A draw that is good for everyone but does not make anyone happy. Indeed, to look closely there is a great winner after the 1-1 draw between Inter and Roma and it is Simone Inzaghi's Lazio: the result at San Siro, combined with his 5-1 defeat of Chievo, allows him to catch up with the Nerazzurri in the standings, with the possibility, in the event of a success in Wednesday's added-off against Udinese, to detach them and take third place in the lonely.
In three days many things will be understood given that the Giallorossi will also be on the field, engaged in Marassi with Sampdoria: a victory would also bring them to 43 together with Inter, with the result that the Champions League race would become even more uncertain and exciting.
All of this is the result of San Siro too, a result that leaves a bitter taste in everyone's mouth: the Nerazzurri, who did find the goal in the end but after wasting several chances, the Giallorossi, who despite suffering had nevertheless held the advantage for almost the entire race. It can be said that the two teams essentially split the match, with Di Francesco's men more on the ball in the first half e those of Spalletti in the second.
It is no coincidence that the chronology of goals also followed this script: advantage of Roma in the 31st minute with El Shaarawy, good and cold in taking advantage of a mistake by Santon and beating Handanovic with a soft touch, Inter draw in the 86th minute with Vecino, surgical in making the most of Brozovic's assist with an unstoppable gore. “We are Inter, we must have the courage to compete on equal terms against opponents of this level – Spalletti's analysis. – If we go on the field with fear we will not get anything, what matters most is to become aware of our strength as we did in the second half”. Glass half full also for Di Francesco, who in any case takes away a very heavy point from San Siro, moreover in a terrible week in terms of the transfer market. “If you want to talk about that, you have to do it with the club – glossed over the coach. – I only know that Dzeko is my player and I deploy him, then we will see each other. We had an excellent match for 70', unfortunately then we dropped off: we should have made better use of the dominance in the first half”.
Those who smile at the end of this day are certainly Milan, who resumed the championship just as he had finished it before the break, that is by winning. Of course, the success against Cagliari is not enough to improve a ranking much below seasonal expectations, but it allows us to look to the future with greater optimism. The team is getting better from an athletic point of view, furthermore Gattuso seems to have finally found an eleven type to rely on. The proof lies in the fact that, for the first time this season, the Rossoneri managed to come from behind an opponent and bring home a victory after going down. Barella's goal in the 8th minute (a mistake by Donnarumma) foreshadowed a black evening, but Milan didn't lose heart and after building up some potential scoring chances they found the episode that allowed them to overturn the scenarios. Ceppitelli's foul on Kalinic allowed a Kessie to make it 1-1 on a penalty (35'), then the same two players were also protagonists on the 2-1 goal, with the Croatian assisting and the Ivorian finishing (87').
In the second half, the match continued on the edge of balance, until the Rossoneri were down to 10 for theexpulsion of Rodriguez. The result was a painful finish, with Cagliari (also outnumbered by Barella's red light, albeit only in added time) coming close to equalizing with a header from Pavoletti after the match was practically over. In the end, however, Milan won and now the word crisis can really go back into the attic. “I am happy because we are growing and playing good football – Gattuso said. – Now we just have to think match by match, then in some time we'll see where we've managed to get to”.
