Milan takes action, Inter responds. The long-distance duel between the Milanese teams leaves everything unchanged, with the Rossoneri throwing down the gauntlet with the 2-0 over Lazio and the Nerazzurri to respond with a poker in Salerno signed Lautaro. The Scudetto fight is increasingly taking the path of Milan, even if the Naples remains in its wake thanks to the 0-4 in Lecce: a victory that is worth third place, at least until tonight given the very important clash between Atalanta and Juventus, which could further change the hierarchies.
Milan – Lazio 2-0: Pioli rejoices (“won an important match”), Sarri blurts out (“We're not great”)
The clash at San Siro was colored red and black, thanks to a 2-0 scored by the pair Pulisic-Okafor (60' and 88') which confirms Milan at the top of the table, albeit cohabiting with Inter. Decisive, in addition to the markers mentioned above, Leao, author of two assists only to be pushed into the net, demonstrating that the Devil's successes often come from his acceleration.
Pioli can smile, because after going through hell because of the derby he has found a winning and convincing Milan, capable of challenging Inter for the championship lead, also thanks to Sassuolo's coup in midweek.
“We had prepared her to dribble less in the middle of the field and go deeper – Pioli's analysis -. In the first half we stretched ourselves a bit by allowing counterattacks, but in the second we came out very well. It's not easy to play every three days, we have won a difficult match with great merit."
Opposite mood for Sarri, very disappointed for having lost an important and delicate match: his Lazio remains in 14th place, with the possibility of being overtaken by Roma in the event of a victory over Frosinone. “I'm ferociously pissed off with the Serie A league, UEFA and FIFA and the whole gang for this crazy calendar – the Biancoceleste coach blurted out, before shifting the focus to the players and the club -. We are not a great team and we weren't one last year either, we lost by two blows, we don't have the engine capacity of a player who goes at 35 an hour. What if I have endorsed the market? The players I indicated did not arrive, but in 95% of cases this is the case for a coach. We started from plan A, then I had to choose between X and Y."
Salernitana – Inter 0-4, Lautaro absolute star! Inzaghi crowns him: “He is our leader”
Very important success also for Inter, despite the "fair" amount of pressure put on by their Milan cousins. Failure in Salerno would have been detrimental both for the standings and for morale, but the Nerazzurri overcame the Granata obstacle without particular problems, achieving a poker signed Lautaro Martinez: the Argentine, who entered the field in the second half in place of Sanchez in the 55th minute, literally tore the match apart by scoring all four of Inter's goals. And to say that the first half seemed balanced, with Inter playing very strongly and Salernitana growing at a distance, so much so that they even managed to create some problems for the Nerazzurri rearguard. In the second half, however, Inzaghi played the heavy cards, Lautaro first and foremost, finding an even exaggerated scoring spree, all in the name of Toro Lautaro (62', 77', 85' and 89'), perfect to respond to Milan and return to the top of the standings.
"It was a very important victory – explained the Nerazzurri coach -. We did well, we knew it wouldn't be easy at Arechi. In the first 45 minutes we had to score, we created many dangerous situations and we even conceded some, but in the second half we broke the deadlock and everything was easier. Lautaro? He did very well, but all the other attackers were also good."
Lecce – Napoli 0-4, Garcia: “Everyone is returning to their best level, the path is the right one”
Behind Milan there is Napoli, smiling again after the midweek success against Udinese. This time the poker was thrown in Lecce's face, and at home to boot, confirming a team that is increasingly closer to the standards of the (recent) past. Furthermore, the 0-4 of Via del Mare has arrived managing the forces ahead of Real Madrid, the next opponent in the fascinating Champions League face-off, with Osimhen rested for a while and Kvaratskhelia taken off after 58 minutes. Garcia took a risk, but he was right: his Napoli finally seems to be in line with last season's and even the league table, although still improvable, is starting to smile. Lecce's victory saw the signatures of Ostigard (16'), Osimhen (51'), Gaetano (88') and Politano on a penalty (90+4'), thus giving the Azzurri a quiet and (finally!) Saturday serene.
“It was important to win and not concede goals, it was a well managed match– Garcia exulted -. We wanted to start strong, score goals in the first quarter of an hour. We are satisfied with this success, we started the season well, six points out of six, then came that second half against Lazio... I think that now everyone is returning to their best level, they have been back for three games and are helping the team to find more continuity. I was quite calm about the fact that we would win games again because we were playing well, the boys have always shown an important collective. We are on the right path."
