No twist but many, many, chills. Juventus and Napoli end 2018 with two victories and a good dose of fear: merit of Sampdoria and Bologna, good at playing it despite the objective inferiority and of some arbitration situations, destined, as always, to cause discussion.
A real "Var show" was staged in Turin, with the referee Valeri the protagonist in three episodes: the two penalties granted, one on each side, for handballs by Emre Can and Ferrari and the goal disallowed in full stoppage time to Saponara for offside. The doubts, despite the thousand replays, remain above all on this last decision, especially given the importance of the same: it was the 92nd minute and it would have been 2-2 Sampdoria.
"Questionable penalty and little help from the Var", the poisonous tweet from the blucerchiati, before a retreat dictated more by common sense than by a real change of thought ("we apologize, we were not so lucid"), testifying that not even the slow motion on the pitch , if used like this, manages to make everyone agree. “If there is, it's right to use it – Allegri glossed over at the press conference. – We had started well but after the penalty we immediately got confused. We got nervous, instead we should have continued to play calmly and serenely. It was important to finish well but it wasn't easy, but now we are 37 points away from the Scudetto."
True analysis that of the Juventus coach, why after Cristiano Ronaldo's flash lead (2') his players fell asleep a bit, so much so that they equalized with the usual Quagliarella, albeit on a penalty (33'). Decisive spot also in the second half, when CR7, after breaking through the crossbar on a shot deflected by Audero, found the 2-1 Juve right from eleven meters, up to the final thrill signed by Saponara. In short, a heart-pounding match right up to the end, exactly like in Naples where a surprising Bologna only surrendered in the 88th minute.
Tired and less brilliant blues than usual, a bit for the heavy absences of Koulibaly and Insigne (should the appeal be rejected they will also miss against Lazio), partly due to the cautious attitude of the guests, which made the development of the maneuver complicated. Once again, it was the strikers who decided and never mind if Lorenzinho, for obvious reasons, was unable to take part in the last performance of the year: they took care of him instead Milik and Mertens, the former with a brace (16' and 51') which brings him to 10 points in the top scorer rankings, the second with the play that earned the painful final 3-2 (88'). In between the goals of Santander (37') and Danilo (80') and a Bolognese block that seemed destined to hold up, preventing Napoli from staying +5 on Inter and minus 9 on Juve: it would have been a big problem but Mertens, luckily for Ancelotti, he put everything in order.
"It's a bit of a particular time of the season, few people play brilliant football – the thought of the blue coach. – Bologna played very well and made life difficult for us, but we showed character. We are in line with our objectives: we made a great first leg and watered down Juve's race a bit". On this last part, to tell the truth, one could discuss, not so much for the demerit of Napoli as for the clamorous black and white progress. The scudetto seems destined to remain in black and white, the Azzurri have the task of denying everyone and carrying out a feat that would rightfully enter the history of football.
