Heart-pounding record. There Juventus conquers Monza at the end of a crazy ending, which saw her go from despair at the mockery suffered to unbridled joy for 3 very heavy, as well as unexpected, points. Few, in fact, thought that the Bianconeri could get back up after having conceded the equalizer in the 92nd minute, but instead they had the strength to go and take the entire stakes at stake: talking about the Scudetto, in light of these signs, is starting to have more more sense, although it is right to remember that Inter have yet to make their move, albeit in a difficult field like Naples. However, we will only think about this tomorrow, because today will be the day of Milan and Lazio, engaged respectively with Frosinone and Cagliari: commitments that would also have been affordable, if it weren't for the many problems that beset Pioli (especially) and Sarri.
Monza – Juventus 1-2, Allegri celebrates but does not go too far: “The objective remains the Champions League zone”
It is difficult to summarize the anticipation of the Brianteo with a title, because so many phases have taken place within it that it resembles more a fiction (or a novel, depending on your taste) than a football match. Juve, fielded by Allegri with Alex Sandro replacing Rugani e Nicolussi Ankle in directing, he dominated for almost an hour, so much so that 0-1 by Rabiot (12') was even tight for her. The first emotion, to tell the truth, had arrived a minute earlier with Vlahovic, hypnotized from the spot by Di Gregorio, very good on the penalty and even exceptional on the rebound from the Serbian attacker himself. On the following corner, however, the Lady passed with the French midfielder and the match went downhill, also thanks to an unusually aggressive attitude which brought her close to doubling the score several times, especially with Gatti and Rabiot again. But at the start of the second half, Monza, after inserting two "real" strikers in Colombo and Mota Carvalho (Palladino had chosen to start with Ciurria as a false nine), gained meters, to the point of forcing (?) Juve into their back three: the point question is legitimate, because the feeling is that Allegri wanted to lower himself to protect the advantage, just like in numerous previous cases. This time, however, the tactic didn't pay off, because in the 92nd minute a shot Carboni cross mocked Szczesny, deceiving Monza (and Inter) that they had stopped the Lady. Nothing could be more wrong, given that in the 94th minute Rabiot he flew to the left and served a chocolate to Gatti, who first shot, then hit Di Gregorio for the final 1-2. “It was an important victory against a strong team, but our goal remains the Champions League zone – Allegri reiterated -. In the first half we did well and we also had opportunities to double the lead, then in injury time we made a mistake on Carboni, but we reacted immediately and the boys did well to seek this success. We must improve to stay as close as possible to the top of the standings and maintain this positivity all the way, with the awareness that winning is not easy."
Milan – Frosinone (20.45pm, Dazn and Sky)
The spotlight thus shifts to today's matches, starting with the one at San Siro between Milan and Frosinone. A very delicate match, it is useless to underline it, because after the defeat against Borussia Dortmund and the almost elimination from the Champions League, the Devil can no longer afford missteps. Furthermore, Juve's victory in the direct clash between Napoli and Inter makes the margin of error very close to zero, even if the reasons for not failing go beyond the rankings. The Rossoneri are going through a very particular moment and need results, otherwise they risk an implosion of the project which would hit Pioli first and foremost, increasingly in the storm after the latest injuries. With that of Thiaw (severe hamstring injury, 2 months out) the total rose to 25 of which 18 were muscular: many, too many not to end up in the dock together with his staff, especially now that the Champions League is hanging in the balance. a wire. Beating Frosinone wouldn't erase the disappointment, but at least it would give a breath of fresh air to the environment, whereas otherwise the situation would become almost unsustainable.
