Only Inter and…Juventus enjoy. On Wednesday in the league, which could have changed the standings, the only ones smiling were the Nerazzurri and Bianconeri, the first thanks to the victory in Genoa which locks down the Champions League area, the second due to the defeat of Napoli which brings the eighth consecutive Scudetto even closer: next weekend he could already be the one of the party, as long as he beats Milan and hopes that the Azzurri fall again.
But if the title has long been a mere mathematical question, so it is not for the race for Europe that counts, so unpredictable as to escape any logic and prediction. Suffice it to say that Gattuso's draw with Udinese, from a misstep, turned into a point earned, even if Atalanta, engaged tonight against Bologna (21 pm), could even go within 1.
Finding the Gasperini gang on the heels would certainly not be a pleasure but Milan could have gone much worse: the bogeymen Lazio and Roma, in fact, failed the chance to make the fight for fourth place a real tussle.
Inter, on the other hand, made the most of the situation by conquering Genoa with a four-of-a-kind game to remember, both for the result and for the return of Icardi, back on the pitch after 53 days of "forced break". The Argentine converted a penalty obtained by himself with the accompanying expulsion of Romero (39'), then sent Perisic on goal (just him, the great enemy!) for the 3-0 (54'), thus sanctioning the best the end of hostilities, at least until June.
The other two goals are the work of Gagliardini, one at the start (15'), the other at the end of the contest (80'), if that was the case. “It was a great match from everyone – commented Spalletti – A performance from a mature team, these are three fundamental points after those lost against Lazio. Mauro? He played a good game, the rest are decisions made by whoever has to make them ”.
Beyond Icardi, yesterday was a fundamental day for Inter, back at a safe distance from the Romans: thanks to Marassi's 0-4, of course, but also to the missteps of the aforementioned players, unable to beat their respective opponents .
Roma's draw against Fiorentina and, above all, Lazio's defeat in Ferrara, represent two sensational wasted opportunities to shorten the standings, albeit in different ways. At the Olimpico it was a match full of goals and emotions, as evidenced by the 2-2 final with the Giallorossi recovering, twice, the momentary advantage of the Viola (13' Pezzella, 51' Gerson) thanks to Zaniolo (14' ) and to Perotti (56').
"We've had a good reaction twice, we have to be satisfied - Ranieri's words - This was what I wanted: to demonstrate to ourselves and our fans, we're still there, we can go to Europe".
However, the main one remains 4 points away, the same points that separate Lazio from Milan: the defeat against Spal is the most surprising result on Wednesday. It was Petagna who decided on a match now destined for a 0-0 draw on a penalty (89') that angered Inzaghi, even if the images leave little doubt: the foul on Cionek was actually punishable.
"I haven't seen him again but the boys in the locker room told me he wasn't there – explained the Lazio coach – We're sorry, this was a great opportunity that we didn't take advantage of".
Bitter defeat, just like that of Naples even if here the points up for grabs were objectively less heavy. But the knockout on the Empoli field (2-1, goals from Farias, momentary equalizer from Zielinski and final tap-in from Di Lorenzo) demonstrates, once again, that the Azzurri are light years away from being a team winning and not a little worrying in view of the Europa League, the only goal left this season so far stingy with emotions.
“Head and legs were missing, a subdued match from the first to the last minute, a deserved defeat and there's nothing else to say – acknowledged Ancelotti – We were messy and inattentive, so Empoli took over. Now we have to roll up our hands and think about the next game”.
