. In short, we are far from that "Sarrismo" that even ended up in dictionaries, but in the meantime the victories keep coming and this, all in all, is the most important thing.
The match in Moscow immediately got off to a good start thanks to a duck from Guilherme, who let a free-kick from Ronaldo slip from his hands in the 4th minute, then slotted into the net by Ramsey. It all seemed to go downhill but Lokomotiv, just like in the first leg, showed they weren't in the Champions League by chance, first finding an equalizer with Miranchuk (12'), then coming close to 2-1 with the same striker, this time with a header. In addition to a couple of plays by Higuain, the Bianconeri were no longer able to make themselves dangerous despite continuous ball possession, indeed they even risked insult when the former Inter player Joao Mario kicked with a sure shot, however finding a save on Bonucci's line ( 78').
Everything suggested a draw, but then Douglas Costa decided to discard half of Lokomotiv and Juve found the 2-1 with built-in qualification. However, Ronaldo was not there to celebrate the Brazilian's goal, replaced by Sarri in the 81st minute and far from happy to go out, as can be seen from the television images.
“He was angry because he wasn't feeling well, he's had a small problem with his knee for a few days and his adductor is affected – explained the coach, however. – Already at the end of the first half he was nervous because the adductor was causing him problems. On an acceleration he made a movement that I didn't like, I was afraid he would get hurt and I replaced him ”.
In short, no case, at least officially. Better to focus on qualification and on an ever closer first place: the defeat of Atletico Madrid in Leverkusen, in fact, will allow the bianconeri to finish in the lead already in the direct match of the next round.
It won't be that simple though Atalanta, but the fact that we talk about it is already a success. The Bergamo players, up until yesterday at zero, found their first point against Manchester City, stopped at 1-1 and put on the ropes for most of the second half. A result that even leaves a bitter taste in the mouth, because if it is true that the English could have gone well beyond Sterling's goal in the first 45' (7', Gabriel Jesus missed a penalty in the 43rd minute), it is also that the final had started in the best possible way, with Guardiola's team in 10 for the expulsion of goalkeeper Bravo and without changes, with the result that Walker, a full-back by profession, ended up between the posts.
City trembled but their experience in wasting time and handling the ball made the difference, leaving the players from Bergamo the only joy of Pasalic's goal (49'), as well as the 3-3 in Zagreb. An equal, the one between Dinamo and Shakhtar, which still leaves some hope not only for third place, but even for second.
“It's a shame because in the final there were the conditions to win the match against City with 10 players and one player in goal, but we played very little and our unpreparedness came out a bit – commented Gasperini. – The group is balanced, we have chances for both the Champions League and the Europa League. I would like to go on but we mustn't make any more mistakes, the important thing however is that we are still alive”. To realize the dream, two victories with Dinamo and Shakhtar would be needed, as well as an undefeated City against both the Ukrainians and the Croatians: a difficult, extremely difficult mission, as it was to stop Guardiola, after all. This is why, deep down, Bergamo is starting to believe in it seriously.
