Two missteps that could cost us dearly. How much, if any, we will only know later, but certainly the draws of Juventus and Naples against Sporting Lisbon (1-1) ed Eintracht Frankfurt (0-0) are not doing well for their respective standings, far below expectations at the start of the season. Conte has 4 points, Spalletti 3, so few that even the playoffs cannot be taken for granted. A similar scenario also forAtalanta of Juric, called not to lose Marseille to avoid finding yourself in the same situation, while not having these problems'Inter Chivu, whose focus, more than on the Kazakhs of Kairat Almaty, seems to be on the scope of the success, necessary for goal difference.
Juventus – Sporting Lisbon 1-1: Vlahovic is not enough, the victory in the Champions League is still postponed
Nothing doing. Juventus could do more than draw 1-1 with Sporting Lisbon, once again postponing their chances of a first Champions League win of the season. A bittersweet draw, as the Bianconeri climb to three points and remain in contention for at least the playoffs, but now they'll have to be very careful with their matches against Bodo Glimt, Pafos, Benfica, and Monaco, which they'll need to handle with caution. Spalletti's European home debut got off to a terrible start: in the 12th minute, Sporting took the lead through Araujo, who capped off a splendid team move with a brilliant shot. Just two minutes later, the Portuguese side almost doubled their lead with Trincao, who hit the crossbar with Di Gregorio beaten. In shock, Juve took half an hour to wake up, and they did so by relying on Vlahovic. The Serbian carried the team on his shoulders: first, he forced Rui Silva into two great saves, then scored the 1-1 with a close-range right-footer following a splendid move by Thuram (34'). In the second half, Juventus attempted to take the three points with more courage and pace, but lacked precision. Sporting defended with order, conceding little and looking to strike on the counterattack, while Spalletti attempted to change the attack by bringing on David and Kostic. The two best chances came in injury time: first, David found the gloves of Rui Silva, then Kostic grazed the post with a deflection that screamed revenge. It ended like this, with a combative but unconvincing Juventus, unable to capitalize on a strong second half and turn a match that seemed within reach into a victory. Sporting took away a precious point and remain top of the group, while Spalletti will have to wait a little longer to see his Juve finally win in Europe.
Spalletti: "A great performance. Let's keep it up and we'll win a lot."
"Sporting is a very good team, they play attacking football and play well in possession," Spalletti said. "We had a difficult start, then we put in a great response, and we deserved to take the lead. We lost too many balls, we were a bit sloppy in our play, they pressured us, and we weren't able to get things going. The team, however, put in a great performance. We have strong players, and they showed it. We need to improve our play, but we have the solutions to do so. I have a quality team; if we continue with this spirit, we'll win a lot. It was a beautiful setting; the full stadium created a wonderful atmosphere, and the players felt it too. We did some good things, we still have to improve, but together we can achieve some great things."
Napoli – Eintracht 0-0: The Azzurri fail to make a breakthrough, a Champions League tie still bitter for Conte.
It was also a bitter evening for Napoli, who couldn't manage more than a 0-0 draw against Eintracht Frankfurt and squandered a great opportunity to secure a spot in the standings. A dull draw at the Maradona was the result of strong willpower but little precision: the Azzurri tried, built, but never truly broke through, ultimately falling level with the Germans in the playoff spot. The first half started slowly, but as the minutes passed, Napoli took control and created at least three clear chances, all courtesy of Hojlund and Elmas, the team's best players. The Dane came close to taking the lead in the 6th and 21st minutes, but first Theate and then Zetterer denied him the joy of a goal. The Macedonian, on the other hand, was a constant thorn in the side, while Anguissa sacrificed himself for every ball to keep the tempo high. In the second half, Conte's team started strongly, but was unable to find any openings. Eintracht defended deep and struck on the counterattack: Gotze and Kristensen left the Maradona stadium reeling, then Milinkovic-Savic saved his side with a prodigious save from Knauff. In the 68th minute, McTominay missed a chance when Koch blocked him, but the worst came in the 83rd minute, when the Scotsman spectacularly missed the knockout blow, firing high from close range, practically a moving penalty. Zetterer became a wall in the closing stages: first on Elmas, then again on Hojlund, sealing a 0-0 draw that weighed more heavily on Napoli than the Germans. The draw only heightens doubts about Conte's style of play, especially at international level, even though his scoring difficulties had already been evident against Lecce and Como. Qualification for the playoffs remains possible, but not a given: in the upcoming matches against Qarabag, Benfica, Copenhagen, and Chelsea, mistakes will not be tolerated.
Conte: "They used catenaccio. If we'd played like that..."
"We can say anything and everything, if you don't score, you don't win," Conte sighed. "It's a shame, we played against a German team and they learned well how to play the Italian catenaccio system. If we had played a game like that in Germany, they would have called it old-fashioned football. Maximum respect: let's just say we are good teachers. We had some clear chances, I can't fault the lads for anything. We have the ambition to grow, but we all have to understand that it's difficult. In any case, I think we're addressing all the issues in the best possible way. I think the lads gave it their all, if you break the deadlock in these games, everything will be different. Maradona has to get fired up and get us fired up, we're giving it our all. Then there will be those who have to judge and make decisions."
