In the end Juve wins, but the Ronaldo case breaks out. The 1-0 over Milan, signed by a great goal by Dybala, in fact risks taking a back seat to the anger of the Portuguese, replaced by Sarri in the 55th minute precisely by virtue of Joya, who later became man of the match. CR7 came out railing against the coach, then headed to the locker room without stopping on the bench with his teammates, finally, after taking a shower, he got into the car even before the game was over. An unacceptable attitude, but Ronaldo, as we know, has all his own rules: therefore Juve has the task of managing the situation before it becomes a problem.
“I thank him because he played despite not being in exceptional conditions – he tried to dampen Sarri. – If he gets angry it's normal, he did everything to be there even if he wasn't well. I think tolerance is needed when you replace someone who wants to give everything, there can be five minutes of anger, I think it's normal, the coach also likes it: I'd be worried about the opposite."
The attempt to get everything back to normal is emblematic of an example club of management, but the case remains: if the player wasn't well, then why did he react like this? And the "5 minutes of anger", as the coach defined them, went much further, given the subsequent abandonment of the stadium even before the end of the match. The episode evidently didn't please his teammates, moreover almost all top players, also because the match against a very good AC Milan team was anything but easy.
Those who expected a quiet evening had to change their minds almost immediately, because the Rossoneri played it all from start to finish, offering what, net of the opponent, was the best performance of the season. Sarri won it from the bench, just when he took off a very dull Ronaldo to let Dybala in. Courageous gesture which however paid off with 3 gold points, as can be seen from a ranking which sees the Lady once again in command, albeit closely followed by Inter.
The Argentine finalized a splendid action started by Douglas, continued with Bentancur and finished by Higuain, before the Juventus number 10 jumped Romagnoli and beat Donnarumma with an unstoppable shot (77'). An applause-worthy play, exactly what Milan lacked, good at defending and building play, but not at making it concrete. There have been opportunities to hurt Juve but either for the skill of Szczesny (amazing on Paquetà), or for the wet powder of the various Piatek, Suso and Calhanoglu, or simply for a lower technical rate, there were no turned into a goal.
“There are improvements, we haven't been inferior to Juve but we make too many mistakes – sighed Pioli. – There were opportunities but we lacked the winning jab. We deserved more points, but now we mustn't give up but continue to work hard: from Wednesday the standings will be hanging everywhere in Milanello, we have to improve it."
Sarri, apart from Ronaldo's case, may instead be satisfied with the result, even if the game is still far from the expected standards. The break will serve as a breather, after which in the second half, thanks to a Champions League already archived, we expect a different Juve, capable of "chopping" the matches and not just managing them.
“We also discussed it at the end of the first half, you can't dominate with high blood pressure, the opponents take possession away from you, we're doing worse but it's not a request – confirmed the coach. – Against Milan we were willing to suffer in the right spirit, but it is clear that we need to improve in terms of quality”.
However, the Lady can close this mini-cycle with a good result, the exact opposite of Roma, who after weeks of gritting their teeth had to surrender to fatigue. And so, after the defeat in Moenchengladbach, the one in Parma also arrived, daughter above all of a physical difference that ended up influencing the result even more than the technical rate. The Giallorossi, also unlucky in the episodes (Kolarov's post, at 0-0, could have changed the film), thus return home with a knockout that ousts them from the Champions League zone, at the expense of a Lazio in great form and a Cagliari very fast, capable of burying Fiorentina with a terrific 5-2.
The match at the Tardini was decided by Sprocati (68') and Cornelius (93'), decidedly more on the ball than the Roma forwards, who appeared dull and confused. A justifiable slip, God forbid, yet equally annoying and not to be underestimated: injuries, in fact, are squeezing a lot from a team that already has the fuel light on.
“The team is tired right now and it shows, it's not a question of attitude, but right now we're not fast and reactive – admitted Fonseca. – Parma have always been dangerous on the counterattack, they created several chances because we took risks: we wanted to win and we conceded space. The break for the national teams can help us recover, we've always played with the same players." A stop that, as usual, will serve to dissect everything that is right and, above all, wrong. And evidently there are no big ones without problems.
