Victory amidst controversy. Milan conquers the Olimpico at the end of a match full of refereeing episodes, a real Wild West managed very badly by the referee Di Bello, the true protagonist (in spite of himself, of course) of the evening. Lazio finished with 8 men (!) for the expulsions of Pellegrini, Marusic and Guendouzi, he also complains about a possible penalty after just 12' and about the other key episode of the match, the first red card, deemed unfair for fair play reasons. The Rossoneri, for their part, took 3 very important points despite not having put in a brilliant performance and returned to undermining Juve's second place, now only one point away. The Biancocelesti, on the other hand, distance themselves heavily from the couple Bologna-Atalanta, therefore from an increasingly complicated Champions League position: Roma, on stage today in Monza, will try to take advantage of it and put further pressure on the fourth.
Lazio – Milan 0-1: Okafor decides, Lazio with 8 men and furious with referee Di Bello
The match at the Olimpico was very far from the predictions of goals and entertainment, destined to go down in history more for Di Bello's errors than for what happened on the pitch. Lazio and Milan, in fact, fought more on a competitive level than on a technical level, perhaps also due to the enormous pressure on both shoulders.
The match heats up already in the 12th minute Maignan comes into contact with Castellanos: the Biancocelesti shout for a penalty, the referee allows it to continue (and the decision, images in hand, seems correct, given that it was an accidental fact, with the ball now far from the attacker's availability). The atmosphere warms up, but the first half passes by without further controversy and with only one great chance for Vecino, one step away from scoring following a corner. The second half continued in the name of balance until the 57th minute, when Lazio remained with 10 men the expulsion of Pellegrini. The foul on Pulisic, in itself, is very clear and deserves the second yellow, if it weren't for the fact that it all stems from a blow by Bennacer on Castellanos not seen by either Di Bello or his collaborators. The Biancoceleste full-back could have put the ball out, but the play had to be stopped early and therefore it was a serious error.
From then on, Milan gains ground, thanks to Pioli's hyper-offensive substitutions (Florenzi, Bennacer and Adli out, Calabria, Reijnders and Okafor in), scores a goal with Leao (annulled for offside by centimeters), risks conceding one from Immobile, unfortunate in kicking out from an excellent position. The match seems to slip away with a score of 0-0, but at 88' Here's Okafor's strike to break the balance and give Milan 3 points as heavy as they were unexpected. Di Bello's show, however, is not over yet: in the 95th minute he sends off Marusic for an alleged insult (in the sense that the images do not show it), a minute later he also sends out Guendouzi for a rather fiscal violent reaction (the push on Pulisic deserved yellow, no more). The match thus ends with Milan's victory, before continuing in front of cameras and notebooks.
Lotito furious: "Once every limit has been exceeded, we will turn to third-party institutions"
The scene took it Claudio Lotito, who showed up to speak in Sarri's place. “The reliability of the system is lacking and when this happens we need to resort to third-party institutions that put an end to unfortunate situations like this – the words of the Lazio president -. You have to win with merit, there is a limit beyond which one must not go and here instead it was surpassed. I don't talk to referees, I don't know Di Bello but I saw how he refereed... Someone who is a referee should have the ability to understand what is the point of balance and breaking. The time has come for the League to have a third party management outside the system, because it is no longer able to guarantee reliability. Lazio will assert itself in the appropriate forums for what everyone has seen publicly, when a system is not able to guarantee reliability it should ask itself question marks and give concrete answers, not in words. This thing has been happening for some time. I don't blame the team for anything, he also had a few opportunities to win despite some people's expectations. Sport is about merit and respect for the rules, but here they have failed. Sarri? With the coach there is no conflict, only dialectical comparisons aimed at composing and never dividing. I evaluate the results and, when they depend on others, we must act."
Pioli: “Nervous match, we took advantage of their mistakes. Cardinal's words? No comment"
"Was a nervous and foul match – Pioli's analysis -. In the first half we had little pace, we needed to have more speed when turning the ball and more depth. It was a balanced match, with few opportunities, in the second half we started better and took advantage of Lazio's mistakes. Not conceding goals was important for us, having conceded too many in the last few away matches despite not conceding who knows how much. We have the quality to score, both in the starters and in those who take over. Cardinale's sentences? I have never commented on the owners' words: as such, he has the right and duty to make his own assessments. Pellegrini's expulsion? Sarri told me that the ball was about to go out, but the referee didn't blow his whistle. Pulisic is a correct player, he made his play: I don't see why we had to throw the ball out, if this was their will they should have done it." It should be noted that the coach then controversially left the press conference after a back-and-forth with a journalist, who had branded Pulisic as unsportsmanlike.
Monza – Rome (18pm, Dazn)
The weekend will continue with three more matches, among which stands out Monza-Rome. The Giallorossi, fresh from five victories in the last six days, have returned to breathing the air of the Champions League and want to continue the race at the Brianteo too, especially since tomorrow there will be Bologna-Atalanta and a success would bring back points for someone, perhaps for both. To turn the plan into reality, the right head will be needed, because the trip to Brianza can be very dangerous: Pioli's Milan knows something about this, having suffered a disastrous fall for having taken the commitment lightly. The ranking should avoid this risk, given the possibility of getting fourth and fifth place closer, in case we need to keep an eye on Monza and their qualities.
Palladino's team loves to hit spaces and De Rossi's Roma, as we have now understood, concede a lot of them. On the other hand there has been an undeniable growth in terms of offensive play, evidenced by the 16 goals scored in the six matches played so far, which becomes 18 also considering the double clash with Feyenoord. Only time will tell if the path taken can be more profitable than that of Mourinho, certainly though serenity has returned to Trigoria which hasn't been seen for a long time: the Giallorossi have the task of beating Monza and ensuring that the idyll continues undisturbed, perhaps with the help of that Lukaku who has appeared decidedly subdued in the last period.
De Rossi: “We are calm and ready to do anything to win. Lukaku? There is no long face"
“I am very calm because we will put the team that I think will be able to allow us to win the match – explained De Rossi -. In the last few games Monza has changed a little, so we have some doubts: we have to prepare more than one game, we are ready for anything and we will take the double chance whether they play with a three-man or four-man defence. They have a great coach, we did the UEFA course together. I'm happy for him because he deserves it, but obviously I'll try to beat him. Lukaku? Everyone is up for debate, Dybala and I too, the choices derive from performance or condition. Romelu's condition is stellar, he always runs and fights. This makes everyone happy, he is a footballer that everyone would like. I don't see long faces in the team, Romelu from this point of view is the perfect player."
Monza – Roma, the lineups: De Rossi relaunches the Dybala-Lukaku-El Shaarawy trident
Almost full squad for Roma, with the exception of Karsdorp (muscle fatigue) and the long-term patient Abraham. De Rossi will field the best possible team, also because Brighton are still far away and the points up for grabs are quite heavy. The yellow-red 4-3-3 will see Svilar in goal, Kristensen, Mancini, Ndicka and Angelino in defense, Cristante, Paredes and Pellegrini in midfield, Dybala, Lukaku and El Shaarawy in attack. There are also wide choices for Palladino's Monza, who will rely on a 4-2-3-1 with Di Gregorio between the posts, Birindelli, Pablo Marì, Caldirola and Andrea Carboni in the defensive department, Pessina and Gagliardini in the midfield, Colpani, Valentin Carboni and Dany Mota behind the lone striker Djuric.
