Much ado about nothing. Atalanta-Inter promised sparks and instead ended with the most unexpected of results: the 0-0 between Gasperini and Inzaghi, in fact, it was almost unimaginable. A draw, on the other hand, was a far from remote possibility, as had already been seen in the 2-2 draw in the first leg. This time no goals, even if more for the player mistakes than for lack of opportunities: there have been many, so much so that the final result is essentially the result of chance, as well as of great performances by Musso and Handanovic, best in the field by posting.
To weigh on the challenge then there were other factors such as absences and tiredness. The first mainly concerned Atalanta, which in addition to the already known Zapata and Gosens had to give up Malinovskyi and Ilicic, probably stopped by yesterday morning's tampons, the second instead touched Inter, weakened by physical and mental fatigue, of the Super Cup. In short, yesterday's match didn't see the two teams at the top, but it was still intense and fun, just as per the diktat of their respective coaches.
“We prevented Inter from playing their usual game, it's a great result for us – commented satisfied by Gasperini – In the matches between Inzaghi and I there have always been many goals, strangely it came out as a 0-0 draw but both teams played to win until the end and this made the match good”.
"We came from an extremely tough 120 minutes and I think Juve played the most physical match of the season the other night – the thought of Farris, who took the place of the voiceless Inzaghi – Spending physical and mental energy to then find yourself in Atalanta isn't easy, however it was a good game. We are satisfied but also a little disappointed because we had opportunities to bring her home, but it is also fair to underline Atalanta's great match”.
In fact the Bergamo players started very strong, pressing Inter in their trocar in an attempt to prevent them from their usual plays. The mission was partially successful, because if it's true that Inzaghi's Nerazzurri struggled to fuel up, it's also true that so much effort didn't translate into scoring chances, so much so that Handanovic was basically inactive in the first half, unlike a Extraordinary Musso on Sanchez.
In the second half, however, the music changed, with Inter taller and more courageous and Atalanta forced to defend themselves, without however giving up on counterattacks. A very entertaining 45 minutes came out of it, with many chances on each side: sensational those of Pessina, Muriel and Pasalic for the Goddess, as well as those of Dzeko, Darmian and D'Ambrosio for Inter. In the end, however, no one managed to place the winning jab, thus consigning to the archives a draw that makes the others smile above all: Milan and Naples, who could shorten the Scudetto tonight, but also Juventus, Rome and Lazio, back in the Champions orbit.
The Giallorossi had to beat Cagliari and hope to gnaw at some points, but also respond to Allegri and Sarri, victorious in their respective advances on Saturday. Indeed she went like this, albeit with the usual worries typical of the Romanist lineage: Joao Pedro's final chance, stopped only by a great Rui Patricio, seriously risked ruining Mourinho's day. Instead, the Portuguese was able to celebrate and the credit goes above all to two compatriots: the aforementioned goalkeeper and, above all, new signing Oliveira, protagonist of the challenge with the decisive penalty (33') and author, more generally, of an excellent performance, in which all the personality long invoked by Mou was seen.
"This is a super important victory, but we could have scored 3-4 goals in the second half and instead we risked a 1-1 draw - the analysis in the press conference - We dominated with and without the ball, we were always in control, the save by Rui Patricio was great, but totally out of context. I felt a lot of pressure until the end, which shouldn't happen when you play like that."
Rounding out the 22nd day will be today's postponements, with Milan-Spezia, Bologna-Naples and Fiorentina-Genoa ready to give a nice addition of goals and entertainment.
