Juve calls, Napoli answers. Saturday marked by goals and entertainment in our Serie A, with the black and whites and the blues literally snowballing over Sassuolo and Palermo, who proved to be sacrificial victims with little say in the matter. It is difficult to find fault with the performance of Allegri and Sarri's men and this despite the few days available to prepare for their respective matches. On the other hand, when you have champions, the values tend to come out, if you add tactical organization and physical condition to these, the game is almost done. Juve's first half hour explains the concept as best it could: Buffon saves Politano, then Gonzalo Higuain takes the chair.
Il Pipita, polished just as planned, cold Consigli after a great counterattack signed by Dybala (4 '), then invents the 2-0 with a screaming turn that almost brings down the Stadium (10'). And when in the 27th minute Pjanic signs the 3-0 with a tap-in with an empty net, the doubt arises that this Juve is almost illegal for our championship, too strong for anyone who even tries to block their way. Antei's goal (33', incredible but true: Buffon's mistake!) serves only for statistics but doesn't change the substance at all, which sees Juve with full points after 3 games that are anything but soft.
“I always hear people saying that we've already won the Scudetto but that's not the case – warned Allegri. – The championship is still long and the matches must be played from time to time, we were very good even if we conceded too much in the defensive phase. Higuain? He's someone who makes the difference." There is little doubt about this last concept, so much so that it has also been debated in Naples, where Pipita continues to cause discussion. Sarri claims that his departure is difficult to avoid, but on the pitch his team continues to score goals in the series. Even in Palermo, in fact, the Azzurri built chances after chances, thus obtaining a round victory without ifs and buts.
“We have always been masters of the match, we have not conceded even a counterattack to our opponents – thought Sarri. – Palermo defended well throughout the first half, then in the second we managed to find the right key. I'm happy with the lads' attitude, I saw the authoritative match I asked for the day before." Moreover, the coach has also managed to rotate the squad a bit, testifying that this year the music will be different: it's good to have your own top players but with the Champions League in between you have to adapt. And so out Mertens, Allan and Hysaj, in Insigne, Zielinski and Maggio. Choices that turned out to be correct, especially the first one: in fact, yesterday Lorenzinho was seen again, an absolutely unstoppable all-court player. Napoli produced football throughout the first half but had to wait until the 47th minute to unlock the match.
Hamsik was decisive, good at inserting himself and exploiting Ghoulam's assist in the best possible way, just when Palermo seemed to be gaining some courage. The 1-0 upset the balance, the 2-0 (51') simply reset them: an assist from Insigne and a header from Callejon. The Spaniard himself, before going out to catch his breath, also scored the third goal (65', a mistake by goalkeeper Posavec), thus making the Napoli evening perfect. If Juve laughs, the Azzurri can do the same, confirming that our championship is less obvious than you think.
