Missed overtaking. The Juve doesn't go beyond a draw on the Genoa pitch and thus slows down its championship run: now Inter has the possibility of going to +4, but will remain at the top even in the event of a defeat against Lazio. The Bianconeri were also disappointed by some decisions by referee Massa, in particular on an arm from Bani in the Genoa area which could easily have led to a penalty kick. The match could have taken another direction, but evidently yesterday's game wasn't an evening, not even from a refereeing point of view.
Genoa – Juventus 1-1: Gudmundsson counters Chiesa, then Massa denies the Bianconeri a penalty
This time the short nose wasn't enough because Allegri's Juventus, despite having the lead in the first half, she let Genoa join her, thus throwing away the possibility of overtaking Inter. The decision to drop after Chiesa's goal (28', penalty awarded by himself) didn't pay off, even though in terms of chances they were certainly more dangerous than Gilardino's team.
To betray Allegri, too the changes, with Milik, Weah and Iling Junior (Yildiz came on after the match was over) incapable of providing a shock, so much so that it made people regret a bungling Vlahovic and reminded everyone, if there was still a need, of the paucity of the Juventus alternatives. Genoa had the merit of finding the equalizer at the start of the second half with Gudmundsson (48'), as well as holding their own from an athletic point of view, preventing Juve from crushing him in their own half. And so the Juventus reaction was limited to a shot by Chiesa and a belly shot by Bremer, both saved by an excellent Martinez, with the match slipping away without too many shocks.
Then there is the arbitration chapter, worthy of some reflections. Massa, already in the sights of criticism after Napoli-Inter two weeks ago, offered a decidedly questionable performance denying Juve a penalty for an arm from Bani (very wide and worthy of at least 'On Field Review') and confirming his poor feeling with the VAR: perhaps Rocchi should think carefully before entrusting him with another big match.
Allegri: “We were not very clear in attack. The Var? It's normal for there to be no uniformity..."
“It's not easy to play against Genoa, but we have to grow in concreteness because only in this way can we stay at the top of the table – Allegri's comment -. When the opponent needs to be finished off, it must be done, because then in football the episode against can always happen. More clarity was needed, but it is an important point that continues the positive streak, furthermore the performance made me happy. The penalty not given? Every week there are similar episodes that are evaluated differently not by the referee, but by the Var: we need a more equal guideline for everyoneotherwise we enter into subjectivity."
Naples – Cagliari (18pm, Dazn)
The highlight of Saturday will be the Maradona match, where Mazzarri's Napoli will try to follow up on their victory against Braga on Tuesday. The 3 points are almost a necessity, given that the Azzurri have not obtained them since November 25th in Bergamo: since then, thanks to a terrible calendar, they have received zero against Inter and Juventus, with the inevitable consequence of slipping to sixth place in the standings, one less than Roma and Bologna.
However, the two will compete in tomorrow's direct clash, which gives Mazzarri a great chance to regain the spoils, namely the Champions League placement. Obviously everything passes through one victory against Ranieri's Cagliari, in turn highly charged by the comeback success against Sassuolo: the match promises to be interesting also from a tactical point of view, between two of the most prepared coaches in the championship.
Napoli – Cagliari, the lineups: Mazzarri confirms the Champions League team
Mazzarri seems inclined to confirm Tuesday's team, also because Elmas stopped due to a muscle strain in his left thigh, Cajuste is disqualified and the pair of left backs Olivera-Mario Rui are still in the pits. The the blue coach will therefore focus on a 4-3-3 with Meret in goal, Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Juan Jesus (favourite over Ostigaard) and Natan in defence, Anguissa, Lobotka and Zielinski in midfield, Politano, Osimhen and Kvaratskhelia in attack. Ranieri finds Makoumbou again after the disqualification, but has to deal with the less than perfect condition of Lapadula, who underwent surgery on his nasal septum this week. The rossoblu coach will opt for a 4-3-1-2 with Scuffet between the posts, Nandez, Goldaniga, Dossena and Augello in the back department, Makoumbou, Prati and Jankto in the midfield, Viola behind the offensive pair formed by Lapadula and Luvumbo.
