A point that is good for everyone but that really does not please anyone. The 1-1 draw at San Paolo doesn't bring about any jolts in the standings either one way or the other, so it leaves every scenario open without, however, suggesting any real change. The same goes for the Scudetto fight, which sees Roma gnawing at two points from Juventus and the Champions League, with Napoli up 4 over Lazio, up 6 over Atalanta and, perhaps, over Inter (only if they win in tonight's match against Sampdoria).
Safety margins still subject to comeback, yet large enough to leave a good dose of serenity. It must be for this reason that Napoli and Juve did not face each other with white weapons, even if, given the game in hand, the point goes much closer to the Azzurri than to the Bianconeri.
"I'm satisfied, I've never seen them in such difficulty in the league as against us - commented Sarri - The result leaves us a little bitter in the mouth but we're still happy, with this attitude we'll try to win on Wednesday". The Coppa Italia semi-final is looming and it will be very different. There, in fact, it won't start from 0-0 but from 3-1 in the first leg, a result that will force the Azzurri into an almost perfect match.
There shouldn't be the drop in tension seen in the first few minutes of yesterday, when Juve, in perfect Allegri style, punished ruthlessly. Khedira's goal (6', a splendid one-two with Pjanic) however woke up Napoli, who as the minutes went by ended up compressing the bianconeri into their own trocar, even though Buffon was not forced to make any particular save. In the 60th minute, however, the Azzurri found an equalizer with Hamsik (60', great duet with Mertens) and the Lady wavered quite a bit.
However, Mertens' post was the last real buzz of a match which then dragged on to a draw, testifying to how a 1-1 draw, all in all, could be good for both. Gonzalo Higuain, on the other hand, did not arrive: the Argentine, booed loudly as expected, was almost never seen even if the fault, more than him, seemed to lie with the general attitude of the team, giving up as a few times in the season.
“We can't always dominate, after all, championships are won even like this – Allegri glossed over – After Khedira's goal we stopped playing but we knew how to suffer, I expected difficulties because we had various training problems. I congratulate Napoli for their match but also my compliments for having been able to adapt."
The tranquility of the Juventus coach is more than understandable: the 6 points over Roma are many and this regardless of the direct match still to be played at the Olimpico. Stadium which, next Sunday, will instead see a very interesting Lazio-Napoli, real in or out for third place. Serenity is fine but be careful not to indulge yourself too much, because this championship can still reserve several surprises.
