The weight of the Champions. Napoli e Milan they do not go beyond breakeven with Verona e Bologna,Inter even comes out defeated against the Monza. In short, the three protagonists of the quarter-finals pay their dues to the top European competition, albeit in a different way. In fact, Spalletti's draw did not move practically anything in terms of the Scudetto and Pioli's, too, in the light of what happened at San Siro, even became a point gained over a direct competitor. Completely different speech for Inzaghi, struggling with the third consecutive defeat at home, moreover without scoring a single goal: it is a negative record never touched in the history of the club, which risks weighing enormously in the race for the next Champions League. Today the Roma, in case of victory overUdinese, would escape to + 5, while the Juve, beyond the game col Sassuolo, look above all to 19 April, the day in which it will be decided what to do with the 15-point penalty: if they were to give them back, Inter's standings would become even dramatic.
Inter 0-1 Monza, Inzaghi: "Photocopied defeats, opposing goalkeepers are always the best on the pitch"
The nerazzurri had only one result available, even more after the draw of Milan in the afternoon, which made overtaking fourth place more than possible. Instead, Monza won thanks to a header by Caldirola (78'), saves by Di Gregorio and the confusion of Inter, able to light up only in the final part, more out of desperation than game ideas. Numbers don't always say it all, but when they're so clear-cut they become a statement: the team of Inzaghi he hasn't won since 5 March against Lecce and in the next five league games he has picked up just one point, against four defeats, three of which San Siro. The roster reads only two goals scored (Lukaku from a penalty in La Spezia and Gosens in Salerno) and six conceded, which says a lot about the Nerazzurri's difficulties. Of course, in the Champions League it's another story and that's keeping Inzaghi afloat, but it's clear that clinging only to the cup becomes risky at the very least: the same goes for Milan, who however are currently ahead in the standings.
Explain the difference in performance between Serie A ed Europe it is almost impossible, if not with the reasons and here the technician is called into question again, evidently unable to transmit them where they do not come by themselves. “It's a photocopy of the other defeats, it's not good and we're disappointed as well as angry – replied the person concerned at the press conference -. It's not true that we don't feel the championship, we know the importance of these matches even if another negative result complicates our journey. We miss the episode that changes the situation, the stats are higher than in the cups, but the results aren't proving us right. Right now it's not enough and it's no coincidence that the opposing goalkeepers are always the best on the pitch, but if we always say the same things it's clear that something is wrong. We are two points behind Milan and there are still many to go, we have what it takes to get back in the running for the first four places. We have to be concerned about performance, but we're working on it because the result doesn't reflect what we did on the pitch."
Napoli - Verona 0-0, Spalletti: "We were less qualitative than usual, but with the fans we are stronger"
Second consecutive home game without a win for the Azzurri, however again without a goal. Here too, just like for Milan, the turnover ended up weakening Napoli, allowing Verona to withstand the impact of the leaders without too many problems, at least until the entry of Osimhen. The best news of the day, besides the medium-high pace between De Laurentiis and ultras (back to cheering regularly), it is precisely the Nigerian's return to the field, who in 20' (including recovery) did more than owner Raspadori, hitting a sensational crossbar that smacks of a warning to Milan: with him on the pitch, Napoli definitely become another team. As we were saying, Zaffaroni's Hellas set up a defensive match and managed it quite well, even wasting the opportunity to win in full recovery with Ngonge, unfortunate in attempting an improbable one-on-one spoon with Meret.
The Azzurri confirm that they do not have the brilliance of some time ago, which is especially worrying in terms of the Champions League: lo Scudetto, in fact, with a 14-point lead over Lazio 8 days from the end, it remains firmly in their hands. “We have found a team that has closed down, which has taken away our space – he explained Spalletti -. You have to know how to occupy the empty spaces, we stayed a little too long walking around them without being as qualitative as we usually are. Many difficulties have come from the test against Verona, a team also used to wasting time as they were also allowed tonight, I don't see the time lost at Maradona anywhere. However, I'm happy for the return of our fans, we feel stronger with them, and also for Osimhen: he needed to regain confidence and in those minutes he reiterated that he has superior qualities to the others ".
Bologna - Milan 1-1, Pioli: "An unacceptable start, but we are missing two penalties"
The gamble of Pioli to line up ten different players compared to Wednesday, thus resting all the starters in view of Napoli, didn't pay off, because Milan didn't go beyond the 1-1 draw on the Bologna field, picking up another draw after last week's against Empoli. The Diavolo thus finds himself overtaken alongside Roma, who however could detach him by 3 points in case of success against Udinese, but maintains fourth place thanks to defeat of Inter, ending up even gaining a length. In any case, there is a bit of bitterness at the Rossoneri, also due to a couple of refereeing episodes which have made the team quite angry: there are two possible penalties that could have changed the result, but Massa has decided to let go.
