Next. Not even the very fast one Bologna manages to stop the leaders Inter, reaching their 13th consecutive victory in as many matches in 2024. Inzaghi takes another three steps towards the scudetto and sends a loud and clear message to Atletico Madrid, defeated yesterday in Cadiz and increasingly in difficulty: on Wednesday there is the opportunity to entering the top eight in Europe and failing would be a real shame. But Dall'Ara's result shifts the balance especially in the Champions race, given that now Roma and Atalanta can take advantage of it and get close to Thiago Motta. The games with Fiorentina and Juventus they thus become the Sunday highlight, also marked by the race for second place which will see the Bianconeri as protagonists (in Turin against Gasperini) and Pioli's Milan, the latter at San Siro against Empoli.
Bologna – Inter 0-1, Bisseck sends the Nerazzurri +18 over Juve
Sooner or later Inter will have to stop, but the moment has not yet arrived. Even in Bologna, in the presence of a team in excellent form and with Atletico at the door, Inzaghi's team did what they do best, namely winning without conceding a goal. It wasn't a walk in the park, in fact it can be said that the rossoblu could have easily equalized and continued the streak of useful results that had lasted for almost two months, but the Nerazzurri didn't allow it and took the full spoils. A splendid header was decisive Bisseck at minute 37, after Thuram and, above all, Barella had allowed themselves to be hypnotized by Skorupski. The first half was characterized by Inter, but in the second the balance changed, thanks to the (planned) changes of Inzaghi, who removed Mkhitaryan, Calhanoglu, Thuram, Barella and Carlos Augusto for Frattesi, Asllani, Arnautovic, Klaassen and Dumfries. Bologna constructed several dangerous situations, but Sommer was very attentive as always (particularly on Zirkzee) and the 0-1 remained so. Now they are 18 points ahead of Juventus, which drastically brings the moment of celebration closer. After all Inzaghi has more points than Napoli had a year ago (75 to 71), an extraordinary record second only to Mancini's Inter in 2006/07 (76, but it was the post-Calciopoli season), so it is quite logical that he can conquer the tricolor in record time and undermine the 102 mark achieved by Conte's Juventus.
Inzaghi: “Another very important victory, now head to Atletico”
“We are very happy because we honored the club's birthday with a victory that was very important for us – Inzaghi's satisfied comment -. We keep our distance from those chasing us and we deserved the lead in the first half, Bologna deserve the ranking they have, they have a good team and they made us suffer. I owe this group a dinner, maybe even more than one, but we don't have time to take free moments: the boys have given me so much, victories and trophies, I'm very grateful to them. We always have the obligation to present ourselves at our best, also because in the championship we are not yet sure of the objective, there are still ten games to go. I fear the environment at Atletico, we know what the players and coach have, there are three days left, we will try to prepare as best we can. The Wanda Metropolitano will have an impact, but we will prepare it well because we want to move forward."
Juventus – Atalanta (18pm, Dazn)
The Dall'Ara result adds even more spice to today's matches, starting with the one in Turin between Juventus and Atalanta. There are crucial points up for grabs in terms of the Champions League, especially for the Bergamo side who can get close to Bologna. This promises to be an evening of high tension, as well as difficult to interpret: Allegri's team, fresh from the defeat in Naples and, more generally, from only one victory in the last six games, is far from the standards of some time ago, but he's had a whole week to prepare and that could make all the difference. Gasperini on the other hand, as underlined several times in the press conference, is dealing with a very busy calendar, so he will necessarily have to manage his forces. On a psychological level however, the result in Bologna gives him an enormous boost to move within 2 of fourth place, allowing him to keep his antennas straight and avoid the risk of distraction. In any case, Allegri can no longer afford mistakes, otherwise only an Empoli feat at San Siro would allow him to keep second place: qualification for the next Champions League, at the moment, does not seem at risk, but his reconfirmation also depends on a season finale that lived up to expectations.
Allegri: “We need to find solidity again”
“At this moment of the season the points are very important, in Naples we played a good game, but we didn't take any – underlined Allegri -. Against Atalanta we will have to try to have a good match, but above all to get a result. We are sorry for the points lost in this period, but the seasonal objective was to arrive in March in the best conditions to reach the first four places, furthermore we are in the semi-final of the Italian Cup: for now we are in line with what we had to do, now we try to close in the best possible way. We tried to fight for the championship, then in the last month we abandoned this ambition. The team is growing, but it has players who need to play important matches: in 3-4 years we will have many of them who have grown and trained to a great level, ours is an important future."