Inter – Kairat Almaty (21pm, Prime Video)
With the league title underway with their victory in Verona, it's time for Inter to catapult themselves into the Champions League, where they're cruising along at full speed with three wins in as many games and a tally of nine goals scored and zero conceded. Kairat, currently 34th in the table, are coming to San Siro, offering them a golden opportunity to improve their goal difference, especially as the next four matchdays will see the bar rise (Atlético Madrid, Liverpool, Arsenal, and Borussia Dortmund), making points much more difficult. Against the Kazakhs, however, it shouldn't be a problem, as long as they don't take them too lightly. Urazbakhtin's team just won their league title, thus qualifying for next season's Champions League (obviously via the preliminary rounds), and are coming off an eight-hour journey, including a four-hour time difference. Chivu knows he's facing a decidedly inferior opponent, and Sunday's tricky match against Lazio requires some rotation, in line with what has been done since the beginning of his tenure. This rule applies to everyone except Lautaro: the Argentine has only started twice (against Ajax and Sassuolo), in eleven games, in which he's scored six goals (three in the league and three in the Champions League). His last goal came against Union Saint-Gilloise, which is why the coach is expected to start him again tonight in an attempt to break a drought that's starting to make waves. The Nerazzurri's 3-5-2 formation will feature Sommer in goal, Bisseck, De Vrij, and Carlos Augusto in defense, Dumfries, Frattesi, Barella, Zielinski, and Dimarco in midfield, Lautaro and Pio Esposito in attack, with Thuram ready to return in the second half after over a month out.
Chivu: "Winning in the Champions League is never a given. Lautaro? He needs to smile more."
"Winning in the Champions League is never a given, and we also know that you need to score a lot of goals to improve your goal difference," Chivu warned. "In this competition, there are teams that have won their respective leagues. We're facing an opponent who has come through four preliminary rounds. Everyone can say that the games are easy, but you need to be serious, with maximum commitment, and you need to always try to be the best version of Inter. We can always improve; we know it and we're working towards it. We're trying to maintain consistency and understand that when you fall, you have to get up and react. Verona? After Napoli, it wasn't a given; we asked for a reaction and we got it; now I expect consistency. We know that there will come times when we'll be in a storm again; football is like that. Lautaro? It's not a coincidence, but he needs to be happy and passionate. Sometimes, feeling like a leader makes him have negative thoughts; he needs to learn to smile a little more."
Marseille vs. Atalanta (21 p.m., Sky and Now)
Marseille and Sassuolo are battling to save their job. After five consecutive draws and the defeat in Udine that dropped Atalanta to tenth place, Ivan Juric's future now hangs by a thread. His team hasn't won in over a month, has lost its confidence and, above all, its goals: just two in the last five games, a disaster compared to the gluts of the Gasperini era. This is a Goddess that is no longer making an impact, lost between a coaching change that hasn't yet been digested and a league table that has suddenly become anonymous. Yet, there's still time to change course, but a real shakeup is needed, one that can no longer be postponed. And the stage at the Velodrome in Marseille isn't exactly the easiest place to try. The atmosphere will be incandescent, and De Zerbi's Marseille, born in Brescia and a self-confessed anti-Atalanta supporter, is a healthy team, running, attacking, and having fun. The French club are second in Ligue 1 with 22 points after 11 games, two behind PSG, and in the Champions League they swept Ajax 4-0, losing only narrowly to Real Madrid and Sporting. To quell the rumors surrounding Thiago Motta and Palladino, a convincing performance will be needed, and Juric will attempt to achieve it with a 3-4-1-2 formation featuring Carnesecchi in goal, Kossounou, Hien, and Djimsiti in defense, Bellanova, De Roon, Ederson, and Zappacosta in midfield, and Pasalic behind the attacking duo of De Ketelaere and Lookman. De Zerbi will respond with a 4-3-2-1 with Rulli in goal, Murillo, Aguerd, Egan-Riley, and Pavard in defense, Vermeeren, Hojbjerg, and O'Riley in midfield, and Greenwood and Paixao behind lone striker Aubameyang.
Juric: "I'm calm. Up until Udine, we'd always done well."
"It won't be a decisive match, but it certainly counts. It will be important to get points," Juric said. "It's not a night for redemption; we simply need to play a good game. I'm optimistic; we've been doing well up until Udine. Just look at the games; we put in great performances against Milan and Lazio. Honestly, I'm not worried; we have a great job to do. The club is at a very high level, so I'm happy with it. It will be tough against Marseille; De Zerbi is a great player and it's a team with tremendous talent, combative and tough to face. He's had great experiences abroad; I see him improved in France; he plays his usual game, but more aggressively. He's a boy who's growing, and watching his teams play is a pleasure. I'm definitely an admirer of his."
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