The anti-Juve is called Lazio. victory overInter projects the biancocelesti into second place with 56 points, one less than the bianconeri, who returned to the top thanks to the success against Brescia and, above all, the knockout of the nerazzurri. The big loser on Sunday is therefore Conte, who slipped in one fell swoop to third place and minus 3 from Juve, but woe to consider him outside the Scudetto speech: this, however important, was only an intermediate stage, not the last corner before of the finish line.
Instead, it is right to celebrate Inzaghi's Lazio, who reached their 20th consecutive useful result on the most important night. A group ago, in the first leg against Inter at San Siro, no one even remotely imagined they could see her fighting for the title, but not only is she there but she is also the most convincing both in terms of play and performance .
“We had an excellent game against a great team that had lost only once in the whole championship – the radiant comment of the Biancoceleste coach. – The boys were good at keeping their heads even when they were behind, in the interval I told them we could turn it around. The Scudetto? Surely having more mental lightness is an advantage, but now the matches are starting to get tough for us too: in the warm-up we were contracted, I told the players to stay calm and not think about it".
The effects were seen, because even in the first half it was Lazio who played better, even though the match was marked by a great balance. Young's goal (44', tap-in after a faulty retaliation by Strakosha) could have cut her legs off, but Inzaghi's team returned from half-time with the attitude of those who absolutely wanted to turn everything around.
To play a decisive role, in spite of himself, it was still Padelli, who first botched together with Skriniar on the occasion that led to the penalty (50', foul by De Vrij on Immobile and penalty converted by Ciro himself), then went slow down on Milinkovic-Savic's shot which was worth the 2-1 (69 '), even if, in his partial defense, it must be said that he was covered by a forest of legs.
But Inter can't just blame their goalkeeper: the truth is that they did too little to win this game, and then even ended up losing it. “We gave away the two goals to Lazio and I didn't like that – Conte's analysis. – Having said that, the margins of error in this match are few, the details become decisive and we have committed great ingenuity on goals, but it is part of the growth process. I have many guys who have to keep working and improve to be more serene in these situations."
To smile therefore it is also Juventus, victorious in the afternoon against Brescia. A success that is worth the first place in the standings alone and an extra pinch of serenity in view of the next matches: after the away game against Spal, in fact, the bianconeri will have to deal with Lyon and Inter and there will really be no more room for errors of any kind.
Yesterday's 2-0 against the penultimate Brescia is not enough to dispel the clouds of recent times, also because Sarri, despite the success, ended up in the dock again, this time due to Pjanic's injury: the Bosnian was not at better but the technician, despite the advantage and numerical superiority, inserted it anyway, with the result of remedying a muscle problem that could cost dearly.
"We don't know what it is yet, it will have to be evaluated" Maurizio glossed over, preferring to dwell on the victory found after the knockout in Verona and the draw in Milan. “We did what we had to do, once the result was unlocked we were patient and played well – he continued. – We have to do better in all phases, even if we need a little more luck since we have hit five poles in the last two games…”.
Quiet Sunday for the black and whites, who after the stormy away games with Hellas and Milan found themselves facing a decidedly softer opponent, all the more so after the expulsion of Ayé and the immediate advantage signed by Dybala, who scored from the free-kick following the foul aforementioned (38'). From then on, Juve was able to manage without too many problems, allowing themselves the luxury, after letting Ronaldo rest, of embracing Chiellini again, at the first coupon in view of the season finale. Shortly before the “King Kong” catwalk, Cuadrado's 2-0 (75') extinguished any desire for a Brescian comeback, thus sanctioning the return to victory for the Lady.
Instead, they will close the 24th day Milan and Turin, engaged in the postponement of the San Siro (20.45 pm). A very delicate match for both: the Rossoneri are forced to win to get back into the Europa League race, the grenades to avoid the risk of being sucked into the safety zone. In short, hot points, also because the teams in question do not make continuity their strong point.
However, Milan are the favorites in light of the good performances against Inter (the first half of course) and Juve, while Toro is back from four consecutive defeats (16 goals conceded!) and from an involution that not even the change of coach is managed to stop.
“We need to strengthen the positive sensations and bring back the same spirit of the last few races – thought Pioli. – We must continue like this to build something important, I would like to see a team with Ibrahimovic's face for the entire 90'. The semifinal with all the difficulties we have is still open, there are many points available in the championship: everything is open, but we need to tighten up”.
The Rossoneri coach knows that the time to improve the standings is running out, as is the manager's credit towards him. His work up to now has been judged positively, but now it's time to put everything into practice with the results, otherwise there will be yet another turnaround at the end of the season. Victories are urgently needed, starting tonight, where Milan will take the field with the usual 4-4-2 with Donnarumma in goal, Calabria, Kjaer, Romagnoli and Hernandez in defence, Castillejo, Kessié, Bennacer and Calhanoglu in midfield, Rebic and Ibrahimovic in attack.
Longo, after last week's unhappy debut (1-3 at home against Sampdoria), will attempt redemption by relying on a 3-5-2 that will see Sirigu in goal, Bremer, Nkolou and Lyanco in the back, De Silvestri, Lukic , Rincon, Baselli and Ansaldi in the midfield, Berenguer and Belotti as an offensive duo.
