A draw that makes Juve and Lazio happy above all. The 0-0 draw between Inter and Roma smiles at Sarri, again in the running for first place, to Inzaghi, called to detach his cousins and bring the nerazzurri closer, while he leaves Conte and Fonseca with a pinch of bitterness in his mouth, at least until tonight. Let's start immediately by saying that the result at San Siro is fundamentally correct, at least in terms of play: if, on the other hand, we only take into consideration the goal chances, then it becomes tight for Inter, stopped twice by an excellent Mirante and just as many from his own mistakes. However, both contenders suffered from injuries and tiredness, which denied Conte the indispensable athletic brilliance and Fonseca the elements to play his football. And so a game that was at times amusing and at times very tactical came about, in which the skill of the defenses got the better of the attacks.
It should also be said that if Lukaku had converted into a goal the opprobrium of Veretout (7'), probably, we would have commented on a very different film, but Mirante, lined up in place of the injured Pau Lopez, immediately made it clear that he wanted to leave a tangible sign of his presence. The goalkeeper could have ruined everything in the 43rd minute when a wrong clearance put Brozovic in a position to score but the Croatian, one of the most tired of him, wasted badly. Thus Mirante returned to star in the 48th minute with the best save of the evening, this time on Vecino, who was unmarked by Borja Valero and stopped by a super save. The account of Nerazzurri chances then ended with Lautaro Martinez, anticipated at the climax by a splendid save by Mancini at the end of the match.
"Mirante was man of the match, we had many chances without risking anything against an excellent team – Conte's analysis. – When you create so much you have to score, we should have been tougher at the net but I have nothing to reproach my boys for, they gave everything”. And Rome? A good round of the ball at the start, some good individual initiative but little, very little concreteness, as demonstrated by the only shot worthy of note by Zaniolo, moreover blocked without too many worries by Handanovic. Dzeko's absence from the starting eleven weighed heavily on the Giallorossi game, so much so that Fonseca, evidently unhappy with his offensive phase, included him in the final half hour despite a condition unsuitable for certain rhythms, as we later saw .
“In the last few meters we made the final decisions wrong but we played a good game – commented the Portuguese coach. – Their opportunities arose from our mistakes in the construction phase but we have always tried courageously, just as I want. Now it's not the position in the standings that counts but the Wolfsberger, that will be an important race”. The 0-0 draw at San Siro, as mentioned at the beginning, makes the match in Rome even more delicate, where Lazio and Juventus will compete (at 20.45 pm) in search of heavy, indeed very heavy, points for their respective rankings. The match at the Olimpico is very delicate, between two teams experiencing moments of different form and therefore even more balanced and without predictions.
In fact, Sarri's bianconeri are returning from subdued performances while Inzaghi's biancocelesti from six consecutive victories, seasoned with goals and entertainment. In short, the technical gap would seem to be filled by the psychophysical state, for a match with a very high level of uncertainty. “They are ferocious and dangerous – warned Sarri at the press conference. – I expect a violent impact, we will have to try to keep them away from our area. It will certainly be an important match but not decisive, in any case I'm confident and I'm waiting for the answers on the pitch". It hasn't been an easy week for the Juventus coach, partly due to the annoying overtaking by Inter and partly due to the umpteenth injuries, which will deprive him, as well as the usual Chiellini and Douglas Costa, of Khedira (3 months off ) and Ramsey.
The 4-3-1-2 will therefore be mandatory with Szczesny in goal, Cuadrado, Bonucci, De Ligt and Alex Sandro in defense, Bentancur, Pjanic and Matuidi in midfield, Bernardeschi in the trocar, Dybala and Ronaldo in attack. Opposite there will be a very excited Lazio and determined to beat the Lady in front of the 60 thousand of the Olimpico, a setting that hasn't been seen for some time and which gives an idea of how much this match is felt. “It's the match between the stronger team and the one in better shape – confirmed Inzaghi. – We'll have to be concentrated and put in an important performance, this year we've already debunked the San Siro taboo and who knows, maybe we'll be able to beat Juve at home too…”. The Biancoceleste coach believes in it and is ready to challenge the Lady with the usual offensive 3-5-2: Strakosha between the posts, Luiz Felipe, Acerbi and Radu in the back, Lazzari, Milinkovic-Savic, Lucas Leiva, Luis Alberto and Lulic in the median, Immobile and Correa in attack.
The super Saturday of the championship will then be completed by Atalanta-Verona (15pm) and Udinese-Naples (18pm), with the Azzurri called to redeem themselves after the defeat against Bologna and yet another week lived between tensions and poisons. The withdrawal decreed by Ancelotti has further split the group, now divided between rioters and conciliators. Very complicated situation for the technician, whose blue future is now compromised: however, the present remains to be experienced, also because the much-needed pass for the second round of the Champions League could arrive on Tuesday. But first there's the away match in Udine and Napoli, without victories since 19 October (2-0 over Verona, 4 draws and 2 defeats since then), know they can't make a mistake for any reason.
Ancelotti, without Milik, Allan and Ghoulam, will leave out the "traitors" Mertens and Callejon relying on a 4-4-2 with Meret in goal, Di Lorenzo, Manolas, Koulibaly and Mario Rui in defence, Elmas, Zielinski, Fabian Ruiz and Insigne in midfield, Llorente and Lozano in attack. Gotti, refreshed by the 4-0 win over Bologna in the Coppa Italia, will reply with a 3-5-2 formation that will see Musso between the posts, Becao, Troost-Ekong and De Maio in the back, Opoku, Mandragora, Walace, De Paul and Stryger Larsen in midfield to support the offensive duo made up of Okaka and Nestorowski.
