Juventus closes the Scudetto discussion, Milan reopens the Champions League one. Sunday in the championship gives us a Lady again at +11 over Naples and a Devil in fourth place, all thanks to two equal successes, if not in form, at least in size. The respective 3-0 wins over Sassuolo and Cagliari, in fact, are worth 3 fundamental points for both, but above all they certify the rediscovered condition of two teams always under the eye of the storm, albeit for different reasons.
This was the case for Juve, who found themselves in the crosshairs of critics after their elimination from the Italian Cup and a draw with Parma, but also for Milan, who only recently recovered from the hive of controversy at the end of 2018. However, the standings do not lie and to date he sees the bianconeri leading the championship with no less than 11 points ahead of Napoli and the Rossoneri fourth, ahead of the Atalanta-Roma-Lazio trio which grinds results in the series.
Great satisfaction for both, starting with the leaders: the fears of losing control, if they ever existed, were swept away by the 3-0 victory at the Mapei Stadium, obtained, obviously, in perfect Allegri style. In fact, the departure saw Sassuolo master of the field so much that Djuricic came close to scoring, only stopped by a great exit from Szczesny, which also survived the control of the Var.
From then on, the match changed and Juve managed to make it theirs minute after minute, taking the lead at the first useful opportunity (Khedira on 23') and then attacking their opponents from a distance: in fact, in the second half, with the exception of one crazy exit by Szczesny that could have led to a draw (blazing error by Berardi with an empty net), only she was seen, so much so that she doubled with the usual Ronaldo (70') and trio with Emre Can (86'), for an even fundamental success in terms of the Scudetto.
“They try to track you down, they do a lot of possession back looking for the midfielders – Allegri's analysis – We started with a mistake, Szczesny was extraordinary avoiding the penalty. After a quarter of an hour we played better and they gradually lost the passing lines. Napoli are having a great season, Juventus are doing better, because scoring 63 points is not easy. Now on Friday we have Frosinone who have won three games this year and all away, without conceding a goal. In any case, we need to bring home the victory because, regardless of Napoli, we need to reach a total number of points that will allow us to win the championship."
Milan does not aspire to that much, even though they would be satisfied with a fourth place in the standings: in fact, winning the Champions League after 5 years would be the first step towards a return to the top. In this sense, the success against Cagliari appears to be fundamental: the standings cannot be decided today, God forbid, yet missing yesterday's chance would have tasted like anticipated failure. Instead, the Rossoneri were able to direct the match immediately, thanks to that bit of luck that allowed Suso to propitiate Ceppitelli's own goal (13') and the skill that led to Paquetà's first Italian goal (22').
With a double advantage after not even half time and with a stadium full of enthusiasm, Gattuso's team was thus able to play on velvet, so much so that they allowed themselves a couple of thrills (above all Joao Pedro's crossbar) before finding the 3-0 final with Piatek (62 '), cold as always in finalizing an action born from Calhanoglu's feet. Three golden points for Milan, a nice kick to the pressures deriving from the successes of others (Lazio, Roma and even Atalanta) and, above all, a solo fourth place hung up without ifs, ands or buts.
“We did well because we played good football, even if I didn't like the midfielders very much in the first half – commented the Rossoneri coach – We've been doing well in both phases for a while now. We also had a bit of luck. Now we must be hungry, want to train and be together. We have to think as a we, without individuality. The team has to come first and we'll have to be good at staying there to play for it until the end."
Next chapter in the weekend, with Juve waiting for the home match against Frosinone and Milan on the extremely difficult pitch in Bergamo. One will be able to further fuel, if there is still a need, the idea of an eighth consecutive championship, the other to confirm a Champions League placement that is perhaps less spectacular but equally important.
