Roma caresses the dream, Juventus exorcizes the nightmare. Tuesday in the Champions League presented itself as the day of qualifying for the first knockout round of the black and whites and the defense of second place for the yellow and reds, instead it became very complicated for the former and exciting for the latter.
In the 1-1 draw in Lisbon there is precisely only the result to save, insufficient to detach the pass but useful to avoid a sensational reshuffling of cards, however possible also in light of the calendar, which on November 22nd will see Juve against Barcelona (not qualified yet) and the Portuguese at home with Olympiacos.
Roma's 3-0 win over Chelsea, on the other hand, is a real triumph, especially with Atletico Madrid again held equal by Qarabag: now qualification is really close (just one point missing), and from first in the standings.
In short, a double-faced evening for the Italians, even if Juve, on balance, prevented their Halloween from really becoming a night of witches. Sporting took the lead with Bruno Cesar (20'), Higuain responded in the final (78'), in the midst of a bad performance by Allegri's team, far from the glittering version promised on the eve.
"It's a pity for the draw because we had the possibility of closing the pass and that was not the case - he explained in the press conference - The speech was very simple, we had to win here to close the games, obviously we are a team that needs fear to make the right performance. Except only the result”.
In short, a gloomy climate, the exact opposite of that of Rome, where instead the consecration of the yellow and reds among the greats of Europe is celebrated. The 3-0 victory over Chelsea champions of England will remain in the history of the club just like the eventual overcoming of a group which, on the eve, seemed almost impossible.
Instead, Roma are not only about to pass it (only one point is missing from the appeal) but they are doing it from the front door, or from a first place that would rightfully take the company name. On the shields El Shaarawy, author of a brace (1' and 36'), Perotti (63') and Di Francesco, the true deus ex machina of an increasingly competitive and ambitious Rome, even better than the one left by Spalletti.
“I don't have any revenge to take, I believe in my job and in the boys – his words – I knew that we could have hurt him after the restart, but also that we would have had to suffer a bit. We are improving, but it is a starting point. The boys have understood my game and now we are reaping the fruits”.
Nothing to save instead for Conte's Chelsea, if not the help arrived from Qarabag, once again capable of stopping Simeone's Atletico Madrid, moreover at his home. Thanks to Wanda Metropolitano's 1-1 draw, the Blues remain second and with great chances of qualifying, but the bad impression remains and risks further complicating the coach's already difficult relationship with part of the locker room (David Luiz, Fabregas and Hazard no longer find each other in his methods) and, above all, with Abramovich, already rather annoyed by the mediocre position in the Premier League.
"I'm very disappointed, they were hungrier and deserved the victory - his bitter analysis - Unfortunately we started the season with ups and downs, if we want to be competitive we have to find the stability and anger of last season".
After yesterday's evening, it's time to focus on today's. The highlight will move to San Paolo, where Napoli will have to contend with Guardiola's super Manchester City. Very delicate match: in addition to prestige, there are heavy points at stake in terms of qualification.
In fact, the defeat against Shakhtar significantly affects the standings, especially with Feyenoord who do not quit from 0: in short, losing against City could condition the race for the round of XNUMX, with the Azzurri forced to win the next two and rely on to the results of the other fields.
“I already said it some time ago, the decisive match will be the one against Shakhtar – glossed over Sarri. – Having said that, scoring points would give us a good advantage, we will try but to succeed we will need to get into the game immediately. City are not unbeatable, nobody is, but they are the best team in Europe coached by the greatest of them all”.
Honey words for Guardiola, but there will be no room for ceremonial on the pitch but only for the desire to win. Napoli will try with the classic 4-3-3 with Reina in goal, Hysaj, Albiol, Koulibaly and Ghoulam in defense, Zielinski, Diawara and Hamsik in midfield, Callejon, Mertens and Insigne in attack.
City, in an attempt to get 3 points that would mathematically take them to the round of 4, will respond with a super offensive 1-4-1-XNUMX with Ederson between the posts, Walzer, Stones, Otamendi and Delph in the back, Fernandinho in the midfield, Sterling , De Bruyne, David Silva and Sané in the frontline behind lone striker Aguero.
