Inter calls, Napoli answers. Sunday in Serie A went smoothly, unlike a Saturday that was marked by the slowdown of the big teams. Yesterday, however, there were no surprises, so much so that the most spectacular match was the one between Bologna and Rome, cancel each other out with a decidedly pyrotechnic 2-2. Inter and Napoli, as previously mentioned, did their duty against Venice (1-0) and Verona (2-0), postponing any twists to the next episodes.
Napoli – Verona 2-0: Conte remains at +4 on Inter
Il Napoli had to win at all costs for reasons of standings (respond to Inter and take advantage of Atalanta's misstep), environmental reasons (the Kvaratskhelia case is creating bad feelings and controversy) and pure revenge. Yes, because the ugly defeat at the Bentegodi (3-0 on the first day) had never gone down well with anyone, let alone Conte, someone who, by his own admission, is obsessed with success even when he plays cards with his daughter. Mission accomplished at the end of a lively and entertaining match, especially in a first half that was more hard-fought than expected. The Azzurri had the merit of unlocking it almost immediately thanks to a Montipò's own goal, unlucky in deflecting with his back a shot from Di Lorenzo that had crashed on the post (5'). The match was easy and Napoli were close to doubling their lead several times with Anguissa, Lukaku, McTominay (twice), but Hellas also knew how to sting on the counterattack, creating problems for Meret with Tengstedt and Sarr.
In the second half, however, there was no more game, because Conte's men raised the revs of the engine, forcing Zanetti to 45' in a state of apnea. McTominay and Rrahmani flirted with the goal without success, then Anguissa thought about it to beat Montipò with a long-range rocket, finding the 2-0 worry-free. Important success, which allows the Azzurri to remain at +4 on Inter (but on Wednesday Inzaghi will play the recovery match against Bologna) and gain 2 points on Atalanta, the next opponent in the direct clash next Saturday (in the meantime the Goddess will have also faced Juve), as well as putting aside, at least for a few hours, the Kvara issue. Maradona, with the exception of a nice banner ("do you want to compare the 'cuzzetiello' to the baguette?"), has not taken a position, perhaps in the hope that the case can be resolved. Difficult, not impossible: in the market, after all, nothing is.
Conte: “Kvara? I am disappointed by the situation, but his farewell is not a given”
“We are growing a lot, I also see how the boys train and how certain mechanisms work, it is a source of satisfaction for me – the comment of Tale -. There is more confidence and self-esteem, then I am happy to see that the whole squad is involved, especially now that we have had some important defections. After Buongiorno's KO I heard everything about Juan Jesus, who instead is proving to be reliable, then I am also happy for Spinazzola who had a difficult start and is now responding. Kvara? I want to emphasize that I am not disappointed by him or the club, but by the situation because I was unable to change it. Maybe I was also a bit presumptuous because I thought I would have a bigger impact, but I didn't succeed. It's a shame because we are talking about a strong, important player, but we also need to understand the reality of the facts. Having said that, today Khvicha is a Napoli player, let's not forget that because there are steps to take in the event that someone wants to buy him, nothing is a given. We'll see what happens".
Venice – Inter 0-1: Inzaghi overtakes Atalanta with a goal from Darmian
Important victory also for Inzaghi's Inter, that conquers Venice with a Darmian goal and moves up to second place in the standings, with one game less than Atalanta. The climb objective continues, also because Wednesday will be the first of the two recoveries against Bologna (the one with Fiorentina, however, will not arrive before February) and the Nerazzurri could also get threateningly close to Napoli. The challenge at the Penzo, just as predicted on the eve, was not at all a foregone conclusion, in fact Di Francesco's team gave Inzaghi's team more than a few shivers, once again unable to close the game with one of the many chances they had. Busio's post (74') made Inter tremble, as did Doumbia's header and Pohjanpalo's shot, both saved by Sommer. Previously, however, the Nerazzurri had come close to doubling the lead several times, but the excellent Stankovic (probably returning to base at the end of the season) had closed the shutter, allowing Venezia to stay alive. And to think that the Darmian's goal came after just 16', leaving one to expect a comfortable victory, despite the many absences and the possible after-effects of the Super Cup. Instead Inzaghi had to suffer, but in the end he took home 3 very important points, perhaps even fundamental for the Scudetto. Yes, because the next few days could mark a turning point: Inter will face Bologna and Empoli at San Siro, at the same time as Atalanta-Juventus and, above all, Atalanta-Napoli. The calendar smiles, but it can only be exploited by winning and Inzaghi's Nerazzurri are quite good at this.
Inzaghi: “Important victory. The criticism? When we lose we make news”
"It wasn't easy after the final that we played and lost in that way – he explained Inzaghi -. The boys were great, we came here tired, bruised and with several absences, but we played a great game. In the second half we could have doubled the score, and if you don't close out the games at the end you can take risks, but we found a great Stankovic who made great saves. These guys give it their all in the best way, we won and that's what we wanted. We make the news when we lose, so it means we've improved a lot and that we've built a lot in these years. The last defeat hurt and stings, but we're not looking for excuses and we're looking ahead. In the league we've scored 43 points in 18 games, but there are other teams that are keeping up with us, we have to continue like this and keep the pressure away. Frattesi? I count on him a lot, he is fully into the project. He would like more space, but he knows there is a lot of competition. The rumors about an alleged fight with me? Absolutely not, just a long chat. If I were him I would stay at Pinetina…”.
Bologna – Roma 2-2: a Dovbyk penalty in injury time saves Ranieri
A step back for Roma, even if the Bologna draw, in light of how it came about, Ranieri is better off than ItalianoThe match, in fact, seemed destined to end with a victory for the Emilians, but with the last available ball the Giallorossi earned the penalty for 2-2. Defeat avoided, in short, and this is the only good news of the evening: this point, according to the standings, is really of little use, while it certainly does good on a moral level. A strange match at the Dall'Ara, blocked for almost an hour and suddenly uncorked, almost as if it were a bottle of sparkling wine. The balance-breaking goal he signed it Saelemaekers (58') and it seemed to make the road to the first away win of the season easier. Nothing could be more wrong, because from then on it was Bologna took the stage, capable not only of finding the equaliser, but even of overturn the challenge with Dallinga's goals (61') and Ferguson (65' on penalty). Terrifying one-two, capable of knocking down teams much more solid than Roma, even if the rossoblu should have scored the 3-1 and definitively closed the game. Instead they didn't do it, despite many potential situations that could have been exploited better: Ranieri remained in the game and with the final whistle still to go he struck. A decisive touch with the arm by Lucumì following a corner, which Abisso transformed into strictness: on the disk it went Dovbyk and Roma grabbed a draw which now seemed unachievable.
Ranieri: “Good for not giving up! Frattesi? You can’t spend all that money”
“I didn't understand the opponents' protests, there was a penalty – he underlined Ranieri -. When the boys give their all I'm happy, the the team doesn't give up and I like that, when you fight to the end the players always deserve praise. We definitely lacked speed of execution, too many balls back, we are a much more lively team than that. I'm a little disappointed about that, I don't want the team to play with this slow rhythm. We had a good approach in the first half, then we allowed Bologna to counterattack and they punished us: we were good at bringing home a point, regardless of the result, those who came on did so with the right determination. Frattesi? There's nothing definite yet, but honestly you can't spend that much money. My future? Let me finish this season and then we’ll see…”.