Everything as expected. Juventus and Napoli overcome the Bologna and Parma obstacles without problems and keep their positions and distances unchanged in the standings, which makes Saturday's direct match even more interesting. Two healthy teams will face each other at the Stadium and if there were no doubts about the Bianconeri, now we can also say the same about the Azzurri.
Of course, the tests against yesterday's Emilians leave little time for what they find: too reluctant to even think of annoying the giants in question, both in tactical attitude and in the choice of men. In any case, matches must be won on the field and this has promptly happened, demonstrating a consistency of performance and quality far superior to all.
“I have to congratulate the boys – Allegri commented – We are growing more and more, we are on the right track, I am happy. Now we can think about the match against Napoli on Saturday, I am convinced it will be a good match".
The 2-0 over Bologna, in addition to the 3 points, offers good news: Dybala has finally unlocked himself! The Argentine, lined up by the coach for the second consecutive match, found the goal that breaks the game with a valuable acrobatics (11') and, more generally, offered a top class performance, confirming that the talent is certainly not gone lost.
The understanding with Ronaldo then improves even more, although yesterday's 3-5-2 did not involve the use of a fundamental player like Mandzukic, who Allegri will never give up. The other goal, which then set the final 2-0, came from Matuidi (17'), after which the match was pure academy even if the attempt to let Ronaldo score this time was not successful.
Not bad, the party was there anyway, just like at the San Paolo, where Napoli liquidated the Parma practice with a clean 3-0. That it wouldn't have been a difficult evening was already understood when reading the formations, with D'Aversa keeping Gervinho in view of more affordable commitments (Sunday at the Tardini there will be the salvation clash with Empoli).
On the other hand, Ancelotti's nine changes compared to Turin have not ruined Napoli's mechanism, on the contrary: the turnover seems to stimulate the group to the maximum and the new formation, now stabilized on 4-4-2, guarantees effectiveness in attack and solidity in the defensive phase . The only two untouchables are Koulibaly and Insigne and it's easy to understand why, especially with the latter, back on the form levels of the Sarri era.
Lorenzinho ignited the match with his 1-0 strike (4'), then, at the start of the second half, sent Milik face to face with Sepe, thus propitiating his highly valuable left foot strike (47'). The Pole then allowed himself the luxury of a personal brace, also signing the 3-0 with an empty net (84', assist from Verdi), but the Parma practice was now better than archived.
“We're fine, we're in good condition and all the players are motivated – thought Ancelotti – Since the match against Fiorentina we've started to defend better, now it will be a big puzzle to choose Saturday's lineup…”.
New problems for the Naples world, usual administration instead for Allegri, for years grappling with the inevitable (at these levels) rotations of men. A less drastic confrontation than last year will therefore take place on Saturday, even if the stakes will still be important. Because now there are no more doubts: the Scudetto will be their business.
