La Juve you take the derby, the Roma falls in Cremona. The 24th day ended with two matches full of goals and entertainment, in clear contrast with the predictions of the eve. The result is that the Champions League race is less tangled than before given that the Giallorossi have slipped to fifth place behind Lazio, albeit by just one point, but it is also true that at this rate, sporting justice permitting, it will also be necessary to deal with the bianconeri, now less than 10 from Sarri: an important distance, but not unbridgeable, considering that on Sunday there will be a direct clash with Roma.
Juventus - Turin 4-2, Allegri: "Difficult fourth place, but let's take it one step at a time..."
Pyrotechnic derby that of the Stadium, topped off with six goals and two crossbars, one on each side, which made it fought, spectacular and uncertain until the end. Juve won it, as almost always in direct confrontations, leaving Toro once again with a bitter taste in the mouth of those who came close to the feat, but without completing it. Going ahead twice (Karamoh on 2' and Sanabria on 43') wasn't enough to tame Juve, who were much longer and more distracted than usual, but decidedly convinced to take the 3 points. Goals from Cuadrado (16') and Danilo (45+1') allowed them to equalize at half-time, to then continue fighting in a second half opened by the crossbars of Vlahovic and Linetty. The turning point came in the 71st minute with Bremer, the ex par excellence of the match, very good at finding the 3-2 with a good header, while the exclamation point put Rabiot 9' from the end, coloring the Mole black and white for once again, but above all they give Allegri 3 heavy points. “We played a good game against a mangy team, conceded two avoidable goals, but the reaction was good and the victory is deserved – the Juventus coach analyzed -. Ten points from fourth place are a lot, we take a small step at a time even if there would be 50 on the field: we need to improve on many aspects and keep our concentration high. Fourth place? Looking at the numbers now it becomes difficult, to get to 73 points we have to do something extraordinary, but we will look step by step…”.
Cremonese - Rome 2-1, Mourinho furious: "Unjustly expelled, I'm considering a complaint against the fourth official"
The most sensational result of the day, however, was that of Roma, who fell under the blows of Ballardini's Cremonese, in their first victory of the season in Serie A. A heavy knockout for the Giallorossi, who slipped to fifth place behind Lazio: not the best way to getting closer to next Sunday's big match against Juve, especially since Mourinho won't be there. The Portuguese was sent off for protests at the start of the second half, a decision that sent him into a rage, perhaps more than for the defeat of his team. “Those who have known me for many years know that I am emotional but not crazy – thundered the Special One in the press room -. To have this reaction it means that something has happened, I want to understand if I can legally do something since Piccinini gave me the red light at the fourth official's suggestion. He didn't have the honesty to say how he treated me, what gave rise to my reaction, I'd like to understand if there's an audio of what he said to me, but I don't want to go as far as saying he's from Turin, we're playing against Juve and he wants me off the bench. For the first time in his career, a 4th man spoke to me in an unjustifiable way." But beyond the expulsion of Mourinho and the consequent controversies, there is a game to talk about, which saw Cremonese win 2-1, just like in the Coppa Italia. The Grigiorossi already took the lead in the first half with Tsadjout (17') and then in the final, after Roma had found an equalizer with Spinazzola (71'), they managed to win their first match in Serie A (the last was to 27 years ago) thanks to a penalty from Ciofani, propitiated by a hasty exit from Rui Patricio. The Champions League race is still long and a misstep certainly won't affect it, but the Giallorossi have played an important joker: and against Juve, in the direct match on Sunday evening, they will no longer be able to make mistakes.
