Napoli wins the play-off, Milan stops again. The direct clash at San Siro gives the Azzurri victory, more cynical in exploiting one of the few opportunities they had, and leaves the Rossoneri with a bitter taste, son of a heavy knockout both in terms of ranking and morale. Inter are thus crowned winter champions with a match to spare, thanks also to Salerno's victory on Friday: now the points against the Diavolo are 4, just like against Napoli, while those against Atalanta are even 6.
A nice advance, especially daughter of Rossoneri collapse, passed in the space of a month from a derby of the possible + 10 to this gap in the standings, and moreover within a few weeks. Inzaghi's credit is all there, but it is inevitably linked to the collapse of Pioli, forced to deal with yet another defeat of this period, the third, between the championship and the cup, of the last 7 games.
Spalletti, on the other hand, can rejoice, because his Napoli found themselves at their most difficult moment, when a breath of wind was enough to blow them away from the fight for the Scudetto: instead the blues showed the attributes, taking a very heavy success both in terms of points and morale. It wasn't a good game, at least in terms of entertainment: Milan and Napoli, if anything, beat each other up in terms of intensity, trying to hit each other with their respective weapons. However, the Azzurri had the merit of unlocking it immediately and this, in such a balanced match, ended up making the difference, even if the teams perhaps did not think that Elmas's header would have been the only goal of the match (5').
La paw of the Macedonian, on the other hand, decided the match, because Milan, despite a good reaction, never managed to make themselves truly dangerous, limiting themselves to a header from Ibrahimovic, a shot from Messias just wide and a goal disallowed Kessié for an offside by Giroud, which sparked numerous controversies.
“I would like to know how Giroud, lying on the ground, could have caused damage to Juan Jesus – the comment is ironicwith Pioli -. The referee referred to Atalanta-Roma, but Palomino intervened there, while Olivier did nothing because he was lying down…. As far as performance is concerned, we are not tired and we have shown it, of course we could have had more quality, but in terms of aggression and dynamism we played one of the best games of the season: we lacked the winning play and we made a few too many wrong choices".
Spalletti is in a completely different mood, delighted to have conquered Milan after the last two consecutive defeats. “We held up well, played as a great team and even had more chances than Milan to go up 2-0 – the words of the blue coach -. We fought, made a short team block and everyone did something for Napoli, without asking for anything but making themselves available to achieve results after two defeats that were in some ways undeserved. It was important because when confidence and enthusiasm fade, heavy shirts like ours become leaden".
In short, Napoli is enjoying itself a heavy victory, while Milan sinks to minus 4 from Inter, certifying the difficulties shown in the last period, in which they have gone from a possible escape to an obligatory chase. The Azzurri, on the other hand, despite having the same points, can smile, because they have shown that they are solid and tough, as well as richer both in terms of numbers and solutions.
Of course, Elmas' goal after just 5' of play helped, in the sense that the Rossoneri, at that point, were forced to overbalance, allowing Spalletti's to close up and restart, but the basic feeling remains of a superior team. even if it would be nice to see Milan, sooner or later, with all (or almost all) players available. In any case, the market could still give a hand, but the feeling is that Pioli must first of all look in the infirmary, hoping to get more players back as soon as possible. On Wednesday, for example, there will be the away match in Empoli, a commitment that is anything but easy, after Inter-Turin and in cohabitation with Napoli-Spezia. Complicated match, in which it will be necessary to score points at all costs, otherwise the Scudetto dream, kept alive until now, could die out even before the Christmas holidays.
