Hold on to the train. Napoli and Milan follow the example of Juventus and Inter thus continuing the race to the top of the standings with full points, albeit with a few more worries than expected. In fact, getting the better of Atalanta and Cagliari was not easy at all, on the contrary: at a certain point, the Azzurri and Rossoneri seriously feared they would not make it and had to deal with the first missteps of the season. Instead it wasn't like that and in the end important results and heavy points remain, useful for outlining the first hierarchies of a championship that is confirmed to be uncertain and full of ideas, from all points of view.
There was great curiosity to see if Sarri would finally be able to defeat Gasperini, the only one who had been able to beat him both in the first leg and second leg last year. Mission accomplished but without trembling: it was Atalanta who took the lead first with Cristante (15') and, at least for a time, created the best chances. But then in the second half the great quality of Napoli came out, able to find the equalizer with a jewel from Zielinski (56 ') and to overturn the match with the usual Mertens, served well by another habitué of the assist like Insigne ( 61').
At that point, inertia shifted towards the hosts and Atalanta, although willing, never really managed to worry Reina (by the way: tearful greetings from the goalkeeper at the end of the game, testifying to a situation of market to be monitored closely). Rog's third goal sanctioned victory and final celebration, for a less beautiful than usual but meaner Napoli: after all, what is needed to really try to win the Scudetto.
Three important points for Milan too, at the end of an equally complicated evening. In fact, Rastelli's Cagliari comes out of the San Siro with a very high head and a draw, on balance, would not have been a false result. Once again, however, what makes the difference is the quality of the individuals, in this case of Suso. The Spaniard was the real star of the match: his assist for the 1-0 goal by the usual Cutrone (10', if Kalinic and Andre Silva continues like this will have to sweat a lot to oust him from the starting eleven), but above all his was the free-kick that in the 70th minute removed Montella from the quicksand of the equalizer to which Joao Pedro's right foot had forced him (56').
Milan much less brilliant than on other occasions even if, all in all, what really matters are the 3 points: and those, between the championship and the Europa League, are arriving in series. “I knew it would be tough – commented Montella. – We are a bit tired and also for this reason we ended up stretching ourselves too much, we need to be able to manage the game better. In any case, the victory is deserved, this type of success is very heavy in the space of a championship and indeed I hope there will be more like this”.
Naples and Milan are there, even on a more complicated Sunday than expected. Testifying to a championship in which, in one direction or another, we will have to deal with both.
