Juve one step away from Paradise, Milan sees hell. The clash at the Stadium saw Allegri's team emerge victorious, a real taboo for Gattuso, beaten three times out of three (including the Super Cup) this season. The 2-1 final gives the bianconeri the possibility of mathematically closing the Scudetto issue already today, even if a victory for Genoa in the postponement against Napoli will be necessary: in any case, even if the Azzurri win, the party would only be postponed until next Saturday. when it would be enough for CR7 and his companions to beat Spal to uncork the champagne. For Milan, on the other hand, it's quite the opposite: the knockout jeopardizes that fourth place conquered with so much effort and now within the reach of Atalanta, Rome and Lazio.
With that of Turin, the defeats remedied in the last four become three, a roster in stark contrast to what has been done in the previous months but sufficient to complicate the programs of a club for which the Champions League, accounts in hand, is not just a sporting question. The 2-1 in Turin, paradoxically, also leaves something to save: the performance was good, especially if you think about who was on the other side of the ring. But every self-respecting Juventus-Milan must leave behind a trail of important controversies and this too, obviously, is no exception. And so the referee Fabbri ends up under accusation, guilty of not having granted a penalty to the Rossoneri for an arm of Alex Sandro deemed lawful, all despite the images of the Var, but also of having missed a foul by Mandzukic on Romagnoli.
“We are very sorry, the team put in a great performance but then we go home with zero points after clear refereeing mistakes – thundered Leonardo. – The referee was inadequate in the choices, both in the penalty and in the bookings, and in the dialogue, quite influencing the progress of the match”. However, it must also be said that the penalty had a relatively small impact on the progress of the match: Bonucci had thought of diluting the fire of controversy a little, author, despite himself, of the mistake that opened the way for Piatek to make it 1-0 Milan, all just 3' after the offending episode. The Pole's strike (40') was the right reward for a Rossoneri-style first half, in which motivations had made the difference. The script seemed to continue without upheavals even in the second half but Juve are not a whisker away from the title in April by chance, but because they have players capable of lighting up at any moment, on the pitch and on the bench.
In the 60th minute Musacchio committed a foul as naive as it was clear on Dybala and the Argentine, up until then a non-paying spectator, converted the resulting penalty by sending the ball behind Reina. Allegri played the cards Pjanic and Kean and the move proved to be decisive: the Bosnian exploited a mistake by Calabria to send the young striker on goal, who scored his seventh goal in the space of a few weeks with an unstoppable right foot, sending Juve to a step from the Scudetto and Milan in the sights of various pursuers. “It was important to win, the team gave a good response – Allegri's words. – Now a win or a draw is missing for the Scudetto but I won't wear the Genoa scarf, it's too hot these days...". Gattuso's mood is decidedly darker, forced to deal with an increasingly complicated ranking situation.
“It was one of the best performances from January to today, we lost it in the last 18 minutes not because of Juve's skill but because of our mistakes – commented the Rossoneri coach. – The referee? I believe in good faith, otherwise it wouldn't make sense to continue this profession. Next Saturday we will play for something important, if we manage to win against Lazio we will have the possibility of qualifying for our Champions League”. In the meantime, the championship could soon issue its first verdict, the most obvious, of course, but still the most important. However, Napoli has no intention of participating in the Juve party, especially since, at least for this week, it still depends on him.
But beyond pride, losing against Genoa (20.30 pm) is also not contemplated for other reasons: the risk of being approached by those behind and, above all, avoiding controversy before the match with Arsenal, the real remaining goal in season. Ancelotti will rely on the usual 4-4-2 with Meret in goal, Hysaj, Maksimovic, Koulibaly and Mario Rui in defense, Callejon, Allan, Fabian Ruiz and Zielinski in midfield, Mertens and Milik in attack. Same game system also for Prandelli, who will respond with Radu in goal, Pereira, Biraschi, Gunter and Criscito in the back, Lerager, Radovanovic, Rolon and Lazovic in the midfield to support the offensive duo made up of Kouamé and Sanabria.
