Turin-Juventus 1-1. It wasn't supposed to be a draw, but it was a draw. Aggression, hard tackles and running for an hour of play by a Courageous Turin but as always blunt; slow pace, few and confused ideas instead for Juventus despite the invention of Yildiz who unlocked the match after just eight minutes. An ideal situation on paper for the black and whites who, instead, ended up suffering the pressure of the granata retreating his position, bringing the enemy home and finally capitulating in full recovery to a single play by Vlasic, surgical and powerful in the left-handed shot for 1-1.
In the second half, Torino tried to take advantage of Juve's somewhat submissive attitude in the first quarter of an hour, coming back onto the pitch with the same determination as in the second half of the first half and worrying Di Gregorio's defence. A shot by Maripan kept the Bianconeri goalkeeper busy, but then Vanoli's team had to give way to their own limitations in the scoring phase; the numbers don't lie. After a disputed action for an intervention by Savona as the last man on Karamoh (on the ball ed), tension exploded on the bench with the two coaches clashing and being sent off, leaving their respective coaches to their assistants. The Bull's gas ran out after an hour, finding a bit of a jolt only in the final confusion, but until the ninetieth minute Milinkovic-Savic was there to save the saveable, denying the goal with positioning and reflexes first to Koopmeiners, then to Nico Gonzalez and Cambiaso.
Thiago Motta: “We created a lot, unfortunately collected
“We did very well at the beginning and took the lead – Thiago Motta’s analysis -. Then we dropped back and conceded a goal in a situation where we could have been more aggressive, an individual play. In the second half we entered the game well, playing forward and having opportunities that we didn’t capitalize on. My expulsion? A measure I didn't deserve. I spoke to the referee at the end of the match too. After the match against Bologna I said I deserved to be sent off because I protested. I respect the referee's decision, but for me today it wasn't a deserved sending off. Then the things that happen on the pitch stay on the pitch, from my point of view I deserved to continue to be on the pitch”.
Milan – Cagliari 1-1
After the feat in the Super Cup, Milan dives back into the championship and draws against Cagliari: a 1-1 that further slows down their run towards the Champions League, thus throwing away a golden opportunity to get closer to the Champions League zone after the draws of Lazio, Juventus and Atalanta. Milan immediately takes control of the match and forces Cagliari on the defensive. As time passes, the Devils become less aggressive and towards the end Nicola's team becomes dangerous: in the 36th minute Calabria's closure on Viola is perfect, while in the 40th minute Maignan with a warning hand denies Felici his first goal in Serie A. The second half begins with Pulisic: the American first hits the top of the crossbar with a right-footed shot on the counter-rebound, then hits the woodwork again (with a deflection by Caprile), but Morata gets ahead of Palomino and scores into an empty net (51'). It seems like the goal that can make the match easier, but it isn't. Fofana loses a poisonous ball in midfield and gives the restart to Felici who serves Zortea, whose diagonal is anything but irresistible but surprises Maignan (55'). There is plenty of time to find the winning goal, Conceiçao also plays the Jimenez and Abraham cards but Caprile takes the stage with a series of saves on Fofana, Pulisic, Theo (twice, the second time in the 96th minute) and on the Englishman who could have kicked much better diagonally. On points Milan would have deserved the victory, but Cagliari did not steal anything and returns to Sardinia with a very precious point in the race for salvation.
Conceiçao: “The worst first half since I’ve been coaching, I’m angry”
“I expected much more from all points of view,” sighed Conceiçao. “I think it was the worst first half that one of my teams has played since I’ve been coaching. The second was better, though… I have to record a lot of things and work a lot, even in my head: I saw a lot of things that I didn’t like at all, I’m angry. We lacked width, when we opened up the game we seemed stuck: this is also one of the problems we have to solve. In attack it’s fine to be altruistic, but there are moments when you have to leave aside the fine touch, the difficult pass: football is simple and you have to do simple things.”
