Six points lost in just one day. Juventus Black Tuesday begins at 17.40 with the decision of the Coni Guarantee Board of cancel the 3-0 draw against Napoli and ends around 22.30 pm, when the referee La Penna blows the whistle for the end of the match with Fiorentina. Thus we went from a 3-0 taken away to a 0-3 immediately, two sensational facts that compete for the front pages and which completely overturn the championship. However, it is certainly the defeat on the pitch that weighs the most, because if the 3 points against Napoli (who were also given the penalty point back) remain up for grabs, this is not the case for those of yesterday, who went to Florence against every prediction.
The black and white match was a real disaster, which began in the 3rd minute with a goal from Vlahovic and continued in the 18th minute with the (sacrosanct) expulsion of Cuadrado. From then on, the Lady's troubles continued unabated, due to her own faults (Own goal by Alex Sandro in the 76th minute, Viola's 3-0 by Caceres in the 81st minute) and by referee La Penna, guilty of not having sent off Borja Valero in the 50th minute for a second yellow card (it is no coincidence that Prandelli immediately replaced him) and, above all, for not having conceded two penalties for fouls on Ronaldo and Bernardeschi.
Episodes aside, stay the bad game of Juve, whose ranking is now really worrying: if Milan and Inter were to win tonight, in fact, they would go +10 and +9 respectively, thus making the recovery against Napoli (of which, moreover, the date is not yet known) much less incisive than we thought until a few hours ago.
“We entered with an attitude, our fault right from the first steps – he admitted Pirlo no excuses – When you enter like this, you end up badly and face bad impressions, in games before Christmas you happen to have head over the holidays, but we can't afford it. The sentence? We have no problem replaying the match, just sorry for the other teams that played without the players affected by the Covid, it doesn't seem fair to me. The refereeing episodes? Everyone has seen the images…”.
The bulk of the fourteenth will arrive today, however, with Milan-Lazio main course. The San Siro match (at 20.45 pm) is certainly the most important on Wednesday, with the Rossoneri trying to defend first place and the Biancocelesti chasing the top half of the table. “It's a game that counts a lot, we need a last effort to end the year in the best possible way – he confirmed Pioli – We must always give our best, without looking at the standings, then we'll see what happens."
The coach is grappling with a real emergency and hopes to recover Tonali and Rebic (decisive tryout this morning), otherwise he would have to completely invent the team, considering the certain absences of the injured Ibrahimovic, Kjaer, Bennacer and Gabbia and the suspended Kessié . However, a pinch of optimism filters through Milanello, so the Rossoneri 4-2-3-1 should see Donnarumma in goal, Calabria, Kalulu, Romagnoli and Hernandez in defence, Krunic and Tonali in midfield, Saelemaekers, Calhanoglu and Diaz behind the single tip Leao.
“Our goal is to give continuity to the excellent performance offered against Napoli – the thought of Inzaghi – We have to try to put in an important performance with the top of the class, as well as the team in the best shape in the championship”. Even the Lazio coach has to deal with important absences, above all those of Acerbi and Lucas Leiva. His 3-5-2 will therefore see Reina in goal, Luiz Felipe, Hoedt and Radu in the back, Lazzari, Milinkovic-Savic, Escalante, Luis Alberto and Marusic in the midfield, Immobile and Caicedo in attack.
Interested spectator of the challenge Inter di Conte, who will try for the second consecutive time to take first place at the expense of his cousins. Compared to last Sunday, however, the nerazzurri will take the field earlier: the match in Verona against Hellas, in fact, will be the first on Wednesday (18.30 pm). “It will be a difficult race, they have created problems for all the big teams – the words of Tale – In the next few days we will see each other with the club: it is right to sit down and understand what solutions we have in mind to face things, if we want to face them…”.
The final clarification suggests the usual diversity of views on the subject of the transfer market, but this, obviously, will only be thought of from tomorrow: first, in fact, there is Juric's Hellas to face, not exactly the prototype of the sacrificial victim. Conte seems oriented towards deploying the 3-5-2 type, with Handanovic in goal, Skriniar, De Vrij and Bastoni in defense, Hakimi, Barella, Brozovic, Vidal and Young in midfield, Lukaku and Lautaro in attack. Juric too will rely on the classic 3-4-2-1, therefore Silvestri between the posts, Dawidowicz, Gunter and Ceccherini in the back department, Faraoni, Veloso, Tameze and Dimarco in the midfield, Zaccagni and Lazovic behind the lone striker Salcedo.
Interesting races also a Napoli and Roma: the blues will challenge the Torino, the Giallorossi the Cagliari. Strange vigil that of Gattuso, fresh from two consecutive defeats on the field with Inter and Lazio, but also from the victory at Coni, which gave him back a point in the standings, as well as the possibility of playing the match against Juve. The challenge with Turin, already to be won at all costs, becomes even infallible, despite the usual emergency that will see Osimhen, Mertens, Lozano and Koulibaly absent.
The blue 4-2-3-1 will thus see Meret in goal, Di Lorenzo, Maksimovic, Manolas and Ghoulam in defense, Demme and Bakayoko in midfield, Politano, Zielinski and Insigne in the frontline, Petagna in attack. Giampaolo, who perhaps reached the decisive match, will rely on a 4-3-2-1 with Milinkovic-Savic between the posts, Izzo, Nkolou, Bremer and Rodriguez in the back, Meité, Rincon and Linetty in the midfield, Verdi and Lukic in shoulders of the sole striker Belotti.
Even Roma, after the beating in Bergamo, can no longer make mistakes: the match against Cagliari of the former Di Francesco must be won at all costs, or else spend a Christmas in controversy. “When we make mistakes we do it together and I am primarily responsible – Fonseca thought -. There's discontent on everyone's part, but now we're focused on the next match: I've seen a good reaction, we want to win”.
The Giallorossi coach will have to do without Spinazzola, otherwise all skilled and enlisted for a 3-4-2-1 with Mirante in goal, Mancini, Smalling and Ibanez in defense, Bruno Peres, Veretout, Pellegrini and Calafiori in midfield, Pedro and Mkhitaryan on the trocar, Dzeko in attack. Usual 4-2-3-1 also for Di Francesco, who will respond with Cragno in goal, Zappa, Godin, Walukiewicz and Lykogiannis in the back, Marin and Rog in the midfield, Nandez, Joao Pedro and Sottil behind the lone striker Simeon.
