Two heart-stopping victories. It must have been a creepy Saturday and so it was, both in Reggio Emilia and in Turin, where Inter and Juventus achieved successes that were as important as they were full of twists and turns. Impossible to weigh and establish who, between the Nerazzurri and the Bianconeri, has collected the heaviest points, certainly however, if goals of a certain type were to arrive in a few months, we would think back to this Saturday at the beginning of October as a decidedly significant day . Yes, because great teams are such above all when they win by suffering, pulling out unexpected resources, but still able to get the better of their opponents. Of course, then the episodes are also included, but after all these too are part of the game. The key minute of Sassuolo-Inter is the 45th minute of the first half, just before referee Pairetto sends everyone to the locker room: there, with the neroverdi leading 1-0 thanks to a penalty from Berardi (21', foul by Skriniar on Boga) and several times close to doubling, De Vrij misses a back pass and sends Defrel into goal, who collides with Handanovic and ends up on the ground.
For the referee there was no foul, the Var confirms: the images, however, while certifying the good faith of the Slovenian goalkeeper, show that the aforementioned strikes the attacker with both his left foot and his elbow, preventing him from scoring . It would have been sent off, which would have forced Inter to play the second half with 10 players, instead Handanovic remained on the pitch and, in the second half, kept his players afloat as in the best of times, saving Rogerio and Boga with a sure blow . At that point Inzaghi, taut as a violin string, fished the joker out of the top hat, namely Edin Dzeko, initially left on the bench by virtue of Correa. The Bosnian entered the match with the force of a cyclone, finding the 1-1 with a header from Perisic's assist a minute later (58'), obtaining the 1-2 penalty converted by Lautaro (78'), becoming disallow a goal for an offside of centimeters (82'). And so Inter after being one step away from the brink, she ended up winning, just like in Florence: it may not always go so well, but in the meantime the platinum points are starting to pile up.
"We were in the game, we suffered, Sassuolo did better than us in the first half, then in the second half, even before the substitutions, I saw a team that wanted to react and I think the victory is deserved - the analysis by Inzaghi -. The Handanovic episode? Samir is not interested in the ball and does everything not to touch the opponent, I think the decision is correct”. Of the opposite opinion Dionisi, very angry for having lost a long dominated game. “Reviewing the images, I confirm the opinion of the field – his words-. We are sorry: if we had started the second half eleven against ten we would have won. I wonder why the Var exists and is underestimated, there are mistakes, it's not good to accept them all the time". A very important victory also for Juventus, who came out with 3 points from a dirty, mangy derby, in which the 0-0 now seemed written. Instead, Locatelli's goal arrived to dye Turin black and white, giving Allegri the fourth consecutive victory between the championship and the Champions League, the second 1-0.
In the most delicate week, with Chelsea and Toro determined to knock him out, the coach has finally found his Juve, a working team, maybe not pretty to look at, but solid, organized and very, very effective. “After the break we rediscovered the team spirit, the desire to defend and we understand better the moments of the match – he exulted in the press conference-. If we hadn't won, I would have been sorry, it was one of the best performances of this start to the championship. Locatelli? He has integrated well and has a lot of room for improvement. He plays longer and varies his plays, putting himself in the position of playmaker, he's good and has technique ”. The keys to this victory are precisely the former Sassuolo midfielder, author of the decisive billiard shot in the 86th minute, and the defensive phase, personified by the great performance of the Chiellini-De Ligt duo. For the rest, it certainly cannot be said that it was a bubbly Juve, in spite of a start that seemed to promise a lot, with the bianconeri shaking the Olimpico Grande Torino with three very dangerous counterattacks.
But then the grenades regained their distances and intensity, and given that the Lady was not in the mood for affectations, a derby stingy with entertainment came out (only 2 shots on goal for the grenades, 3 for the black and whites), but definitely fought. with two teams that Any Given Sunday's Al Pacino would have liked. Continuing to paraphrase Oliver Stone's masterpiece, the decisive centimeters were found by Locatelli, before Kulusevski even came close to doubling with a great personal action that ended up on the post. It would have been too much, but in the end nothing changes: the 3 points, considered fundamental to continue climbing up the standings, still ended up in Allegri's safe.