Venice – Inter (15pm, Dazn)
Sunday promises to be a show, starting with the match between Venezia and Inter. On paper, it is a fairly predictable challenge, but what happened in the Super Cup has turned on the warning light on the Nerazzurri, who appeared distracted and superficial just like at the start of the season. It is therefore logical to expect an immediate reaction, both in terms of results (winning is mandatory) and attitude, a conditio sine qua non to aim to repeat the ride of a year ago. Inzaghi hopes to draw something positive from the defeat, if only from a mental point of view, but it certainly cannot be said that this is the best moment of his management. The coach, for the first time in three and a half years, finds himself having to manage several injuries in all departments, which does not allow him the usual rotation of men, especially during the match. The calendar, fortunately for him, presents him with medium-low obstacles (after Venezia he will face Bologna, Empoli, Sparta Prague and Lecce), but it will still be tight and not to be underestimated for any reason. Furthermore, Venezia is a distant relative of the one encountered on November 3, in a match that was much tougher than expected (it ended 1-0 with a goal disallowed for the Venetians in injury time): in the last five games, Di Francesco's team has collected one victory, three draws (among which the 2-2 against Juve stands out) and only one defeat, also by a narrow margin, in Naples. A hungry and on-the-ball Inter would have no problem taking the 3 points, while a softer and more distracted one would: we'll know more at 15 pm...
Venice – Inter, probable formations
Venice (3-5-2): Stankovic; Altar, Idzes, Sverko; Zampano, Busio, Nicolussi Caviglia, Ellertsson, Carboni; Pohjanpalo, Oristanio
On the bench: Joronen, Grandi, Haps, Sagrado, Schingtienne, Candela, Condé, Bjarkason, Andersen, Doumbia, Gytkjaer, Yeboah, El Haddad
Coach: Di Francesco
Unavailable: Svoboda, Duncan, Crnigoj
Disqualified: none
Inter (3-5-2): Sommer; Darmian, De Vrij, Bastoni; Dumfries, Barella, Asllani, Zielinski, Carlos Augusto; Taremi, Lautaro
On the bench: Martinez, Calligaris, Pavard, Palacios, Buchanan, Dimarco, Frattesi, Thuram, Arnautovic
Coach: Inzaghi
Unavailable: Acerbi, Di Gennaro, Correa, Calhanoglu, Bisseck, Mkhitaryan
Disqualified: None
Naples – Verona (20pm, Dazn)
Maximum attention will also be paid to Maradona, where the match between Napoli and Verona will take place. There are 3 very important points at stake for the standings, even more so after Atalanta's draw, but in recent days there has been more talk of the Kvaratskhelia case than anything else. PSG's offer is concrete, as is the Georgian's desire to accept it, and it is no mystery that even De Laurentiis, stung by previous refusals (above all Osimhen), has entered the order to say yes. Antonio Conte, as we will see shortly, has endorsed the transfer, aware that he cannot oppose the boy's will, especially if 80 million were to arrive from Paris. That money, in fact, would be used to strengthen the squad, with the profiles of Zhegrova (Lille) and Chiesa (Liverpool) at the top of the list, without forgetting Skriniar (PSG), Danilo (Juve) and, who knows, some surprise names. In all this there is a game to play and Napoli, although starting as a clear favorite, will have to face it with great attention. The precedent of two weeks ago with Venezia, after all, confirms that there are no easy games, because if it is true that the Azzurri still managed to get the 3 points, it is also true that Raspadori's goal arrived only in the final, at the end of a challenge of great suffering. Winning is almost mandatory, also because then the calendar will pit Atalanta, Juventus and Roma against each other: a real iron cycle, which is why a misstep against Verona could prove to be really damaging.
Conte: “Kvara asked to be sold, I’m disappointed but I can’t chain him down”
“Kvaratskhelia has asked to be sold, I spoke to him and he confirmed it to me – Conte admitted -. I feel very disappointed after having spent six months trying to make him feel at the centre of the project, instead we are at the starting point. I am disappointed, I have not been so incisive in convincing the parties to move forward together and now I have to take a step back, I cannot keep in chains those who do not want to stay, I already did it this summer. The situation must be resolved by the club, the player and his entourage, I am not vetoing his transfer now, I did it in July because I thought I could convince the boy of the project, but I did not succeed. Have I thought about a replacement? No, honestly it is something too fresh and it is a bolt from the blue. I am only focused on Verona and I also want to pass him on to the boys, the most important thing is the three points. I expect a tough match, in the first leg he scored three goals and we will have to be focused. I hope the fans will give us a big hand as always, we have to start the second half of the season in the best possible way".
