Il Milan makes a moveConceiçao's team, revolutionized above all in their playing system, literally walked on the unlucky Udinese, storming the Dacia Arena with a poker without appeal. 4-0 in Udine gives the Rossoneri some breathing space, not so much for what remains of the championship, but for a season finale that will still see the Coppa Italia. Now, however, it is time to think about the 32nd matchday, ready to get into the thick of things with today's matches. Above all Inter-Cagliari (18pm), very important for the championship, but also Juventus-Lecce (20.45pm), decidedly delicate both with regards to the race for the Champions League and salvation.
Udinese – Milan 0-4: Conceiçao storms the Dacia Arena with Leao, Pavlovic, Hernandez and Reijnders
Test passed. Milan's first with the 3-4-3 wanted by Conceiçao went very well, and who knows, it could be the prelude to a over the top season finale. It is probably too late to try to dive back into the race for Europe, but closing with dignity is mandatory regardless, without forgetting the Coppa Italia derby against Inter, where instead there is still a nice stakes at stake. Of course, yesterday's Udinese seemed like a very small team and further confirmation will be needed to talk about a turning point, but in the meantime the Devils can enjoy one of their best performances of the season. The first chance came after just 20 seconds thanks to a mix-up between Bijol and Kristensen that opened the way for Reijnders, but the Dutchman was hypnotized by Okoye and missed the 0-1. The Rossoneri tried to push Udinese into their own half, but they failed to create significant danger and in the 33rd minute the home team came close to taking the lead on the counterattack: Ehizibue's right-footed shot from a tight angle was powerful, but Maignan stretched out and cleared the danger. The pressure from Conceiçao's boys increased in the final minutes and In the 42nd minute it was Leao who unlocked it: ball recovered by Fofana from a naive Lucca, ball to the Portuguese and great right foot shot under the crossbar.Udinese felt the blow and the Rossoneri have doubled even before the break with pavlovic, good at beating Okoye following a corner (45+1').
The recovery opened with the big fear for Maignan after a violent clash in the air with Jimenez, which fortunately lasted only a handful of minutes: the goalkeeper was carried off on a stretcher to the applause of the Dacia Arena, which was far from expected after the skirmishes the day before. Udinese tried to be a bit more threatening than in the first 45 minutes, but the Friulian maneuver was cumbersome and without any real outlets. Milan had a good chance with Reijnders in the 69th minute and in the 74th minute he closed it with Theo Hernandez, author of a great left-footed shot to the near post that Okoye could do nothing about. Reijnders then put the seal on it in the 81st minute, collecting an assist from Leao from two steps away. The Milan can finally smile and look with a little more confidence to the season finale, where he could still have something to say.
Conceiçao: “The three-man defense is good, we are more protected. Europe? Only results count”
“We had worked on the three-man defense even during the break, this time we focused on this idea with and without the ball, because we finally had a full week to train – he underlined Conceiçao -. So we are more protected, I had good feelings. Now we start thinking about Atalanta, but I saw a balanced team. Maignan's injury? It was a scene that impressed me. There were two of our players on the ground, there was chaos, there was concern… I have to compliment the Udine public who applauded a player who had whistled until a moment before. An incredible gesture, in all my years of football I have seen it very few times. Objective Europe? Let's start thinking day by day, we must not talk about it anymore. Only the results count, let's concentrate on those".
Inter – Cagliari (18pm, Dazn)
After the hangover of Monaco, it's time to get back to thinking about the championship. TheInter by Simone Inzaghi, after all, he just can't afford to slow down, or risk losing ground in that dream called the treble. The challenge with Napoli is electrifying and if it is true that the Champions League has a completely different atmosphere, it is also true that the championship passes precisely from races like this one with the Cagliari, to be won at all costs. Resetting after the emotions of the Allianz Arena will not be easy, but the Nerazzurri will have to do it, otherwise they risk compromising the race for the Scudetto. Inzaghi, obviously, will not be able to ignore theimminent return against Bayern, therefore, despite being aware of today's pitfalls, it will continue with its scientific turnover, sometimes criticized, sometimes praised, depending on the final result. Managing forces becomes fundamental at a time like this, which is why the coach will modify his Inter a bit in all departments. In defense will rest Acerbi, with De Vrij ready to replace him, in midfield Dimarco should be seen again, with Zalewski on the other side to give Carlos Augusto and Darmian some breathing space. In I attack the only safe one of one shirt seems to be Correa, with Lautaro and Arnautovic alternating to give Thuram a breather. The match must be won at all costs, also to take advantage of the time factor: Napoli, in fact, will only take to the field on Monday evening, so a victory today would put a lot of pressure on Conte, just like what happened in Bologna (even if Empoli, evidently, has a much lower difficulty coefficient).
