The race continues. Milan also wins in Genoa and consolidates the lead in the standings with 26 points, 5 ahead of Inter and 6 ahead of Napoli and Juventus. Complicated success for the Rossoneri and not only due to the solidity of Sampdoria, confirmed to be tough to beat. In fact, the tiredness of the post Europa League and, above all, the absences of Ibrahimovic and Kjaer, to which was added that of Bennacer, also weigh. But the leaders have long shown that they are a team, capable of overcoming difficulties with game organization and heart, as well as with the right maturity. Winning dirty matches, as we know, makes the difference between a good ranking and an excellent one, the rest, in addition to the plays of the champions, can only be done by the group, led very well by Stefano Pioli.
“I told the boys that we are a real team, it was the first time we played without Ibra, Kjaer and Bennacer, and these are the most difficult matches after the cups – commented Pioli – The best quality of this group is that it takes advantage of all situations, even the negative ones, to prove its worth. We want to win every game, we know it won't be possible, but we must have the enthusiasm to face every match."
Dirty and very important victory for Marassi, propitiated by Kessié's penalty at the end of the first half (45'): Jankto's arm, as naive as it is clean, unlocked a difficult and balanced match, in which every ball was sweated by start to finish. In the second half Ranieri, just like last Monday in Turin, turned the team around with a couple of substitutions (which became three before the 60th minute) and Sampdoria entered the field with a different attitude, putting Milan in difficulty. However, as it was inevitable that it was, he began to find some more space: in one of these there was the goal by Castillejo (77'), who came on a few seconds earlier in place of Saelemaekers, to take advantage of an assist from Rebic and beat Audero. Closed game? Not a chance. Sampdoria made it 1-2 with Ekdal (82'), after which they caused a huge thrill in the last action of the match: unfortunately for them (and obviously Milan's luck) Ekdal's header, this time, was finished high, thus sanctioning the victory of the Rossoneri.
Important success also for Napoli, which buries Crotone under an avalanche of goals and gives himself third place in the standings, on an equal footing with Juve. A good test that of the Azzurri, against a team that played much more than the final result says. In fact, in the first half, the Calabrians put Napoli in difficulty several times, forcing Ospina to make a good save and bridling Gattuso's game, at least until quality took the lead. Insigne's goal (31'), propitiated by a great play by Zielinski, broke the balance and when Petriccione, at the start of the second half, got sent off for a foul on Demme, the match went downhill . Lozano's goal (58') closed it, before Demme (76') and Petagna (91') definitively rounded up the result, signing the blue poker.
“Matches are all difficult, especially in Serie A, congratulations to the team for how they dealt with it – the analysis of Gattuso – I think the result is a lie, Crotone put us in difficulty, we took advantage when there were ten left. Now let's move on to Thursday, with Real Sociedad we'll play for the first goal of the season, something important against a difficult opponent".
A draw without a goal instead in the match between Roma and Sassuolo, in defiance of all the predictions of the eve. It was reasonable to expect a match full of entertainment, but the match turned out to be gluey and blocked, partly due to the rain that fell on the Olimpico lawn, partly due to Pedro's expulsion in the 41st minute, who 'he inevitably conditioned (following the episode, Fonseca was also kicked out for protests). Also noteworthy is a goal disallowed on both sides (Mkhitaryan for a foul by Dzeko, Haraslin for offside), a missed red card for Obiang and a possible penalty for a touch with Ayhan's arm on a Pellegrini cross. In short, there were no goals but there was certainly no shortage of controversy.
“I didn't like the refereeing, I don't understand Pedro's first foul, how can a yellow card be given in this situation – he growled Fonseca – Afterwards I think about Obiang's foul and the penalty not given, I can understand that the referee can't see, but today the Var is there… I'm very proud of the team, we played a very good game even with one man down. We had the main chances to score goals, always maintaining a good defensive organization, without giving Sassuolo opportunities."
Instead, Udinese-Atalanta was not played: the pouring rain, in fact, made it impossible to carry out the match, forcing the referee La Penna to postpone it to a later date (we'll talk about it in January). Better for the people from Bergamo, who were thus able to rest in view of Amsterdam, a little less for the Lega Calcio, forced to deal with yet another unexpected event this season.
