An Epiphany colored in red and black. And the Milan, in fact, the big winner of the championship Thursday, thanks to the 3-1 on Rome which shortens the standings at the top (Inter, however, did not play), but above all it allows you to earn points on all those behind. While waiting for Atalanta and Fiorentina, also stopped by the ASL, Pioli's team increases its advantage over Naples, Juventus, Rome and Lazio (3-3 at the Olimpico against Empoli), all in a round that presented quite complicated, in light of the numerous absences between Covid and the African Cup. In fact, the other great challenge of the day between the black and whites and the blues ended 1-1, a result that is more convenient for the seconds given the starting situation, but also by virtue of a ranking that forced Allegri to look for the 3 points much more what Spalletti.
In short, in the most fragmented round of the entire championship, Milan knew how to seize the opportunity, making the clash with Mourinho's Roma their own. The controversies, as expected, were not lacking, given that the Portuguese, just like in the first leg, thundered against the referee and the Var, guilty of having conceded two penalties to the Rossoneri and none to him. He is the first, in particular, to have made Mou angry, but the match, episodes aside, said that the final result is right. Too Milan is superior from all points of view, even with a very experimental defense (the central couple was made up of Kalulu and Gabbia) and with a midfield without Kessié, in Cameroon for the African Cup.
But Pioli's is a real team, capable of making up for absences with tactical organization and a spirit of sacrifice, while Mourinho, at the moment, hasn't yet managed to give a precise physiognomy to his Roma, too tied to single players' plays. The Rossoneri took the lead with the aforementioned penalty, born of a touch with Abraham's arm on a Hernandez shot: the spot went Giroud, scored again after two and a half months of abstinence (8'). In the 17th minute here is the photograph of the match, with Ibanez giving the ball to Milan with a crazy back pass and Messiah to sign the 2-0, after Giroud himself had hit the post with a sure blow.
It seemed the prelude to an easy, even round victory, but Roma, despite playing in a confused way, began to sting, teasing Maignan with Zaniolo and Abraham, before the Englishman found the 2-1 goal by deflecting Pellegrini's shot (40'). In the second half, the French goalkeeper was once again the protagonist with a couple of screaming saves, but woe to think that the Rossoneri put themselves in a corner to suffer: the two crossbars from Diaz and Florenzi, combined with the 3-1 Lion (82'), legitimized the final victory, which was limited to a two-goal difference only because Ibra missed the poker penalty in full stoppage time. Roma comes out with broken bones also in view of the next match against Juve, scheduled for Sunday at the Olimpico, because in addition to the 3 points they also lost two very important men like Karsdorp e Mancini, both expelled.
Allegri will try to take advantage of this, but it is clear that his team will have to do more than yesterday, when they ended up suffering a Napoli ultra-reworked, thus finding himself satisfied with the final 1-1. The opportunity to shorten the standings from a Champions point of view was tempting but the Lady, after the first 10', was never able to step on the accelerator, instead finding herself watching the dribble of the Azzurri, who were more proactive and dangerous for a long time. However, the real collective success was taking the field, given that the premises were far from good, between local health authorities ready to intervene and convict buffers.
The umpteenth twist came around 20pm when Napoli released the official formation, in which Zielinski, Lobotka and Rrahmani stood out, all on the pitch despite the warning from the Local Health Authority, who wanted them in quarantine for not having yet undergoing the third dose of vaccine. However, the Azzurri, strengthened by the protocol signed between the FIGC and the government in 2020 (footballers, if negative, can interrupt isolation to play and train), have decided to deploy them anyway, also because the sanction, provided it is imposed, is administrative "only".
The result was to see a competitive Napoli in the starting eleven, even if very limited in substitutions: more than enough to stop this Juve, who once again appeared scholastic and predictable, incapable of attacking their opponent beyond a few inevitable occasions. And so the Azzurri, after taking the lead with Mertens (23'), they even stroked the feat, before surrendering to the shot of Church, by far the best of the black and whites, who found the equal in the 54th minute. Juve's problem is nothing new, it continues to be the offensive phase, too poor to aspire to top positions: Morata does not sting, Dybala, Kean and Kulusevski, who entered later, not even, not to mention a midfield valid only in interdiction phase, but completely devoid of flashes in the goal area.
In short, the 1-1 final is the product of a Napoli in mid-service and a Juve with 6 on their report card, forced to face their opponents always and only in the restart. The market could change some things, but it will hardly upset the balance of a championship which, chaos by Covid permitting (yesterday the League announced legal action against interference from the ASL), now seems to have drawn up its hierarchies.
