In search of theEldorado Champions. The race for fourth place (or fifth, if we continue to be at the top of the UEFA ranking) has become the fulcrum of the championship, given that the scudetto is now Inter's business. Today's Sunday will thus live in the name of the fight for the Europe that counts, with a Napoli - Juventus that feels like a last resort for Calzona's team, but also for an Allegri looking for confirmation for next year. The other highlight match is Atalanta - Bologna (18pm, Dazn), even more delicate after the victory for 4-1 of Roma in Monza, which is worth De Rossi's overtaking (temporary, of course) on Gasperini. The Giallorossi have rightfully returned to the Champions League race and even De Zerbi's Brighton, their next opponent in the Europa League, are less scary given the 3-0 defeat by Fulham.
Monza – Roma 1-4, the Giallorossi move up to fifth place, 1 point behind Bologna
Rome doesn't stop anymore. Daniele De Rossi scores another victory, his sixth in the last seven of the championship, and moves up to fifth place, one minus from fourth, awaiting today's direct clash between Atalanta and Bologna. An important performance from the Giallorossi, characterized by that offensive game which is a trademark of the DDR, in clear contrast with the defensive system dearest to Mourinho. The result is that Roma concedes a lot (yesterday Monza had numerous opportunities that could have changed the course of the match), but produces even more and given the quality of its players it often ends up losing take the full stakes.
Once again, the team was driven by the top Giallorossi players, all of whom returned to decidedly important levels of form. Pellegrini he scored yet another goal since the advent of De Rossi, breaking the deadlock in a match that was proving to be rather thorny (38'). Before the 0-1, in fact, it was Monza who created the greatest dangers, first with a post from Djuric and then with a shot from Birindelli that was just wide. The captain's left foot changed everything and when Lukaku he found the second goal even before the break (42'), it was clear that the match would be downhill. The goals also arrived in the second half Dybala (63', splendid free-kick) e Paredes (82', penalty resulting from a foul by Bondo on Hujisen), before the stupendous stone with which Carboni set the final 1-4.
De Rossi pampers his team: "The team is understanding what I want, it's a fantastic group"
“We played better than in the last match, this team is understanding what I want – underlined De Rossi with pride -. The boys know that you have to run, commit and move even without the ball, I try to field an offensive team because I know that I have players who know how to score goals at any time. Dybala? He is using all his talent, he is a different player, an example. The group was cohesive even before, I didn't do anything: for two years they reached the bottom in Europe, if you're not united you can't reach certain standards. I try to be honest, direct and tell the truth when I see something I don't like, then I'm the coach and I make choices. However, the boys are fantastic, in the locker room I also found some of my former teammates who are helping me."
Napoli – Juventus (20.45pm, Dazn)
Atalanta - Bologna It's the most important match of the day for the standings, but Napoli – Juventus is undoubtedly the big match for excellence. Regardless of their respective objectives, in fact, the Azzurri and Bianconeri never face each other in a banal way, even more so in a hot moment in the championship like this.
He thought about setting it on fire the day before De Laurentiis bringing up the judicial events of his rivals, in particular on the UEFA front: his Napoli, as we know, is playing for a place in the very rich 2025 Club World Cup (50 million just for participation, plus subsequent prizes) precisely with Juventus and this does not like it at all, believing that the Bianconeri should be excluded regardless.
Serious accusations, to which however the Lady preferred not to answer: the idea is to do it on Maradona's lawn, going to win a victory that has been missing since 2019. Allegri's problem is that Calzona also had the same thought, especially now that Napoli seems to have finally woken up. The 6-1 over Sassuolo has finally shown flashes of last year's team, giving good sensations in view of the races with Juventus, Turin and Barcelona, fundamental for both the team and its coach. Imagining what kind of race it will be is an exercise for visionaries, but it is likely that balance will reign; furthermore, considering the difficulties of both in facing deployed defenses, it is reasonable to think that whoever scores first will have the operations in hand.
Allegri warns his team: "More attention or we risk coming out with broken bones"
No pre-match conference for Calzona, a classic appointment in the press room for Allegri instead, determined to interrupt the Maradona taboo that has lasted for four years now. “It's a very difficult match, Napoli has great technical value and an anonymous ranking position - the thoughts of the Juventus coach -. The team worked well, we know the difficulty of the challenge and we know that it will require a great test. Let's hope that March is better than February, let's make sure it is: against Frosinone it was a difficult match in which we conceded avoidable goals, we must certainly do better on this otherwise we risk returning from Naples with broken bones. De Laurentiis' words? No comment, I can only say that we don't yet know if we will participate in the next Champions League. We are missing at least 13 points, because the odds are 70 and as far as the World Cup is concerned we are tied to the results of the other teams. We have to do everything we can to finish second because we would improve last year's ranking, talking about hypotheses about the future makes no sense. We have to think about Napoli, then Atalanta and playing the Champions League next year, it would be an added value on a technical and above all economic level."
Napoli – Juventus, the lineups
Both would need to win, but the ranking imposes this above all on Napoli, also because the last matches against Maradona were certainly not memorable (only two successes, which were very difficult, with Verona and Salernitana in six games). Calzona will confirm the usual 4-3-3 with Meret in goal, Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Juan Jesus and Olivera in defense, Anguissa, Lobotka and Traoré (favorite over Zielinski) in midfield, Politano, Osimhen and Kvaratskhelia in attack. More problems for Allegri, forced to give up two key players like Rabiot and McKennie, as well as having to deal with the precarious conditions of Danilo (recovered, but with only one training session in his legs). His 3-5-2 should thus see Szczesny between the posts, Gatti, Bremer and Rugani in the defensive department, Weah, Cambiaso, Locatelli, Alcaraz and Kostic in the midfield, Chiesa (ahead of Yildiz) and Vlahovic as an offensive pair.
