Nerazzurri in power. Inter e Atalanta close the fourth day of Champions with two victories very important, which allow both to dream. Inzaghi's team managed to beat theArsenal despite a very difficult match (1-0) and now in fifth place with 10 points, tied with Sporting Lisbon, Monaco and Brest, Gasperini's team instead conquered Stuttgart with much less suffering (0-2) and climbed to ninth place, just one step below Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund and Aston Villa. They are, at the moment, the two Italian teams most likely to take direct qualification, but considering the value of the Juve , Milan's rise, our football team can smile and hope to go to the eighth finals with a good group.
Inter – Arsenal 1-0: The Nerazzurri suffer, but win with a penalty from Calhanoglu
Three very important points were those gained byInter, albeit at the end of an evening of great suffering. The Italian champions, in fact, despite the excellent start (Dumfries hit the crossbar after just 2'), ended up being crushed by the English, so much so that they closed with a score quite indicative: 20 shots to 7 overall in favor of the Gunners, superior also in ball possession (63%) and expected goals (2.22 to 1.19). Fortunately for them, however, the only data that really counts is black and blue and concerns the goals scored, only one in this case, but enough to take home the entire spoils. In the first half, to tell the truth, there was much more balance and Inter even managed to take the lead with Calhanoglu, infallible from the spot after a Merino hand touch (45+3'). It seemed like the prelude to a recovery of defense and counterattacks; instead, Inzaghi's team almost never managed to go on the counterattack, ending up accepting the technical superiority of the Gunners and focusing only and exclusively on maintaining the result. Mission accomplished thanks to a great performance by Pavard, The free e Bisseck, unbeatable despite the many threats caused by Arsenal, beautiful to watch but not very concrete, while on a creative level Calhanoglu stands out and not only for the aforementioned penalty.
Inter ended their fourth Champions League match without conceding a goal, the only team to do so together with Atalanta (who however scored one less), confirming the sensational paradox of this start to the season, which sees them hermetic in Europe and fragile in Italy. It's a question of the mind, not of men, because yesterday Inzaghi (just like with Red Star and Young Boys) allowed himself the luxury of leaving several owners are resting including Sticks, Mkhitaryan, Marco's, Thuram e Stretcher, as well as replacing others during the match (Lautaro and Calhanoglu). In short, on Sunday against Napoli, the coach will be able to respond to Conte with a good level of freshness, but with a full stomach after this victory that was less beautiful than expected, but extremely important.
Inzaghi: “Great responses from those who play less, now let's not stop!”
“I received important answers from those who play less, when we talk about 23 starters we are not just saying it for the sake of it – the thought of Inzaghi -. The win is very important, they were very intense, they caused us problems from set pieces and, honestly, I have to say that Arsenal were one of the best opponents we have played against. It is a source of pride to have faced City and Arsenal very well, we are maintaining a very good average but there are still four games to go: the next two with Leipzig and Leverkusen will be very demanding. The team showed compactness, when you are in a club like this you don't choose the competition, you only aim to play as many games as possible always. I am happy with the solidity we have shown, but now we must not stop”.
Stuttgart – Atalanta 0-2, Gasperini: “We won with personality”
A festive evening also for theAtalanta, exit from Stuttgart with 3 points that fuel the dream of direct qualification. The Goddess in Europe version confirms itself as a privateer and after the victory over Shakhtar, here is the one on the German pitch thanks to Lookman's goal (51') and, listen up, Zaniolo (88'), his first goal with the Nerazzurri shirt. Hoeness' team had made a huge impression in the victory over Juve in the previous round; therefore, many thought that Atalanta, also coming from the great match in Naples, could have difficulty, instead they approached the match very well, coming close to taking the lead already in the first half on several occasions. The joy was only postponed until the beginning of the second half, when The Ketelaere, who took over a few minutes earlier in place of Pasalic, he invented the coil that sent in the Lookman hole, confirming a truly enviable understanding between the two. From then on Gasperini he managed his strengths in the best way, without giving up on stinging in the spaces: that's how the goal also came Zaniolo, whose progress appears quite evident.
"We came here with ambition, but there is a long way to go before we win," the satisfied coach commented. "These are difficult pitches, Stuttgart had won in Turin against Juventus. It's the way this victory came about that gives us confidence, we got it with personality, even if we perhaps suffered at the end. I've seen so many good things, these games are a reason for us to grow, last year's experience has given us so much more awareness. The Scudetto? Today we are not ready to win it, but we hope to be able to grow and get into the fight."
