Everything like before. The day that promised to overturn, or at least direct, the Champions League zone ended exactly as it had begun, i.e. with Inter third, Milan fourth and Roma fifth minus one.
All of this is the result of two very different draws: the only thing in common between the 1-1 draw at San Siro and that at the Tardini, in fact, is the final result. For the economy of the third-fourth place, obviously, it is the tie between Inter and Roma that has the greatest weight, if only for the (almost) equal involvement of both.
The almost in parentheses is not a typo but a logical consequence of the standings, given that the Nerazzurri, after the 1-1 final, keep third place while the Giallorossi fail to join fourth.
It must also be said that Roma, in the light of their performance, especially in the first half, return home with their heads held high and with the conviction that the place in the Champions League, should things remain as they are, will not escape them for long: seeing the faded Milan of Parma to believe… It is precisely the Rossoneri who have to breathe the greatest sigh of relief, especially after seeing the first half of Ranieri's men at Inter, which ended with a goal lead (El Shaarawy in the 14th minute with a splendid right-footed shot) which, if confirmed, would have meant overtaking.
But the Nerazzurri, lined up in a 4-2-3-1 with Lautaro on the pitch and Icardi on the bench, were able to react in the best possible way and thus avoid a defeat that would have called into question not only third place, but also the Champions League zone: Perisic's header (61'), on the other hand, brought the hierarchies back to the starting blocks, guaranteeing Inter a third place that is difficult to oust and Roma a fifth still to be lived.
“The result is right, there were chances for us but we left space, without staying in order – Spalletti's analysis. – It's a bit like our Achilles' heel but that's okay, Roma played a good game. In the 2nd half we were more orderly, we could have done more, we lost certain balls, not like Inter. A precious result for how it was put ". “It was an intense, difficult game, Inter are going through an excellent moment and we too are no less even if we are not as well as I would like – Ranieri echoed. – We came here to try to win, we could have capitalized more and counter-attacked more, in the second half we were too squeezed in our own half, but coming to San Siro and taking a point trying to win until the end can still be there".
The result at San Siro makes Milan breathe a big sigh of relief, which maintains fourth place despite Parma's misstep. In fact, the 1-1 draw at the Tardini did not bode well, but then good news arrived from the other fields (including Chievo's victory over Lazio) and Gattuso's Easter magically regained a semblance of celebration. Of course, continuing like this it will be difficult for the Rossoneri to be able to keep the Champions area. all the more so since on Sunday they will be awaited by the very insidious challenge at Mazzarri's Turin, all with a semi-final of the Italian Cup in the middle which promises an enormous expenditure of energy.
In Parma there was confirmation that Gattuso's team is not well, either mentally or physically: not the best for those who have to experience a final rush in which every point could obviously prove to be decisive. It would have been reasonable to expect a high-level approach, but the Rossoneri made a sensational mistake in the first half, which ended without even scoring a goal. Luckily Donnarumma had saved the team on a couple of occasions and that the result remained at 0-0. And so, when Suso and Castillejo made the unexpected 1-0 (70'), Milan nurtured legitimate hopes of bringing home 3 very heavy points, perhaps decisive for fourth place. In the 87th minute, however, Bruno Alves blew up the Tardini with a perfect free-kick and the Rossoneri found themselves with a draw which, at the moment, looked more like a defeat.
The results of the others have improved things a bit but Gattuso cannot be happy, at least not entirely. “There is regret for the vanishing victory but we were lucky to find the advantage, then we committed an ingenuity and the draw arrived – the coach's words. – I expected more, we knew what difficulties we would encounter and instead they had more anger than us. There is a bit of concern but I'm not desperate, now we have to look ahead”.
