Ronaldo drives away the ghosts and gives Juve a piece of the Scudetto. In fact, the Portuguese penalty brace allows the Bianconeri to keep Atalanta, the only real possible threat, at a safe distance: Lazio, also beaten by Sassuolo, would do better to take care of whoever is behind them, including the players from Bergamo.
However, the good news for Sarri ends here. His Juve was put down for large stretches of the match by Gasperini, whose regrets, net of a regulation that punishes arm touches too severely (but it applies to everyone), are more than justified. If there was a team that deserved to leave Turin with a smile, it was his, which once again proved to be of the highest level: Icardi's PSG will do well to take notes, because the Bergamo players will not go to the Champions League final eight for make appearances.
Juve, on the other hand, has to ask itself the reasons for so many difficulties, despite an unrivaled squad (in Italy of course) and a greater habit of playing big games. The truth is that Sarri's hand is not seen, indeed it ends up being even negative in evenings like yesterday's, where the confrontation with an opponent who plays by heart becomes even humiliating. “We faced one of the best-formed teams in Europe, very organized and super aggressive – the Juventus coach defended himself. – It was a very difficult game, in the first half they were obviously more energized and fresh than us, but in the second we deserved a draw. How much does this point weigh in terms of the Scudetto? It weighs a point, I can't afford to be too calm...".
“We did well against the first in the standings, it was an important test also for the Champions League – Gasperini's answer. – I am very happy with the performance, disappointed with the result: there were all the conditions to win it one minute from the end. The penalties? It is not the regulation that is wrong, but the interpretation given here. In other leagues this is not the case: what do we do, do we cut off the players' arms?”.
On the 2-2 final, evidently, they weigh the two penalties awarded to Juve for touches with the arm of De Roon and Muriel: by regulation they are both there, especially in a season like this where the arbitration meter has almost always gone in the direction of punishing, even if then there are the exceptions that give rise to controversy (see Roma -Parma last Wednesday…).
The bianconeri thus saved themselves from a defeat that would have made a lot of noise, also because it would have been the second in a week after the one with Milan. Gasperini's excellent Atalanta had unlocked the match with Zapata (16'), only to be joined by Ronaldo in the 55th minute. But the Nerazzurri, instead of feeling the pinch, had managed to take the lead again with Malinovskyi, author of a splendid shot from distance (80'): but then, when the feat seemed accomplished, Muriel's arm (decidedly clearer than De Roon's) sent CR7 back to the spot, for the final 2-2 (90').
The point is another piece towards the Scudetto, more so later the defeat of Lazio (the third in a row) at home with Sassuolo. Inzaghi's team really doesn't seem to have any more, so much so that the goal, at this point, is to secure qualification for the next Champions League as soon as possibleregardless of ranking order.
Yesterday's knockout certified a crisis that seems difficult to solve, if only because the calendar and the infirmary won't give a break until the end of the championship. “Our goal now is to score the points we need to arithmetically reach the Champions League, that will be our Scudetto – confirmed Inzaghi. – Before the lockdown I said it wasn't a gamble to think about the title, but now we have to face reality: the boys gave everything today too, but that's not enough. They always play the usual 9-10, we are lacking lucidity…".
And to think that things had gone well, with Lazio first breathing a sigh of relief for the decision of the referee Di Bello to disallow Raspadori's goal for offside (9', even if the images, to tell the truth, leave some doubts about a touch by Parolo at the beginning of the action), then to rejoice for the goal by Luis Alberto, lucky to win a rebound and beat Consigli almost without meaning to (33 '). It seemed like the prelude to a return to success, but Sassuolo didn't lose their composure and turned the match around in the second half.
The young Raspadori, making his debut as a starter in Serie A, clocked in in the 52nd minute, while Caputo signed the winning goal in full stoppage time, thanks to a embalmed Lazio defense (92 ').
Saturday of smiles instead for Roma and not only for the knockout of the cousins: to complete the work, in fact, was the victory over Brescia, a nice 3-0 that hasn't been seen for some time, and even allowing some very regular players to breathe. Above all Dzeko, left on the bench until the 75th minute (and then unlucky to hit a crossbar and a post) thanks to Kalinic, author of a goal that gives him some morale and Fonseca one more solution for the final Seasonal. Before the Croatian's strike (62') it was Fazio who unlocked the match (48'), even if the best news came in the 74th minute when Zaniolo, who had just replaced Pellegrini, found the 3-0 goal. the first after the bad injury last January.
“I told the boys that the victory against Parma would have been useless without winning here – Fonseca's words. – They understood that it was important to win after the last game. We showed ambition, quality of play, deserving the 3 points".
Today instead spotlight on Napoli-Milan (21.45), the other big match of the 32nd day. Of course, compared to yesterday's matches, the stakes are decidedly lower, but the San Paolo challenge is still a ranking of our championship, beyond what may be the implications of the standings. And then this is Gattuso's game, a former Rossoneri who was never really appreciated (especially by the managers) and now, in the light of the results obtained, definitely regretted.
Even for Pioli, however, it is an important match: getting a result in Naples, after beating Lazio and Juventus, would greatly increase his prestige, even though his AC Milan destiny now seems sealed. “I don't know if the club has already decided but I don't care, my only concern is to do well and improve the standings – the coach reiterated. – A very difficult match awaits us, we will need a great performance, we have to play respecting the opponent with the certainty of our possibilities and giving our best. Gattuso? Difficult to make comparisons, but he had started the season with Milan, I didn't...".
And in fact his work is judged well net of the rankings, precisely by virtue of an entry into the race which, thanks to the January market (Ibrahimovic, but also Kjaer and the sales of Suso and Piatek), has certainly revitalized a team in enormous difficulty. The idea is to try to win them all from here to the end, to come out head-on and get back on the market with excellent credentials.
However, Gattuso also sees it in the same way, and tonight he will line up a 4-3-3 like Meret in goal, Di Lorenzo, Manolas, Koulibaly and Mario Rui in defense, Fabian Ruiz, Demme and Zielinski in midfield, Callejon, Mertens and Insignia in attack. 4-2-3-1 instead for Pioli, who will respond with Donnarumma between the posts, Conti, Kjaer, Romagnoli and Hernandez in the back department, Kessié and Bennacer in the midfield, Saelemaekers, Rebic and Calhanoglu behind the lone striker Ibrahimovic.
