Milan and Atalanta see the Champions League, but Juventus and Lazio remain alive. The 36th day leaves the top positions unchanged, with the first 6 all victorious and therefore still in the running for their respective objectives. But the midweek shift, the last of this season, was not interlocutory, indeed it leaves quite precise indications of what could happen next weekend, when some verdicts risk becoming mathematical.
Milan e Atalanta, for example, I'm 3 points away from the Champions League, but they could reach it as early as Saturday, therefore 24 hours before taking the field against Cagliari and Genoa: if Inter beat Juve and Lazio failed to win the derby, in fact, they would already be celebrating in front of the TV, transforming their respective matches in real catwalks. However, the Bianconeri and Biancocelesti will sell their skin dearly, in the hope that Milan, Atalanta and, above all, Naples (the closest in the standings) will be able to stick the fence the next day. Nothing is impossible, God forbid, yet the feeling is that the three aforementioned are doing very well and are really one step away from the prestigious goal.
This Wednesday's cover is definitely up to the Pioli's Rossoneri, authors of a sensational victory over Turin, not so much for the opponent as for the score: a 0-7 (!), in fact, you don't see very often, especially in a balanced championship like ours. Three goals from Rebic (67', 72' and 79'), two from Hernandez (19' and 62'), one from Kessié (26' from a penalty) and one from Diaz (50') transformed the treacherous land grenade in a walk of health, allowing the Devil to archive the double parenthesis in Turin with a truly enviable roster, made up of two victories, 10 goals scored and none conceded. The Champions League, at this point, is very close and to reach it, even if no help arrives from Inter and Roma, it will be enough to beat Cagliari, which is in turn more relaxed after the 0-0 home draw with Fiorentina.
“Two such important performances in equally difficult away games are a very strong signal – commented by Pioli – We are still missing one victory and we have to think about the next one, we are 3 km from the summit, until you are up… Anything can happen”. Mathematics proves him right, logic a little less: it is true that Milan, up to now, have often struggled at home against the so-called small teams, but the leap in technical and mental quality shown in recent days authorizes at least optimism.
The same is evidently true for theAtalanta, for once less spectacular than usual, yet capable of conquering yet another victory of the season. The 2-0 win over Benevento (goals from Muriel in the 22nd minute and Pasalic in the 67th minute) gave a rather comfortable match point against Ballardini's Genoa, mathematically saved from yesterday thanks to the success over Bologna (0-2 signed by Zappacosta and Scamacca ).
"One of our characteristics is knowing how to keep our feet on the ground, we haven't done anything yet - he scoffed Gasperini – What is certain is that with 3 points we will be in the Champions League, in the next two games we are responsible for our destiny".
This is where the stories of those who depend only on themselves end and those of those who, also and above all through their own faults, have to depend on others begin. There Juventus he knows well that qualifying for Europe that counts will be very complicated, but not impossible: thanks to the victory over Sassuolo, which at least restored a little hope. Conquering the Mapei Stadium wasn't easy, especially since after 16' the neroverdi had a penalty available to direct the match: here Gigi Buffon took the chair, who 24 hours after saying goodbye to the Lady saved her in real life sense of the word, proving to "remove the disturbance" to the great hypnotizing Berardi. Shortly after Rabiot, the one who had induced the penalty with a foolishness, made up for it by finding the 1-0 goal (28') and when Ronaldo, finally charged and eager, doubled up (45'), Juve revised a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. Raspadori tried to shut him down by shortening the distance (59'), but Dybala then fed him with the final 3-1 goal, postponing everything until next Saturday, when reigning champion Inter will arrive at the Stadium.
“It wasn't easy to recover after the defeat against Milan, but we did well – the analysis by Pirlo – We are still here and we are alive, we will fight to the end. Buffon, CR7 and Dybala? Champions in football always make the difference, we have many and they gave a precise imprint to the match”.
However, an even better performance will be needed on Saturday, otherwise beating the Nerazzurri will be really difficult. Conte's team it hasn't subsided at all with the Scudetto, as demonstrated by the successes with Sampdoria and Roma. Yesterday's 3-1 (Brozovic 11', Vecino 20', Lukaku 90', Mkhitaryan in the 31st minute for the Giallorossi) gives the perception of an electric team, even too much in light of what happened in the 77th minute, when the coach replaced Lautaro with Pinamonti. The Argentine, who in turn took over for Sanchez in the 35th minute (ankle injury), reacted very badly by blatantly sending him to hell, stimulating the inevitable (and equally blatant) reaction of the person concerned. Conte, as expected, once again "skipped" the press conference, but that "respect and don't be a phenomenon" in favor of the camera obviously did not go unnoticed.
On the front Roma instead all that remains is to file away the umpteenth defeat of this sad season, perhaps hoping it can stimulate a little in view of Saturday's derby. Before thinking about the Mourinho who will come, in fact, there is a very heartfelt game to be played by the whole environment, even more so with a Lazio still in the running for the Champions League. Of course, the Biancocelesti would need a real miracle, but the last minute victory over Parma (immobile's goal in the 95th minute) leaves at least a glimmer of hope, which is however inextricably linked to a clear path in the next three games (Tuesday 18 will finally be the recovery with Turin).
“I warned the team that it would be tough – he explained Inzaghi – We are two and a half days away from a very important match for us that we want to face in the best possible way, the disqualified players will return and there are good sensations”. A couple of days of waiting, then we'll see what happens. Because the only certainty, in this crazy championship, is that the verdicts are about to arrive.
