First in the standings, albeit with an asterisk. Inter win in Florence and momentarily overtakes Milan, keeps Juventus and Roma at a safe distance, but above all sends a message to the whole championship, proving to be capable of taking full loot even in a complicated moment, tight as it is from a calendar that knows no stops. The 2-0 by Franchi is well deserved, the result of a convincing performance despite the subdued performance of Lukaku, a distant relative of the striker admired so far yesterday. In short, a sign of strength, because if someone thought that the Nerazzurri could have some waste after the Italian Cup, he was deeply disappointed.
Of course, Fiorentina was a small thing, weakened by the absences of Ribery, Castrovilli and Milenkovic, but other times, in similar scenarios, Inter had first of all mental difficulties, while yesterday, in addition to an excellent approach, there was constant growth that could only lead to victory. It was Barella who unlocked the match with a great right foot from outside the area (31'), after Dragowski had denied him the 1-0 with a super save already in the 6th minute. There the Viola had a jolt, so much so as to scare Handanovic with the double chance given by Bonaventura and Biraghi, the first stopped by the crossbar, the second by the Slovenian goalkeeper himself, who redeemed himself after Tuesday's disastrous performance.
In the second half, however, here is the attitude of the great team, capable of closing the game with Perisic (52') and maintaining control without risking anything, moreover coming close to the third goal several times. “It wasn't easy to play away from Florence, points are heavy for everyone now, especially after an intense match like the one against Juve – commented Stellini, deputy to the suspended Conte -. We created a lot of goals and made an important test, we are very satisfied”. The result in Florence, if possible, makes today's big match even more delicate between Juventus and Rome (18pm), at this point a real playoff for the noblest area of the standings.
Whoever wins hangs on to the Scudetto train, whoever loses instead risks losing it, perhaps permanently. Both of the rest, albeit for different reasons, have already lost too many points in the first round, which is why direct clashes assume an almost decisive weight. “We have to be very careful with Roma, they play great football and have many good players who are good at counterattacks – warned Pirlo -. But we've improved mentally, the defeat against Inter made us understand that if we're not always at the top we can't win. We are growing in all aspects, unfortunately we don't have much time to train, we get full of adrenaline and we only think about scoring points".
So much charge comes from five consecutive victories between the championship, the Italian Cup and the Super Cup, which have restored certainties to a group that seemed to have lost many. A similar speech can also be made for Rome, which has gone from the nefarious post-derby climate to the decidedly more positive one of the last few days, the result of the successes with Spezia and Verona, but also of the peace, more or less forced, between Fonseca and Dzeko. “I have nothing to add to what Thiago Pinto said a few days ago, everything is fine with Edin, even if Cristante will be the captain in Turin – glossed over the Portuguese coach -. Now we only have to think about Juve, it's much more intense and dynamic than at the beginning of the season, but we too are in a good moment".
Pirlo will have to do without the suspended Bentancur and the injured Dybala, otherwise all skilled and enlisted for a 3-5-2 with Szczesny in goal, Bonucci, Chiellini and Danilo in defence, Cuadrado, McKennie, Arthur, Rabiot and Chiesa in midfield, Morata and Ronaldo in attack. The same game system also for Fonseca, who thanks to Pellegrini's absence will respond with Pau Lopez between the posts, Mancini, Ibanez and Kumbulla in the back department, Karsdorp, Villar, Cristante, Veretout and Spinazzola in the midfield, Mkhitaryan in support of the only Borja Mayoral aims, with Dzeko ready to take over from the bench. But the championship super Saturday doesn't end here: in addition to the big match at the Stadium, in fact, there are two other very interesting matches such as Atalanta-Turin (15 pm) and Genoa-Naples (20.45 pm).
Gasperini and Gattuso, therefore, will study each other a few days after the return semi-final on Wednesday, albeit in a very different way. The Nerazzurri coach has openly declared that the priority goes to the Italian Cup, while the blue coach, however silent, certainly cannot make a similar reasoning, otherwise the climate around him, already very heavy, would even become unsustainable. The task of conquering Genoa is not easy both for the excellent moment of the rossoblu, literally transformed by Ballardini, which due to a bare-bones attack: the injured Mertens and Osimhen out of shape, in fact, were also joined by the aches and pains of Insigne, destined for the bench.
Covid then set about creating further trouble for Gattuso, which will force him to do less than Ghoulam and, above all, Koulibaly. In short, the blue 4-3-3 is quickly done with Meret in goal, Hysaj, Manolas, Maksimovic and Mario Rui in defense, Elmas, Demme and Zielinski in midfield, Politano, Petagna and Lozano in attack. Genoa, unbeaten since 6 January against Sassuolo (since then three wins and a draw), will respond with a 3-5-2 formation that will see Perin in goal, Masiello, Radovanovic and Criscito in the back, Zappacosta, Zajc, Badelj, Strootman and Czyborra in the midfield, Destro and Scamacca as an offensive couple.
Instead, we were saying that Atalanta will already have an eye on the Italian Cup: Nicola's Turin could take advantage of this, forced to move its bad standings a bit so that it doesn't become dramatic. Gasperini will rely on usual 3-4-1-2 without giving up the turnover, therefore Gollini in goal, Toloi, Romero and Djimsiti in defense, Palomino, De Roon, Freuler and Gosens in midfield, Pessina behind the offensive duo formed by Ilicic and Zapata. Usual 3-5-2 also for Nicola, who while waiting for the new Sanabria signing (in the pits due to Covid), will rely on Sirigu between the posts, Bremer, Lyanco and Izzo in the back department, Singo, Lukic, Mandragora, Rincon and Ansaldi in the midfield, Zaza and Belotti in attack.
