Napoli joins Juve. So next Wednesday it will be the Azzurri who will contest the Cup against the Bianconeri, for the first major event of the season: a heartfelt revival on both sides, with the challenge between Sarri and De Laurentiis in the foreground. All this was possible thanks to a 1-1 draw at San Paolo, which combined with the first leg victory allowed Gattuso to win the Italian Cup final, the second of his career as a coach, again against Juve. So nothing to do for Inter, whose dreams of a comeback were shattered by Ospina's boxing gloves, the star of a decidedly chiaroscuro evening.
In fact, the Colombian goalkeeper of Napoli had started very badly by propitiating the Eriksen's goal even from a corner kick, being surprised by an insidious but still manageable trajectory (3'). The Nerazzurri thus found themselves in the lead at the start of the match, effectively eliminating the first leg defeat. An ideal scenario which, combined with Conte's proverbial charge, gave wings to their offensive pressure, forcing Napoli to suffer even more than expected. However, Ospina's redemption began there, who first saved a header from Lukaku (32'), then performed a miracle on Candreva (40'), finally propitiated Mertens' equalizer with a remote-controlled postponement on the feet of Insigna, in his once good at cutting Inter's defense (or what was left of it) in two and serving the Belgian for an impossible-to-miss tap-in (41').
Dries-Ciro thus scored his 122nd goal with the blue shirt, thus becoming the best scorer in the club's history, ahead of Hamsik and a certain Maradona: the fact that the gem came against that Inter who could have been his new team, well, can only increase the pleasure of his people. In any case, the draw woke Napoli from their torpor, simultaneously deflating Inter's enthusiasm. In fact, the second half saw Gattuso's Azzurri much more in the game, while Conte's men ran around the field without however being able to find the key to the problem.
In the 72nd minute the Nerazzurri coach took off an evanescent Lautaro Martinez (by the way: market rumors aren't doing him any good...) for Sanchez and the move worked. The Chilean came close to scoring with a shot just wide (75'), then Eriksen needed a penalty on the move that only a great Ospina was able to counter, before Moses shot wide from an excellent position (82'). This was the last thrill of a fun (more than Juventus-Milan on Friday, even if it didn't take much...) and hard-fought match, which ended with a party from a Napoli ready to fight for the first trophy of the season.
“I want to thank the whole football world that has been close to me, I dedicate the result to my parents and my sister to which I was very close – the words of a moved Gattuso -. We gave away the first goal, it wasn't Ospina's fault but the whole front line, but then we freed ourselves a bit. Now a difficult final awaits us, we will face a team used to winning, made up of great champions, with a certain mentality. We can play for it, but it will take a great game to win." On the other hand, a lot of disappointment for Conte, forced to say goodbye to one of the goals of the season, albeit at the end of a game that was at times cohabiting, in which he probably deserved something more.
“In terms of performance, I have very little to reproach the boys, in the two matches we deserved much more than Napoli: Ospina was the man of the match – confirmed the Nerazzurri coach. – The goal conceded is a lightness to avoid but this is the path we have taken, this is the football we want. I see the glass as half full, we've created a lot, even if I'm sorry for the boys who deserved to play in the final. Napoli played a closed game, it's never easy for midfielders to find the pocket, but despite their defensive attitude we created a lot. In the end the numbers say that we had 17 shots on goal and their goalkeeper made 10 saves: these are facts…”.
Yes, yet Napoli will contend for the Cup against Juventus in the grand final on Wednesday, albeit in an unusually empty Olimpico. Gattuso will thus have the opportunity to avenge the defeat of 2018, when his Milan made up for a 0-4 without appeal, but in front there will be a fierce Sarri who is determined to win the first trophy on the black and white bench. And the fact that he has to try it against his favorite team is just another joke of this strange, not to say crazy, sport called football.