Napoli – Verona, probable formations
Napoli (4-3-3): Meret; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Juan Jesus, Spinazzola; Anguissa, Lobotka, McTominay; Politano, Lukaku, Neres
On the bench: Scuffet, Contini, Marin, Zerbin, Mazzocchi, Gilmour, Simeone, Olivera, Ngonge, Raspadori, Gioielli, Hasa
Coach: Conte
Unavailable: Kvaratskhelia, Good morning
Disqualified: None
Verona (3-4-2-1): Montipò; Dawidowicz, Coppola, Ghilardi; Lazovic, Belahyane, Duda, Bradaric; Suslov, Tengstedt; Sarr
On the bench: Perilli, Berardi, Daniliuc, Magnani, Okou, Faraoni, Dani Silva, Cisse, Kastanos, Lambourde, Livramento, Alidou, Mosquera
Coach: Zanetti
Unavailable: Frese, Harroui
Disqualified: Tchatchoua, Serdar
Bologna – Roma (18pm, Dazn and Sky)
Completing Sunday's picture, in addition to Genoa-Parma (12:30), will be Bologna and Roma, engaged in a fascinating and delicate match. A year ago it was a real direct clash for the Champions League, but now it is not and the blame lies entirely with the Giallorossi, decidedly behind in the standings after the terrible start to the championship. However, the victory in the derby has rekindled enthusiasm and Roma, perhaps with the help of the transfer market, could prove to be the loose cannon of the second half of the season. This is the mission of Claudio Ranieri, beacon of a city that has returned to cheering with unity and compactness, just like with Mourinho and De Rossi. His treatment, after all, is working rather well, both in terms of results (the Giallorossi have collected three wins and a draw in the last four games) and management: the recovery of captain Pellegrini is just the latest example, for a coach who has already recovered Dybala, Hummels and Paredes. However, they will face a tough opponent like Italiano's Bologna, only partially diminished by the defeat against Verona on December 30. The rossoblu have 28 points and a game to make up (against Milan), which is why they have more than justified European ambitions. Today's game, in short, is very important for both, given that a victory would change perspectives and objectives. Italiano and Ranieri, then, could not be more different: the former is young and "playful", the latter is decidedly more experienced and "result-oriented". At the Dall'Ara, two opposing schools of thought will face each other, with victory as the only (and essential) great common objective.
Ranieri: “We are close to an away win. Frattesi? I won’t tell you anything…”
“As a coach I have to warn the team, I am convinced that we will play a very good game, the incidents will exalt us or condemn us – Ranieri thought -. We are aware that Bologna will jump at our throats, they will not let us breathe: we know a thousand things, now we have to put them into practice. An away mentality and a home mentality? I don't think so, that mental aspect that makes you give that extra is missing, but we are close. You have seen that our games have been vigorous, we could have lost, against Milan perhaps won. We are creating opportunities, there are only a few days left until the away victory: I am for big numbers, sooner or later it has to come. Frattesi? If I have spoken about him I won't tell you... We have a broad vision on everything, but we have to try to find players for Roma”.
Bologna – Roma, probable formations
Bologna (4-2-3-1): Skorupski; Holm, Beukema, Lucumì, Lykogiannis; Freuler, Ferguson; Ndoye, Fabbian, Dominguez; Dallinga
On the bench: Bagnolini, Ravaglia, Erlic, De Silvestri, Posch, Casale, Corazza, Miranda, Moro, Iling Jr, Urbanski, Castro, Orsolini, Odgaard
Coach: Italian
Unavailable: El Azzouzi, Cambiaghi, Aebischer
Disqualified: Pobega
Rome (3-4-2-1): Svilar; Mancini, Hummels, Ndicka; Saelemaekers, Koné, Paredes, Angelino; Dybala, Pellegrini; Dovbyk
On the bench: Ryan, Marin, Sangaré, Hermoso, Dahl, Abdulhamid, Celik, Soulé, Zalewski, Baldanzi, Shomurodov, El Shaarawy, Pisilli
Coach: Ranieri
Unavailable: Cristante
Disqualified: None