Party skipped. At least at Juventus, because Roma enjoy, and how they enjoy. Of course, yesterday's 3-1 could also increase regrets for too many points lost against the small teams but the Giallorossi, on balance, would do better to rejoice for having kept second place, which is really fundamental in terms of the Champions League.
The bianconeri, on the other hand, find themselves forced, just like a week ago in the derby, to postpone any discussion of the Scudetto: a physiological drop (two points collected between Atalanta, Turin and Rome) and very justifiable, of course, yet someone is starting to turn up their noses.
The prospect of celebrating yesterday was attractive for two reasons: closing the games to concentrate only on the two Cup finals and raising the tricolor at the home of one of the historical rivals par excellence. It didn't go like this and rightly so this time, given that the Giallorossi, on balance, played better and deserved the victory.
“Lately we've been conceding too much defensively, it can happen over the course of a season – commented Allegri. – Roma deserved but we fell asleep a little, we weren't lucid. It will do us good, we will have to get up immediately for the final of the Italian Cup and for the match against Crotone".
The coach also put in his own: tired owners and to be preserved, all right, but leaving out Dani Alves, Chiellini, Alex Sandro, Marchisio and Dybala didn't turn out to be a good and right choice. On the other hand, a perfectly fitting formation for Spalletti, who despite the absences of Dzeko and Strootman was able to interpret the match in the best possible way, putting Juve under the distance.
“This victory is a reward for the value of the boys – praise from the coach – During the week, beyond all the rumors, we focused only on second place and we were rewarded. We played as a mangy team and always with a clear head: we just wanted to win, we didn't care about the rest".
Initially, however, the evening at the Olimpico seemed to smile at Juventus, who took the lead with Lemina in the 21st minute following a splendid assist from Higuain. But Roma didn't lose their thread and 4' later they equalized with De Rossi, whose tap-in proved to be as simple as it was important. The balance, in fact, meant that it was the stopwatch that weighed, much more incisive on the black and white legs than the yellow and red ones.
In the second half, Roma gained ground and, within 9', even scored a double goal, first with El Shaarawy (56', strange parable after a deflection by Lichtsteiner), then with Nainggolan (65', a stone that Buffon couldn't stop). Allegri tried to deploy heavy artillery but the result didn't change anymore: Juve put the tricolor flag back in the box, Roma regained second place in the standings.
Therefore, the party was also ruined in Naples, at least partially. In fact, the bombastic 0-5 in Turin is not worth overtaking but gives the dimension, if still needed, of when the Azzurri can be devastating, at least on the right day. The 80 points and a ranking that keeps everything open until the end should therefore make Sarri and De Laurentiis smile, instead the climate in Naples is grayed by the controversies between the two, now opposed on different visions.
“A Chinese or someone from Abu Dhabi could also give me a contract – the coach's sting – Did I ask for some top players? I didn't ask anyone's f…”.
Nervousness (and rudeness) out of the ordinary, especially after a game like this. On the field, in fact, the Azzurri put on a great show and the final 5-0 against Torino (7', 76' Callejon, 60' Insigne, 72' Mertens, 77' Zielinski) is clearer than a thousand words. Napoli would like another season like this, perhaps with a little more continuity to try and win something. Will De Laurentiis and Sarri agree?
