Second place is always more blue. With yesterday's victory in Turin, Napoli is aggressively approaching the Champions League objective, now only 90' away: in the next round it will be enough to beat Frosinone (already relegated) at the San Paolo to officially return to the European elite. Roma, despite the beautiful victory over Chievo, remains clinging to the mathematical thread but it is clear that only a miracle could change the standings: 3 points against Milan risk not being enough.
“There's still one game left and we can't miss it – thundered Sarri at the press conference. – Against Frosinone I expect a hand from our fans, second place would be a feat and we must hit it at all costs. Only later will we talk about my contract, doing it earlier wouldn't make sense."
Unquestionable concepts those of the blue coach, but he too knows well that the finish line is really one step away. In fact, his Napoli is wonderfully in the friendly basin of the San Paolo, moreover, after a few weeks of decline, he seems to have found the leg of the best times. The approach to the match in Turin was simply perfect, so much so that the result was already 2-0 after just 20'.
To unlock it, ça va sans dire, Gonzalo Higuain, who reached 33 in the league just like Angelillo: now Nordahl is in his sights and to reach him he will need 2 more goals, a more than achievable goal against a Frosinone already relegated to Serie B. After the Pipita fell to Callejon (20', tap in into an empty net following Hamsik's assist) to beat Toro, who found himself alone in the second half thanks to a nice lob from Bruno Peres (66'), for the final 1-2.
However, Rome had done its duty. The Giallorossi, evidently hungry given the lunchtime, had eaten Maran's Chievo in one bite, a non-paying spectator of an event more felt for Totti than for the standings. In fact, the 60 thousand of the Olimpico were all for the Captain, who reached 600 with the yellow and red shirt and ready to sign the renewal within a few days.
However, the match had an important value: a misstep would have extinguished dreams of a comeback even before the end of the day. “We did what we had to, we played this possibility in the best possible way – Spalletti said. – Entering the Champions League without preliminaries would also be much better for the transfer market, but we mustn't experience all of this with stress: our conscience is clear".
That's actually exactly the case, at least as regards the current coach: thinking about the points thrown away in Garcia's management, in fact, many other things would come to mind. With Spalletti, on the other hand, the ride was optimal, so much so that one wondered what would have happened if the team had been entrusted to him sooner. Even yesterday, his Roma proved to have a very precise physiognomy: 4-3-3 all technique, muscle and speed, moreover without giving any point of reference to the opponents.
The first goal came in the 18th minute with Nainggolan (already 6 of his goals in the Spalletti era), the second in the 39th minute with Rudiger, and so the match was already closed even before the break. We had to wait for the exclamation point in the 85th minute, when Totti (entered after just half an hour and literally overwhelmed by the affection of the Olimpico) brushed in a splendid assist for Pjanic, who obviously scored.
A 3-0 that risks not being enough for Roma: Napoli, as previously mentioned, are the absolute masters of their own destiny. However, football teaches that it is good not to take anything for granted, even when it really seems to be.
