Milan and Rome are there. Not yet at the level of Juventus and Napoli, all right, but still present in a championship that will see them fight for high positions. How high only time will tell, but of course there has been progress compared to a few weeks ago, and how if there has been.
Winning with Spal and Benevento was practically mandatory, yet these are precisely the matches in which important points can be lost and in this Montella and Di Francesco were good: maximum attention and full loot collected.
For the Rossoneri it was essentially a penalty victory: two (rightly) conceded by the referee Abisso and as many goals that earned Semplici's success over the Ferrara players, well organized but still too naive to take away points from San Siro. Midway through the first half a foul by Gomis on Kalinic resulted in the first penalty (26' Rodriguez), at the start of the second half instead it was Felipe who landed Kessie and then sent the same on the spot for the final 2-0 (61').
“We still have to improve in managing the various moments of the game but I liked the team and there are many positive aspects – commented Montella. – This group is destined to grow, I am convinced that over time things will get better and better and we will be able to fight for important objectives”.
The same speech which, more or less, also applies to Rome. Here the revolution was less impressive but certainly the changes have arrived and Di Francesco has found himself managing a situation that is anything but easy, moreover with the worry of the results. Now, thanks to a calendar that has "given" Verona and Benevento, two round and convincing successes have arrived, the last one also with a nice splash of turnover which, these days, never hurts.
Vigorito's 0-4 says more than a thousand words: there was practically never a game and Roma ended up winning and having fun, a nice luxury these days that the Giallorossi would do well not to get used to. The emblem of all this is Dzeko: angry and sad after the hard work with Atletico Madrid, refreshed and joyful after the 4 goals in the last two games.
His tap-in into an empty net unlocked the match in Benevento (22'), his left foot at the start of the second half essentially closed it (52'). Before and after two tragicomic own goals (Lucioni 35', Venuti 74') which confirm the inadequacy of the Campania players in Serie A (10 goals conceded in the last two games, 0 scored), but also the newfound offensive vein of Roma.
“I'm happy with the team's performance, I saw my football ideas develop on the pitch – commented Di Francesco. – Something is entering the boys' heads and Dzeko proves it: he knows he was wrong to say certain things after Atletico Madrid, when he is closer to goal the results are seen ”. Milan and Roma want to have their say and now, after a somewhat similar start, they are finally ready to do so.