For the rest, however, the result is substantially correct, with the Bologna started very strong and already ahead after just 1' with Sansone and Milan chasing after, but able to find an equalizer before the break with Pobega (40'). In the second half Pioli tried to take the 3 points even with the substitutions, inserting, among others, Leao and Diaz, but the result remained firm, despite some excellent potential untapped opportunities. “The performance was there, but we shouldn't have conceded goals like that at the start – commented the coach -. We lacked precision in making the chances we had, then we were unlucky in the refereeing episodes: there were two penalties. A coach has to assess many situations and we paid a lot for our Champions League commitments this year, playing three games in six days is really difficult, especially those that are so important. Not even 72 hours have passed since the first leg, we mustn't forget that, and then I have a strong group that has shown that it has quality”.
Sassuolo – Juventus (18pm, DAZN)
The first big to take the field this Sunday will be Juventus di Allegri, awaited by the complicated trip of Sassuolo. An insidious commitment, both for the value of the neroverdi, authors of a very good 2023, and for the post-Europe tiredness, given the difficulty of Thursday's match against Sporting. Furthermore, just as with the Champions League teams, the coming week will see the second leg, with a trip to Lisbon that is anything but easy. In short, the Reggio Emilia race it doesn't arrive at the best time, but the bianconeri have a duty to take it home, especially for what will happen next Wednesday, just on the eve of the match against the Portuguese: the time of uncertainty on minus 15, in fact, is almost over. because on the 19th the Coni Guarantee College will meet to decide what to do. From next weekend, therefore, we will know if the Lady has climbed into the full Champions area or if she can only aim for a place in Europa League, obviously awaiting the second trend on salaries (possible referrals expected within a couple of weeks). To make a mistake today would therefore be unforgivable, as well as harmful to the morale of a group reborn precisely in conjunction with the minus 15 sentence, and now called to continue on this slope until the end.
Allegri: "It's the key moment, let's grit our teeth and wait for April 19 with serenity"
"Sassuolo are technically strong and are in good condition. They lost an inexplicable match against Verona, but this is football – the analysis of Allegri -. We have to try to get back to winning ways after losing in Rome, knowing we have to face a tough opponent. The next 15 days will be very important, we have Atalanta at 4 points net of -15. Lazio have overtaken us in the field classification by winning against Spezia, our goal is also to improve last year's classification in terms of position. There are still nine races to go and there are 27 points available, the road is still long. Let's take one step at a time, in the meantime let's think about Sassuolo, then Thursday we'll go and play this match in Lisbon. The verdict of April 19? We live it serenely, we have built a good armour, we are focused only on individual matches and on field goals".
Sassuolo - Juventus, the formations: Vlahovic is back in the starting lineup, Berardi can't make it
Game to win, even if Allegri will not be able to ignore the imminent trip to Lisbon, which will cause him to rotate different men in all departments. The partly mandatory turnover (see Szczesny, who was kept on precautionary rest after falling ill on Thursday), will ensure that the Juventus 3-5-2 will be different from the starting one, with Perin in goal, Gatti, Bonucci and Danilo in defence, Cuadrado, Fagioli, Paredes, Rabiot and Kostic in midfield, Chiesa and Vlahovic in attack, with Di Maria and Milik ready to take over from the bench and Kean in the stands, hampered by a flexor strain. One assenza for Sassuolo, but very heavy: Berardi, in fact, there will be no due to a problem reported in training on Friday. The neroverde 4-3-3 will thus see Consigli between the posts, Toljan, Erlic, Ferrari and Rogerio in the back, Frattesi, Maxime Lopez and Henrique in the midfield, Bajrami, Pinamonti and Laurienté in the offensive trident.
Rome – Udinese (20.45 pm, DAZN)
In the evening, however, it will be Roma's turn, grappling with the home match against Udinese. Mourinho has the possibility of moving to + 3 over Milan and even + 5 over Inter, which is why he must try to win at all costs, despite the injuries of Dybala and Abraham: both could make it for Thursday against Feyenoord, when the giallorossi they will have to make up for the defeat in Rotterdam, but certainly not for tonight. Roma will have to grit their teeth and look for 3 very heavy points, because if it is true that the Europa League is important, it is also that the championship it does not wait and requires maximum concentration. Up front will be Udinese, a distant relative of the one who won 4-0 in the first leg, literally humiliating the Giallorossi: one more reason to redeem themselves and take the win, especially at this stage of the season.
Rome – Udinese, the formations: Mourinho without Dybala and Abraham, attack on the shoulders of Belotti
Mou's problems, as mentioned above, mainly concern the attack, given the very heavy ones absences of Dybala and Abraham. The hope is to have them both back for Thursday, while tonight we will have to grit our teeth and rely on Belotti, the only center forward left available. The Giallorossi 3-4-2-1 will thus see Rui Patricio in goal, Mancini, Smalling and Llorente in defence, Zalewski, Matic, Pellegrini and Spinazzola in midfield, El Shaarawy and Wijnaldum behind the lone striker Belotti. Classic 3-5-2 instead for Sottil, who will respond with Silvestri between the posts, Becao, Bijol and Perez in the back department, Ehizibue, Lovric, Walace, Pereyra and Udogie (fresh from a grotesque road accident during the week, from which remained unharmed) in the midfield, Success and Beto in attack.