Pioli responds to Maldini: "Positive meeting with Cardinale, it is false to say that I am alone"
To complete the (little) red and (very) black picture, theMaldini's interview with Repubblica, peppered with broadsides towards everyone, from Cardinale ("he told me that Massara and I were fired, justifying it with bad relations with Furlani, with only one chat and four messages with him in a year") to Scaroni ("he left the stadium early so as not to find traffic, then he was in the front row for the scudetto"), passing through Furlani ("four days before his dismissal he embarrassedly informed me of a low budget, I took note of it") and then arriving at Pioli ("give him tasks that go beyond the without support, will make him increasingly alone"). “No comment on what he said – replied the coach in the press conference -. I will always be grateful to him and Massara, but now I can only throw all my energy into work and trying to win the next matches. Anyway I'm not alone, I have always been supported by the club." Pioli then moved on to the topic of injuries, the real Achilles' heel of his season. “The emergency will soon end – he sighed -. In the offensive department certainly, in the defensive one it will take a little longer. Kjaer won't be there with Frosinone, but he could return the following day. in two weeks things will be better. How do we get out of this moment? Winning, there's no point in beating around the bush."
Milan – Frosinone, the lineups: in defense it's the turn of eighteen-year-old Simic, Bennacer returns to the squad
The anti-Frosinone lineup will be much reshuffled, given the absences of Leao, Giroud (suspended), Okafor, Thiaw, Kjaer and Kalulu, to which must be added the less "important" Sportiello, Pellegrino and Caldara. A real emergency, in short, which Pioli will face with a 4-2-3-1 with Maignan in goal, Calabria, Simic (an eighteen-year-old signed by the Primavera), Tomori and Theo Hernandez in defence, Musah and Reijnders in midfield, Chukwueze, Loftus-Cheek and Pulisic in the attacking midfield, Jovic in attack, with the very young Camarda ready to take over from the bench. Also noteworthy is Bennacer's return to the squad, available again (for the bench) 206 days after his right knee injury. Same game system for Di Francesco's Frosinone, author of a surprising championship so far: the coach will look for the coup with Turati between the posts, Monterisi, Okoli, Romagnoli and Oyono in the defensive department, Mazzitelli and Barrenechea in the midfield, Soulé, Reinier and Ibrahimovic behind the lone striker Cheddira.
Lazio – Cagliari (18pm, Dazn)
Important match at the Olimpico, where Lazio, fresh from qualifying for the Champions League round of XNUMX, will try to get back on track in the championship too. The 6 defeats collected in just 13 days explain the very disappointing eleventh place in the standings, but the distance from the European placings is still relatively low: stringing together a string of victories, starting today, would give meaning back to the Biancocelesti's Italian season, given that the international one is proceeding at full speed. The success against Celtic could have provided a turning point, at least this is what Sarri hopes, having appeared very disappointed after Salerno (to the point of fearing resignation) and understandably cautious in the post-Champions League era. Mau wants to see continuity before going unbalanced and considering the moment of crisis over, which is why today's match against Ranieri's Cagliari will be decidedly indicative. Sor Claudio, a true Roma fan, will do everything he can to get the 3 points and continue his rise in the standings, which began with the sensational 4-3 against Frosinone and was only interrupted in Turin against Juve (before and after a victory over Genoa and a draw with Monza). Lazio, however, have not won in the league since October 30th against Fiorentina, after which they only collected one point in the derby and two bad defeats against Bologna and Salernitana: the time to change pace has arrived, otherwise the Europe of the future risks being much less interesting than the current one.
Lazio – Cagliari, the lineups: Romagnoli and Zaccagni still out, Immobile returns to the starting lineup
Compared to Tuesday it will be a different Lazio, even if Romagnoli and Zaccagni will still watch it from the stands. Sarri will return to relying on the old guard, who proved decisive in the Champions League: Immobile, in particular, experienced a magical night, savoring the glories of the past. The Biancoceleste 4-3-3 will thus see Provedel in goal, Lazzari, Gila, Patric and Marusic in defence, Guendouzi, Cataldi and Luis Alberto in midfield, Isaksen, Immobile and Felipe Anderson in attack. Ranieri seems oriented towards repeating last Sunday's Cagliari against Monza, therefore 4-3-1-2 with Scuffet between the posts, Nandez, Goldaniga, Dossena and Augello in the defensive department, Makoumbou, Prati and Jankto in the midfield, Viola behind of the offensive pair formed by Petagna and Luvumbo.
