Roma collapses under the blows of Udinese and the league officially changes hands, at least until this evening. Waiting for Atalanta, which in the event of victory in Monza would lead alone at 13 points, it is Napoli and Milan who lead the standings, after a weekend in which they won the very heavy direct clashes with Lazio and Inter, while the others, including Juventus, have badly fenced. At the end of the first five years we can say that this Serie A is much more balanced than we thought on the eve and the start of the European cups will only increase the uncertainty, making everything even more complicated. The fact remains that no one is perfect, but certainly there are those who are better off (Naples and Milan), those who are so-so (the Romans, but yesterday's embarrassment is a bad blow for Mourinho) and those who are not doing well at all ( Inter and Juventus, albeit for different reasons).
Milan and Naples in Salzburg and Liverpool on the wings of enthusiasm
Now it's time to think about the Champions League, trying to take advantage of the enthusiasm generated by the last day. Milan will go to Salzburg with skyrocketing morale and will try to win what is a key match in their group: considering that Chelsea are the favorites for first place, in fact, it is clear that the Austrians will be the rivals for the other pass , except for the sensational exploits of Dinamo Zagreb. Pioli wants to take another step and become competitive in Europe too, after having only tasted it (and with a decidedly bitter taste) last year.
Salzburg are not a soft opponent, but it is clear that Milan are the favourites, unlike Napoli, who are forced to go through the gauntlet of Anfield. However, it must be said that Liverpool are going through a lackluster moment, certified by the draw in the derby with Everton and, more generally, by a complicated start to the season, as can be seen from the seventh place in the Premier League at minus 6 from leaders Arsenal . Spalletti, therefore, can at least play it, also because his Napoli has already shown very interesting qualities, in particular from the summer coups: with a Kvaratskhelia like this, even Klopp is less scary...
Inter and Juve, this is not the case: and now there are Bayern and PSG…
A decidedly opposite mood for Inter and Juventus, so far not very convincing. The Nerazzurri badly lost the direct clashes with Lazio and Milan, conceding the beauty of 6 goals (8 in total: only Verona, Spezia, Sampdoria, Cremonese and Monza did worse) and showing unexpected weaknesses both on the pitch and on the bench. As always in these cases, the coach ended up in the defendant's dock, that Simone Inzaghi who is less and less appreciated by the Inter people, who rightly gets very annoyed by losing a derby. The calendar doesn't help, given that Bayern Munich will be on Wednesday: will San Siro lend a hand or will they end up showing their anger at the first difficulties? A problem that Allegri does not arise, but only because his Juve will be staged in Paris against the squadron of the "enemy" Al-Khelaifi, a trusted man of Ceferin and of all of UEFA. The challenge with Mbappé, Messi and Neymar is very scary and the Juventus coach certainly didn't help the troops by saying that "we have to be realistic, the most important match is the one against Benfica".
Disconcerting and symptomatic statement of a difficult moment, in which self-esteem is really at its lowest: it's okay to admit the superiority of PSG, but starting off beaten isn't exactly in Juventus' DNA. Max, 9 points in 5 games, still can't find the square to give a soul to his creature and Firenze's lackluster performance (zero shots on target in the second half) is only the last in order of time.
The club is silent for now, even if Arrivabene's latest outing (“given how much we spent I'd say we didn't make the transfer market, we went to a boutique”) shows how expectations are high, much more than the manager's. Bayern and PSG cannot be decisive challenges, but there is no doubt that Inter and Juventus, understood as clubs, are keen to at least make a good impression: Inzaghi and Allegri have the task of succeeding, otherwise the notch of patience will drop further.
Rome, what a fool! It is Mourinho's worst defeat in Serie A
In closing, let's go back to Roma and what happened in Udine, where the Friulians literally strolled by finishing off a 4-0 that enters Mourinho's personal history. The Portuguese had never lost in Serie A with such a big gap, and furthermore, sifting through his luminous career, there are only two other defeats of this magnitude (0-4 against Chelsea at the time of Manchester United and 0-5 in a Clasico on fire when he was in charge of Real Madrid).
“Already during the week I had bad sensations about this match, even seeing the designated referee (Maresca, ed) – the explanation of the Special One – It's tough both for us and for the fans, but the Europa League starts on Thursday and we have to watch after you. In any case, I'd rather lose one match 4-0 than four 1-0s…”.
This time, however, the tone of the conference, a terrain in which Mou is undeniably a master, leaves us perplexed: does it make sense to talk about the referee (there have been some episodes, but nothing sensational) after such a fool? Better to think of something else, for example the fact that Roma convinced only with Salernitana, Cremonese and Monza, instead showing great difficulties against Juve (there was basically the result to be saved) and ending up collapsing under the blows of Udinese . At the Dacia Arena, in fact, the Special One seemed Subtle…