Atalanta – Juventus (18pm, Dazn)
The focus shifts to today's matches, starting with the one in Bergamo. In fact, at the Gewiss Stadium, the most fascinating match of Sunday will be staged between the fourth and fifth in the rankings, with the possibility (for both) of climbing to third place. In short, it is a real thing direct clash for the Champions League zone, although many think that Juventus, unlike Atalanta, should not limit themselves to this, especially in a season without European cups. Of course, the Bianconeri, as we will see shortly in the chapter dedicated to the teams, do not arrive at this event in the best possible way, but they still have all it takes to try to win: after the misstep in Reggio Emilia, moreover, the margin of error has definitely diminished and the success against Lecce, however important, was not enough to erase the doubts about the Lady's play. Atalanta, on the other hand, has two victories in a row (three also considering the Europa League) and is convinced that they have many cards to play: beating Juve would mean shouting out their candidacy for a Champions League placement.
Allegri responds to Pioli: “We are favourites, why without cups? It's not an exact equation."
“The matches against Atalanta are always close, they have not yet conceded a goal at home and are unbeaten, we will have to be good at keeping a good pace – explained Allegri -. At this moment looking at the ranking is not very important, even if staying in the top 4 would make us work more calmly and calmly. Our goal is to reach the Champions League and the team is growing. Pioli says we are favorites for the Scudetto? Talking about these things is of no use, it's not an exact equation that those who don't play in the Champions League are favorites for the championship...".
Atalanta – Juventus, the lineups
The Juventus coach would have liked to face Atalanta with the best possible formation, but instead he will have to do without both Vlahovic (back problem) what about Owned (calf), resulting in an emergency in attack. Allegri's choices will thus be forced, for a long time 3-5-2 with Szczesny in goal, Gatti, Bremer and Danilo in defense, McKennie, Fagioli, Locatelli, Rabiot and Kostic in midfield, Kean and Chiesa in attack. Gasperini's great doubt, however, is called De Ketelaere, struggling with a problem in the quadriceps of his left thigh: until yesterday his absence seemed certain, but as the hours went by his conditions improved. Should he not make it, the most probable scenario at the moment, we will see an Atalanta with a 3-4-2-1 with Musso between the posts, Scalvini, Djimsiti and Kolasinac in the defensive department, Zappacosta, De Roon, Ederson and Ruggeri in the midfield, Koopmeiners and Pasalic behind the lone striker Lookman.
Rome – Frosinone (20.45pm, Dazn)
An almost dramatic evening instead for Roma, forced to win so as not to make an already quite humiliating ranking even more serious. THE 5 points collected in 6 days, in fact, are almost inexplicable for a squad that is certainly not excellent, but not so poor either: the third salary in Serie A, moreover, speaks clearly and confirms a value at least worthy of the Europa League. The victory against Empoli had deluded everyone, but then came the draw in Turin and, above all, the very heavy defeat of Genoa to reiterate the Giallorossi's problems, which remained such despite the excellent contribution of Lukaku and Dybala. He ended up in the dock, as always in these cases Jose Mourinho, guilty of not having yet managed to give his Roma a game, as well as not finding a way to shake up a team that appeared almost resigned in the face of difficulties. The Special One shrugs in the face of criticism, with a palmares (including Roma) too important to be discussed, but he too knows well how time is running out: this evening, against the Frosinone revelation of ex Di Francesco, he can only win, otherwise his team will be literally overwhelmed by the storm, both media and otherwise.
Mourinho defends himself: "I'm not Roma's problem"
“First of all we must have the courage to enter the field tomorrow and tomorrowaccept a reaction of great Romanism, which can be a support or a manifestation of discontent - Mourinho's thoughts -. As far as I'm concerned, I can only say that three months ago, in Budapest, there was almost drama in thinking that I could leave, I stayed because of a promise to the players, owners and fans, during the summer I had the greatest It's the crazy job offer any coach has ever had in the history of football and I turned it down. Now it seems like the problem is me, but that's not the case, we all are: only one person can tell me to leave before June 30th and that is Mr. Friedkin, if he doesn't tell me I will stay here to fight for the team and the fans until the end."
Rome – Frosinone, the lineups
Game to be won at all costs, but not easy or obvious. The current Frosinone is certainly not a soft opponent, as demonstrated by their eighth place in the standings with 9 points, 4 more than Roma, which is why Mourinho will rely on his certainties, assuming it is right to define them that way. The 3-5-2 yellow-red will thus see Rui Patricio in goal, Mancini, Cristante (Smalling and Llorente are both injured) and Ndicka in defence, Kristensen, Aouar, Paredes, Pellegrini and Spianazzola in midfield, Dybala and Lukaku in attack. Classic 4-3-3 also for Di Francesco, who will respond with Turati between the posts, Oyono, Okoli, Romagnoli and Marchizza in the defensive department, Garritano, Mazzitelli and Barrenechea in the midfield, Soulé, Cheddira and Baez in the offensive trident.
