The best is yet to come. The Inter player Ligabue will forgive us if we use the title of a song by him to present this championship Monday but, after all, with Juventus and Milan on the pitch, it fits perfectly. The matches with Chievo (at 20.30 pm) and Genoa (15) concern the entire ranking, from the fight for the Scudetto to that for Europe, up to salvation.
Very interested spectators, among others, also Naples and Lazio, yesterday protagonists of a splendid confrontation which saw the hosts prevail. Heavy and well-deserved success for Ancelotti, so much so that the 2-1 final, net of the numerous chances he had, is even tight for him. Napoli, despite the absences of Koulibaly, Allan and Insigne, in fact played one of the best matches of the season and if they ended up winning only narrowly they owe it (so to speak) to the woods of San Paolo, the absolute protagonists of the evening. Strakosha's goal shook (in the true sense of the word) 4 times, twice with Milik, once with Fabian Ruiz and once with Callejon.
Luckily for Ancelotti, however, his team also found the goals, moreover all in the first half and within just 3': first Callejon with a nice right-footed shot in the bottom corner (34'), then Milik with a splendid free-kick under the crossing (37'). The latter was born from a foul by Acerbi sanctioned by Rocchi with a yellow card: a significant detail given that, in the second half, the Lazio centre-back made up for another one, thus leaving the team outnumbered (70') . Bad blow for Inzaghi, who had regained hope shortly before thanks to a nice right foot from Immobile (65 ') and who instead had to surrender to a Napoli deserving of victory anyway.
“Definitely this but eleven against eleven we would have played it – growled the biancoceleste coach. – Acerbi's two yellow cards weren't there, I'm very angry because lately the episodes have been going badly”. Ancelotti's words are of a much different tenor, happy to be back "only" 6 points behind Juve, albeit with one more game. “The championship is very important to us – his thoughts. – We have such a squad to manage more competitions and we are demonstrating it, the important thing is not to set long-term goals but to continue like this and then see what happens. Now we have two games against Milan, our head is just there."
And the Rossoneri will inaugurate this strange championship Monday against Genoa, looking for 3 vital points to take back fourth place. Marassi's match was complicated and not only due to the controversies relating to the timetable, which will cause the desertion (voluntary and otherwise) of the Genoa people. The pitfalls come both from the field and from the transfer market, even if, if you look closely, the two things coincide almost completely. Gattuso, for the second consecutive race, will have to do without Higuain, this time not due to a real or presumed fever but due to the imminent transfer to Chelsea, which effectively makes him a former player.
His replacement, ironically, plays for Genoa even if today, due to a strange and very welcome twist of fate, he will not be available due to suspension. Issues that cause discussion and overshadow the actual match, thus triggering Gattuso's concern. “I think I've seen the worst training of my management with all this talk – the coach's alarm. – The team is worried, especially as we are missing 4 important players. I spoke to Higuain, we know we're losing an important element but I need people who are ready to wage war mentally, he's not right now."
And then, net of his absence and those of the suspended Kessié, Romagnoli and Calabria (as well as, obviously, the long-term patients Caldara, Biglia and Bonaventura), it will be a Milan under the banner of "few but good", or a 4-3 -3 with Donnarumma in goal, Abate, Zapata, Musacchio and Rodriguez in defense, Mauri, Bakayoko and Paquetà in midfield, Suso, Cutrone and Calhanoglu in attack. Prandelli, in the first game without Piatek, will respond with a 4-4-2 that will see Radu in goal, Biraschi, Romero, Zukanovic and Criscito in the back, Bessa, Veloso, Rolon and Lazovic in the midfield to support the offensive couple Kouame-Favilli .
In the evening it will then be Juventus' turn, awaiting their home match against Chievo. On paper, today more than ever, there really doesn't seem to be a match: between the black and whites and the yellow and blues, in fact, there are 45 points, as well as 19 positions in the standings. An enormity, yet Allegri doesn't trust him: either because Di Carlo's team has recently shown signs of revival, or above all because it was his, regardless of the victories, that offered performances that were a bit subdued compared to usual .
“Now we have to learn how to end matches – thundered the Juventus coach. - When opponents are about to die you have to kill them, not leave them chances. The match against Chievo must be taken seriously, like the rest of the championship: after winning the Super cup, in fact, it's time to think about that."
Allegri wants to keep everyone on the ropes, which is why, compared to Gedda, we will see a 4-3-3 with several changes starting with goal, which will see Perin as starter and Szczesny on the bench. De Sciglio, Bonucci, Rugani and Alex Sandro will play in defense, with Khedira, Emre Can and Matuidi in midfield and the Bernardeschi-Dybala-Ronaldo trident in attack.
Di Carlo knows that the company is on the verge of the impossible but he will try with a 4-3-1-2 with Sorrentino in goal, Jaroszynski, Rossettini, Bani and Tomovic in the back, De Paoli, Radovanovic and Hetemaj in the middle , Jackets in support of the Meggiorini-Pellissier offensive couple.
