Crazy Saturday. The advances of the fourth day offered repetitive spectacle and twists, with sensational results destined to be talked about for several days. To dominate the scene Zlatan Ibrahimovic, hero of a Milan that wins the derby and escapes to the top of the standings alone, but the rest is no joke either. Raise your hand who, on the eve, would have expected Crotone to be able to stop Juventus, that Napoli would be able to pulverize Atalanta, or that Lazio could collapse like that in Genoa against Sampdoria. In short, everything really happened and now, waiting for Roma to complete the tour of the "seven sisters" at the Olimpico against Benevento (20.45 pm), it is time to summarize what happened.
Let's start from the Milan derby, which after more than 4 years of waiting it returns to red and black. The fact that it happened precisely in the year in which it was decided to focus on Ibrahimovic (from the beginning of course) is certainly no coincidence: the Swede, returning after Covid, gave away a sumptuous performance, seasoned with two goals, dozens of useful and, in some cases, difficult plays, but above all a huge heart. However, reducing Milan to just Zlatan would be wrong, as well as ungenerous: 20 consecutive useful results, in fact, cannot depend on a single man, however fundamental. Many merits also go to Pioli, capable of building from the rubble a beautiful, fun and, above all, damned effective team, in which he can change the interpreters (apart from Ibra) without losing the final product.
His Milan knew how to attack Inter from the start, exploiting their defensive weaknesses on both sides, especially on the side of a truly disastrous Kolarov. The Serbian first sent Ibra from the penalty spot for a very avoidable foul (12', the Swede then scored on Handanovic's rebuttal), after which, 4' later, he lost the AC Milan number 11 again for the double. Here it is urgent to move the viewfinder to the other side and ask yourself if Conte, net of the numerous absences, has not made a few too many wrong assessments. Inter's left wing appeared fragile right from the start and confused and also the offensive maneuver, despite Lukaku (his goal from the flag in the 28th minute) and Hakimi in great shape (maluccio instead Lautaro), was not as effective as in the past.
The eight goals conceded in four games are really too many, plus one gets the feeling that the game system doesn't make the most of the squad: the case of Eriksen is emblematic, bubbly with Denmark and ghost in nerazzurri. Corrective measures are urgently needed, just like at Juve, where they have to deal with a bitter draw in Crotone, the second in a row after the one in Rome (the 3-0 win over Naples, as everyone knows, has arrived at the table). But if at the Olimpico there was the extenuating factor of a strong opponent, yesterday, with the utmost respect for Stroppa's team, the same certainly cannot be said. The Bianconeri lacked important players, this is true, but the solution thought up by Pirlo (3-4-2-1 with the surprise Portanova in place of Cuadrado) didn't work, so much so that it was the Calabrians who were the first to unblock it: a foul naive by Bonucci allowed Simy to lead his team to the sensational 1-0 already in the 12th minute.
A good action on the Kulusevski-Chiesa-Morata axis seemed to be able to put things back in order (21', easy tap-in by the Spaniard), but the Lady has never really been able to shift gears, even risking to suffer again. The further complication of an already treacherous match then came in the 60th minute, when referee Fourneau sent off Chiesa for a foul on Cigarini: an ingenuity that will cost Pirlo dearly, who will be in even more emergency against Verona. Here, paradoxically, the best Juve was seen there, just as already happened in Rome after Rabiot's red light, with the post hit by Morata and a goal by the Spaniard himself canceled for an offside by centimeters. Looking at the bianconeri one almost thinks it was a good thing (for them of course) that Napoli didn't show up in Turin, because the Azzurri currently seem much more on the ball.
The victories against Parma and Genoa weren't enough to dispel any doubts, but yesterday's 4-1 win over Atalanta is a completely different story. Gattuso's team has literally asphalted Gasperini's eleven, an almost impossible feat for anyone, at least in these ways. On the other hand, only one time was enough for Napoli, concluded with a poker signed by a reborn Lozano (brace), Politano and the overflowing Osimhen, one of the best signings in the championship so far. The Nigerian increases the potential of a large and varied squad, not to be underestimated in terms of the championship. Gasperini, on the other hand, returned home with a defeat that will have to make him think: it's good to make a turnover in view of the Champions League but perhaps, considering that Wednesday's opponent will be Midtjylland, it could also have been done to a lesser extent.
Exactly that it doesn't concern Inzaghi, forced to jump through hoops to send a credible Lazio onto the field, unfortunately for him without succeeding. The 3-0 win in Genoa against Sampdoria by the "Romanist" Ranieri officially opens the Biancoceleste crisis, but the faults, rather than the coach, seem to lie with the club, incapable of reinforcing the team properly. Goals from Quagliarella, Augello and Damsgaard have definitively exposed the limits of the squad, so much so that Tuesday's away match in Dortmund, rather than arousing joy for a goal pursued for years, creates even more discontent and worries. The Saturday of the championship thus goes on file with a distorted classification, which he sees Milan only in command with full points, just like with Capello in the 1995/96 season. Another team and other times, God forbid, but listening to Ibrahimovic (“we believe in the Scudetto” he thundered after the derby) one would not think…