Juventus – Atalanta, the lineups
Allegri is dealing with many defections, especially in midfield, where he will miss Rabiot (expected to return next week with Genoa) and Alcaraz (hamstring injury, a month out), but he isn't in great shape in attack either, in light of the disqualification by Vlahovic. The coach will thus be forced to reinvent his 3-5-2 type, relying on Szczesny in goal, Gatti, Bremer and Danilo in defense, Cambiaso, McKennie, Locatelli, Miretti and Iling in midfield, Chiesa and Milik in attack. Only one defection for Gasperini (defender Holm), but also the need to manage his strength in view of the match against Sporting on Thursday. The Nerazzurri coach will aim for a 3-4-2-1 with Carnesecchi between the posts, Scalvini, Djimsiti and Kolasinac in the defensive department, Zappacosta, De Roon, Ederson and Ruggeri in the midfield, Koopmeiners and Pasalic behind the lone striker Scamacca , confirmed in place of De Ketelaere after the good performance in Lisbon.
Milan – Empoli (15pm, Dazn)
The most favorable round, at least on paper, is that of Milan, even if Nicola's Empoli is going through an excellent moment of form and is looking for safety points. Net of this, it is clear that the Rossoneri must necessarily win, perhaps hoping that Atalanta will slow down Juve: second place, with this combination of results, would become a reality, putting aside the doubts that emerged after the match against Slavia Prague. The Devil won, all right, but they conceded two goals from a numerically inferior team, even risking being caught. The defects in the defensive phase show no signs of abating and this clashes with the proclamations of Pioli, called to an almost perfect end to the season to earn reconfirmation. Against Empoli, a very attentive and concentrated AC Milan will be needed, as well as being aggressive in the offensive phase: elements that are anything but obvious, given Leao's absence due to disqualification and the need, this time yes, to rotate the men in sight a bit of Prague. The Rossoneri coach, after having gained Ibrahimovic's trust, must find the right corrective measures to give the team more solidity, also taking advantage of an unusually empty infirmary (Pobega is the only one unavailable) after months of total emergency.
Milan – Empoli, the lineups: Okafor in place of Leao
The turnover will be large and will involve all departments, both by necessity (the suspensions of Leao and Florenzi) and by choice. Pioli will aim for a 4-2-3-1 with Maignan in goal, Calabria, Thiaw, Tomori and Theo Hernandez in defense, Bennacer and Reijnders in midfield, Pulisic, Loftus-Cheek and Okafor in the attacking midfield, Jovic in attack. Classic 4-3-2-1 instead for Nicola, already capable of stopping Juventus in Turin: the Italian coach, fresh from the home defeat against Cagliari, will attempt the feat with Caprile between the posts, Ismajli, Walukiewicz, Luperto and Pezzella in the defensive department, Gyasi, Marin and Maleh in the midfield, Cambiaghi and Zurkowski behind the lone striker Niang, an old acquaintance of the Rossoneri's San Siro.
Fiorentina – Rome (20.45pm, Dazn)
High level match also at the Franchi, the scene of a truly interesting Fiorentina-Roma. The offensive mentality of Italiano and De Rossi is a guarantee of spectacle, but the points up for grabs are heavy regardless: the Giallorossi to get within 1 of fourth place, the Viola to at least threaten the Europa League. Both are coming off two good victories against Brighton and Maccabi Haifa, but if the 4-3 in Budapest confirmed Fiorentina's ups and downs, the 4-0 over the English instead reiterated the extraordinary moment of Roma, literally regenerated by their new trainer. In fact, since DDR took Mourinho's place, the team has found results (six wins in seven league games, nine out of ten also considering the Europa League) and play, thus moving from a simple ferryman to a possible (probable?) technician with whom to open a cycle. Everything, as always in football, will depend on the results, so it is still early to say definitively, but we are certainly seeing the best Roma since the time of Di Francesco and the Champions League, from an almost unreal dream, has become more than an objective. concrete.
Fiorentina – Roma, the lineups: De Rossi makes a turnover
The European efforts will affect the choices of the two coaches, forced to rotate the men also in view of the return matches next Thursday. However, the 4-0 win over Brighton allows De Rossi to think above all about tonight, which is why Dybala and Lukaku will play from the start, even if they probably won't finish the match. The Giallorossi 4-3-3 will thus see Svilar in goal, Karsdorp, Mancini, Smalling and Angelino in defence, Bove, Paredes and Pellegrini in midfield, Dybala, Lukaku and Zalewski in attack. The Italian, forced to give up the suspended Beltran, will respond with a 4-2-3-1 with Terracciano between the posts, Kayode, Milenkovic, Martinez Quarta and Biraghi in the defensive department, Arthur and Bonaventura in the midfield, Nico Gonzalez, Barak and Sottil at the shoulders of the lone striker Belotti.
