Naples company, Inter misstep. In summary, this is what remains of Tuesday in the Champions League, characterized by the splendid 2-0 of the Azzurri against Liverpool, but also by the gray 1-1 of the Nerazzurri with Slavia Prague. All reversed compared to the eve, when, rightly moreover, it was thought that the most prohibitive task fell to Ancelotti and that for Conte, instead, it was just a walk. Nothing could be more wrong, and not only because the former won and the latter drew: what was different was above all the performances, in perfect harmony with the final results. Let's start with the good news and therefore from Napoli, capable of beating the European champions with a clean 2-0. A real feat, never achieved by anyone in this first part of the season, which saw Klopp win the European Super Cup and command the Premier League, moreover as an unbeaten one.
At the San Paolo, however, it was another story with a simply perfect Naples, able to take away their best weapon from the English, namely that intensity that brought them to the throne of Europe. Yesterday the Azzurri put her on the same ground, proving to be even better, even if only for one night. The consequence is that the Salah-Mané arrows have lost their lucidity (the counterattack thrown away in the 55th minute is emblematic) and that Meret, with the exception of the super save on the Egyptian himself (65') and a header just off Firmino ( 44'), was able to spend a much quieter evening than expected.
The Azzurri, for their part, instead created several thrills for Adrian, who was already very good in the 7th minute over Fabian Ruiz and even miraculous in the 49th minute over Mertens, until the episode that broke the balance in the 80th minute. The contact between Robertson and Callejon (actually sought more by the Spaniard) led Brych and the Var to decree a penalty that Mertens, in a state of grace like in the time of Sarri, converted into a goal, causing San Paolo to explode. For the scream of liberation, however, Llorente was needed, quick to take advantage of a mistake by Van Dijk and bag the ball in the final 2-0 (93'), which projects Napoli to the top of the group together with Salzburg, author in his vault of a 6-2 pyrotechnic on Genk.
“It was the victory of a team that wants to grow, that believes in it and that has so much quality – commented Ancelotti. – Sometimes you get a little lost in matches, but that's normal. We have to know how to do everything, even playing long balls like in the final. The team played a dirty game and I really liked that."
"Extraordinary match, I'm proud to be your president" was De Laurentiis' enthusiastic tweet, demonstrating how much Naples, from the most illustrious to the least of the fans, awaited such a night.
Decidedly different tones in Milan, where Conte's Inter ran into the first disappointment of the season. The draw with Slavia Prague, in addition to the lost points (even if, in the light of the performance, the regrets are more than the Czechs), hurts for the performance, far below what could not be expected.
Already in the first half, net of the chances received by Inter (with De Vrij, Lautaro and D'Ambrosio), there was the feeling that Trpisovsky's team was more on the ball, as if they had arrived more energized in front of the 60 of San Siro. An impression that became a certainty in the second half, when the Nerazzurri gave way and Slavia took the lead through Olayinka, who was quick to beat Handanovic with a close tap-in after he had performed a miracle on Zeleny (63').
At that point Conte, who had already switched Candreva with Lazaro at half-time, attempted the moves of Politano and Barella and the latter earned him an equal in extremis, when no one believed it anymore, perhaps not even him. The 1-1 final, in the light of Dortmund's 0-0 draw between Borussia and Barcelona, is not to be thrown away but it is clear that Inter cannot fail matches like this, not if they really aspire to go through.
“We struggled and I'm certainly not satisfied with the performance, but I'm primarily responsible – thundered Conte. – We have not shown anything of our game idea, unfortunately it is part of the growth. You think that I arrive, touch and everyone becomes swans but that's not the case, there is still a lot of work to do. We have all been below the level of sufficiency, me first. Indeed, I am the biggest donkey, to put behind the blackboard…”.
Very harsh words, from a "victory maniac" who, rightly, cannot be happy with a race like this, even if adjusted in full recovery. Saturday is the derby and we can bet that Antonio will put his foot down for the whole week, determined to turn yesterday's event into just an unpleasant hiccup.
