Victory and controversy. Juventus beat Inter and took three fundamental points in the Champions League, forcing Milan and, above all, Napoli not to make mistakes in their respective matches today, otherwise they would shuffle all the cards for fourth place. To which he can no longer aspire Lazio, defeated in the derby by Roma and forced to say goodbye to Europe what counts: the recovery against Turin next Tuesday, ironically, will mainly serve the grenades, who are forced to win to avoid a dramatic relegation.
But let's start from Derby d'Italia and from the fundamental success of Juventus, which allows them to cling to the Champions train, as well as to beat their eternal rival. It wasn't easy at all, because Inter didn't give up an inch despite the Scudetto already on the bulletin board, complicating a match full of refereeing episodes and related controversies. The first came in the 24th minute when Irrati, from his Var position, signaled to Calvarese a hold by Darmian on Chiellini: a penalty for Juve which Ronaldo, albeit in two stages, converted into the Juventus 1-0. Shortly after, the second came, this time in the opposite area, for a stomp by De Ligt on Lautaro, resulting in a Nerazzurri penalty, scored coldly by Lukaku (35'). But it was in the second half, with the result of 2-1 for Juve (goal from Cuadrado, with a decisive deflection from Eriksen, in the 45th minute), that Calvarese definitively took the stage, first expelling Bentancur with a second yellow card that was too fiscal to a normal foul on Lukaku (55'), then unjustly annulling the Nerazzurri's 2-2 goal (Chiellini's own goal), before retracting after going to the Var (83'), finally conceding a generous penalty to Juve, converted from Cuadrado for the final 3-2 (88'). A total chaos, which won't explode into an uproar just because the match counted only for Juventus: if it had been a decisive match for the Scudetto, today we wouldn't be talking about anything else.
“Certain episodes are so clear and evident that they speak for themselves, but the team did what they had to – commented by Stellini, who presented himself, as usual, instead of Conte -. How is Antonio experiencing this moment? With serenity, we are fully enjoying the Scudetto, we still have a week to honor and demonstrate that we are the strongest team in this championship". The rest, or the future, will only be understood later, but the continuation of project è anything but obvious. Pirlo, on the other hand, will certainly say goodbye at the end of the season, but doing it with a place in the Champions League (and perhaps with an Italian Cup) would have a completely different flavour. “It was important for us to win to still have hope – explained the coach -. We had an obligation to carry on with our objective and we succeeded, despite some difficulties. We wouldn't be talking about a fight for fourth place if we had the same determination as in the last few games, if that happens it means that something was missing: we lost many points, especially with more affordable teams".
For an Italian derby that takes on black and white, there is that of Rome which takes on a strong yellow and red hue, not only for the 2-0 scored by Mkhitaryan (42') and Pedro (78'), but also, if not above all, because it wipes out Lazio's Champions League hopes. Which, to tell the truth, were already few before the match, but they existed while now, mathematics in hand, it is no longer the case. The victories of Atalanta and Juve have extremely weakened Inzaghi's team, which also appeared subdued on Wednesday with Parma, causing Roma, now out of everything and focused on the derby for at least two weeks, to take the field much better. Mkhitaryan's advantage at the end of the first half and Pedro's goal in the final are the right reward for a game played better, as well as a worthy greeting to Fonseca, who in a week will leave the bench at Mourinho.
“I haven't heard from him these days, but José knows I'm here to help him and Roma: if he needs some advice I'm ready to help him – the coach glossed over elegantly -. I am satisfied with the victory in the derby, we were indebted to the fans who have always been with the team." A completely different climate at Lazio, where the season ends in the worst way, that is with a lost derby/farewell Champions combo that really hurts. "The speech fourth he had already closed in Florence – the bitter comment of Inzaghi -. Sorry for this defeat, they were surgical, they only made two shots on goal and two goals, it had never happened. My future? I'm optimistic by nature, with Lotito and Tare we had decided to wait for the last few games, now let's finish the season and then we'll talk". One more week then, after which the puzzle of the benches will begin to take shape, from north to south, with no holds barred.
