A Champions League more fought than ever. The 34th day certifies, in addition to the Inter championship, all the pathos of the race for Europe that counts, subject to jolts and twists game after game. After this round the balances change again, with the Milan which falls into the group at the expense of the Napoli, sensationally stopped by Cagliari with a goal in full stoppage time. Me too'Atalanta however, with Reggio Emilia's equal, it can no longer sleep peacefully, sucked into the tussle together with all the others. The current standings see four teams in two points, but watch out for Lazio: with the virtual victory over Turin, in fact, he would hook Napoli.
However, this championship is teaching us not to take anything for granted, because easy matches simply no longer exist. There Juventus, for example, won in Udine, but struggled beyond any logical expectation, so much so that in the 83rd minute the result was 1-0 for Gotti's team, who already took the lead in the 10th minute with Molina, quick to take advantage of a nap in the black and white defense. But then, when everything seemed over (including the Pirlo cycle, which in the event of a defeat would almost certainly have been exonerated), Cristiano Ronaldo magically reappeared, up until then a non-paying spectator of the match. The Portuguese, dry for 4 games and very nervous, hoisted the team on his shoulders, first converting the equalizer penalty (83', hand ball by De Paul), then finding the 2-1 with a header : the unbridled exultation says a lot about how much this game meant, for him and for his teammates.
“An important victory, arrived with effort and pride, we complicated our lives with carelessness, but there was a great desire to bring home the result and this is the most important thing – the analysis by Pirlo – The group is there, it's strong, it wants to fight and achieve its goals. On certain occasions we missed out on mentality and it's not like Juventus, but the final hug shows that we wanted to win. We must continue in this spirit until the end."
Juve clinging to the Champions area, also thanks to the missteps of Atalanta and Naples. Crazy matches those of Mapei Stadium and Maradona, full of twists and turns from start to finish. For Gasperini's Nerazzurri, the first came in the 23rd minute with the expulsion of Gollini, which left his team outnumbered for an ill-advised outing on Boga. Yet the Bergamo players still managed to take the lead with the usual Gosens, author of the tenth goal in the league (32 '), but Sassuolo inevitably suffered, so much so that they were equalized at the start of the second half by Berardi, very cold in converting a penalty (52'). The same cannot be said of Muriel, who in the 77th minute had the ball to cancel Inter's party, but above all to send the Goddess to the Champions League: however, the Colombian let himself be hypnotized by Consigli and the result, despite the expulsion of Marlon, has not changed since.
“We tried to win but it was a complicated match – commented by Gasperini – The referee? Better think about the next races, we're all there, let's see what happens…".
A Napoli instead everything seemed to go smoothly for Gattuso, who took the lead after just 13 'with the usual Osimhen. But the too many mistakes in front of goal, combined with an always dangerous Cagliari (Meret was extraordinary on at least three occasions), meant that the match remained in the balance until the end, with the consequence that in the 95th minute, on a through ball from Duncan, the rossoblù draw with Nandez has arrived. Now the Champions League is seriously at risk again, both for the ground lost against those in front and for that gained by those chasing.
La Lazio in fact he continues to run, even if the 4-3 draw against Genoa was far from peaceful. And to think that the Biancocelesti seemed firmly in control already after the first half, closed on 2-0 thanks to goals from Correa (30') and Immobile from a penalty (43'). At the beginning of the second half, Marusic's own goal (47') seemed to be able to reopen the game, but a minute later Luis Alberto found the seven with a splendid shot from around, re-establishing the double advantage. Which became triple when Correa found the 4-1 (56'), making one think of a game now over: nothing could be more wrong, because the one-two signed by Scamacca on a penalty (80') and Shomurodov (81') in within a minute he clamorously reopened it, forcing Lazio into a painful finish, which was then averted by victory.
"We are there and we will try until the end, we want to finish in the top four, so win them all until the end - he reiterated Inzaghi – The second round was perfect, in the first leg we lost a few points to make the most of the Champions League round. Now we are here, we will do everything to achieve the goal”.
Now a week off, just to charge the batteries for the next shift, ennobled by a Juventus-Milan that tastes so much like a playoff. As long as the others don't run into some trap, which happens quite frequently in this crazy and unpredictable championship.
