Everything as expected. Saturday night in Serie A didn't give any surprises, fully confirming the expectations of the eve. Napoli obtains a second place which is worth direct access to the Champions League, Sassuolo a sixth which could give Europe (only if Juve wins the Italian Cup), Higuain the historic record for league goals (36, one in more than Nordahl), Roma applause for an important bronze medal. To cry, as often in recent years, is Milan, especially in its Rossoneri part. If Inter, in fact, despite the bad impression, had already defined their goals, this is not the case for Milan, clearly beaten by Roma and relegated to seventh place in the standings. The Europa League only hangs on the Italian Cup final: a possibility, of course, but linked to a victory against Juve that would be truly sensational. In any case, the cover rightfully belongs to Gonzalo Higuain's Napoli, both for the return to the Champions League and for a record destined to go down in history. Nordahl's 35 goals had lasted for 66 years but were powerless against the 36 of this extraordinary striker, a true driver of the blue team. In the 4-0 against Frosinone his signature is at the bottom: two paws in front of goal (52 'and 62') and a spectacular acrobatic turn, perfect for toasting the history of him and all of Italian football (71 '). Instead, it was Hamsik (44') who unlocked the match, good at unhinging the proud Ciociara defence, capable of resisting at the San Paolo for almost a time. Even Roma, despite a second round superior to their opponents, had to surrender to the evidence: the preliminary round of the Champions League cannot really be avoided.
However, the Giallorossi end up with applause, just like the ones that rained down from the San Siro stands. The Milanese people, resigned in the face of yet another failure, preferred to pay homage to their opponents rather than challenge their players, perhaps in the hope that the final blow could arrive at the Olimpico in a week's time. But if the Rossoneri are unable to transform themselves, all of this will simply be impossible: yesterday too the team appeared very far from the values of the big names, much more than it was with Mihajlovic just two months ago. Roma thanked and took the stage with an excellent performance, topped off with 3 goals and many, many, chances. Salah (19'), El Shaarawy (59', highly applauded by his old fans) and Emerson (82', first center in Serie A) gave Spalletti another satisfaction, while in Milan there is little to report except yet another goal by Bacca (86'), someone who deserves to play in decidedly superior contexts. This is how Sassuolo takes sixth place, testifying that planning and serenity always take you far. The Europa League is not yet certain but Di Francesco will certainly be able to watch the final of the Italian Cup with a clear conscience. The opposite of Inter, forced to end the season with a bad defeat. At the Mapei Stadium there were goals and entertainment almost exclusively thanks to the merits of the hosts. Politano took care of opening and closing the dance, first by exploiting a deviation from Murillo (subsequently expelled for protesting), then with a nice header to beaten Carrizo (39 '). In between the goals of Pellegrini (26') and Palacio (31') and the long face of Mancini, increasingly undecided about his future. “I have to talk to the club to understand what the objectives and the paths to take will be – he explained at the press conference. – In football you never know, sometimes strange things happen and every year there are some surprises”. Just the ones that didn't arrive yesterday, on an evening that followed the most logical possible script.