Il Nicola's Cagliari will not give anything away, also because safety, although well underway, has not yet been achieved, but the Nerazzurri, despite the inevitable tiredness, will have on their side the fierce motivation reiterated this week by Marotta, who came out in the open speaking clearly of a treble. Side note: Inter will take to the field with a special shirt, dedicated to the great fan Valentino Rossi. One who knew well how to make dreams come true and who knows, it could be a good omen...
Inter – Cagliari, the probable lineups
Inter Milan (3-5-2): Summer; Bisseck, De Vrij, Bastoni; Zalewski, Frattesi, Calhanoglu, Barella, Dimarco; Arnautovic, Lautaro
On the bench: Martinez, Di Gennaro, Acerbi, Pavard, Darmian, Carlos Augusto, Asllani, Mkhitaryan, Thuram, Correa, Taremi
Coach: Inzaghi
Unavailable: Dumfries, Zielinski
Disqualified: Nobody
Cagliari (3-4-2-1): Caprile; Zappa, Mina, Luperto; Augello, Makoumbou, Adopo, Zortea; Viola, Luvumbo; Small
On the bench: Sherri, Ciocci, Prati, Deiola, Pavoletti, Palomino, Jankto, Kingstone, Gaetano, Felici, Marin, Coman, Obert
Coach: Nicholas
Unavailable: Nobody
Disqualified: Nobody
Juventus – Lecce (20.45pm, Dazn and Sky)
Three games to take the Champions League and maybe, who knows, even the Juventus of the future. Tudor Igor, after his debut against Genoa and the difficult away match in Rome, begins the cycle that could bring him permanently into the top four group, thus increasing the percentages of confirmation. It is no secret that the Croatian coach was hired only to achieve that objective, just as Giuntoli, as admitted in the press conference, would gladly continue with him also next season. But a lot depends on a convincing season finale., because if it is true that the Champions League is absolutely vital, it is also true that a tight qualification would not be enough to continue the project. Tudor's impact so far has been very good, both in terms of results (victory against Genoa, draw in Rome) and play, but now comes the best part. Lecce, Parma and Monza represent an affordable trio, all with the competitors engaged in tiring direct clashes (tomorrow Atalanta-Bologna and Lazio-Roma, on the Easter weekend Milan-Atalanta and Bologna-Inter), which could give the Old Lady a considerable advantage. If this were the case, then the subsequent challenges with Bologna and Lazio would become much less delicate, vice versa they would take on the contours of play-offs and this, around Continassa, nobody wants. Tudor normalized the environment choosing a precise game system (3-4-2-1) and re-establishing formation hierarchies (see Vlahovic and Yildiz), now however he must collect points and definitively close the match. We start from home match against Lecce, coming off three draws and five defeats in the last eight games (the last win was 3-1 against Parma on January 31st): put like that it would seem to be a no-contest, but the challenges against those who play to save themselves, as we know, can always hide pitfalls. Tudor has the task of "normalizing" this evening too, taking another step towards achieving the objective.
Tudor: “Every match is a final, you have to give your all even in training”
“Il group is in shape, worked well – he explained Tudor -. It's a bit of a short week, because we play immediately on Sunday and Saturday and it was different from the previous one. But we worked on everything, coming from a fair, serious and good match. You can still see a bit more confidence and more taste for doing those things and confirming what we did well and working on the aspects where we can still grow. We work from a tactical point of view, but also on the mental side, here every match must be approached like a final, every training session must be done at 100%. A super tough race awaits us and you always play against yourself, everyone will have to give their best to get to victory, only in this way can we grow together. I can say that I work with serious people, I told those who play less that I'm sorry, but we only have one game a week. I told them to put me in difficulty, they are all important. The two forwards are both strong, when we find a little more balance I would like to see them together, it can be done. Koopmeiners? I saw him more lively, more energetic."
Juventus – Lecce, probable formations
Juventus (3-4-2-1): Di Gregorio; Kalulu, Veiga, Kelly; Weah, Locatelli, McKennie, Cambiaso; Nico Gonzalez, Yildiz; Vlahovic
On the bench: Pinsoglio, Daffara, Costa, Rouhi, Savona, Koopmeiners, Douglas Luiz, Conceicao, Kolo Muani
Coach: Tudor
Unavailable: Milik, Bremer, Cabal, Gatti, Perin, Mbangula
Disqualified: Nobody
Lecce (4-2-3-1): Falcone; Guilbert, Gaspar, Baschirotto, Gallo; Coulibaly, Ramadani; Pierotti, Helgason, Morente; Krstovic
On the bench: Fruchtl, Samooja, Veiga, Tiago Gabriel, Jean, Sala, Berisha, Pierret, Kaba, Rafia, N'Dry, Rebic, Burnete, Karlsson, Banda
Coach: Giampaolo
Unavailable: Marchwinski
Disqualified: Nobody
