THIS JUVE CAN'T WIN ANYMORE! VUCINIC'S AWAKENING IS NOT ENOUGH IN BOLOGNA, NOW MILAN IS IN FRONT. COUNT, EXPULDED FOR PROTESTS, IRONIC: “I DON'T TALK ABOUT REFEREES ANYMORE…”.
Juventus scored 13, but there's nothing to celebrate. The number, which for years has been the dream of all Italians, this time does not represent a millionaire winnings, but the total number of draws collected by the Bianconeri. Well yes, Juve is suffering from an acute "even" and Antonio Conte would do well to find a cure quickly, on pain of abandoning his dreams of the Scudetto.
THE MATCH
It was known that the trip to Bologna would not be easy, but nobody could have imagined such a favorable first half for the rossoblu. Conte's tactical plan (4-3-3 with Borriello preferred to Matri) vanished almost immediately in front of Pioli's men. Short, gritty and very fast in the counterattack, the Bolognese put Juve on the counterattack already in the 17th minute: a splendid pass by Ramirez for Di Vaio, a wrong offside by Lichtsteiner and a "game-breaking" goal by the former Juventus player. Those who at that point expected an immediate reaction from Juventus were disappointed and had to wait for the recovery. Indeed, in the interval, even without making any changes, Conte must have struck the right chords, because Juve in the second half was a completely different story. Then, in the 13th minute, even luck seemed to have decided to intervene in favor of the black and whites: just as Conte was about to replace Vucinic (with the desaparecido Elia), the Montenegrin finally broke free. Pirlo's ball was spectacular, worthily enhanced by the soft touch of the ex Roma player, who finally returned to scoring. At that point Juventus took the chair, but unfortunately for her the nerves jumped before the defensive schemes of Bologna. In fact, in the 26th minute, a hold by Pulzetti on De Ceglie (clear, but started outside the area) not whistled by Banti provoked Conte's anger, who exploded in a prolonged face-to-face with the fourth official Bergonzi, who forced the referee to remove him from the field. Even without their coach, Juventus continued to push, however exposing themselves to counter-attacks from Bologna. One of these (39th) caused the expulsion of Bonucci, forced to interrupt Ramirez's sprint with bad luck. Despite the arrivals of Quagliarella (for Borriello), Giaccarini (for Vucinic) and Padoin (for Pepe), Juve no longer made themselves dangerous. The one-to-one final is a fair result, which rewards Pioli's Bologna and sends Conte's team into crisis, now officially second in the standings, two points behind Milan.
THE REACTIONS
Predictably, Antonio Conte in the post match didn't exactly represent the portrait of happiness, especially towards the referee trio: “There was a general protest from the bench and nothing, even I was surprised by this decision. These are things that happen in football and I take note of nothing let's move on. I no longer comment on the refereeing episodes, I've already said what I had to say. Everything is fine today... in any case, however, I expect to be on the bench on Sunday in Genoa". Regarding his performance, however, the coach seemed satisfied: “We took this punch, on the only shot on goal that Bologna took. In the second half we continued to play the game, we were more incisive, tougher. We reached a draw and deserved the win, I don't think I'm talking nonsense. But this didn't come, let's take the positive aspect that we are two points behind the first in the standings…”. But now comes the difficult part. In fact, on Sunday in Genoa, the "Old Lady" will present herself in total defensive emergency. In addition to the injured Chiellini and Barzagli, the suspended Bonucci will also be missing: in short, the only central player in his role will be Caceres. A big problem, but Conte doesn't want justifications: “We're pissed off, I'll tell you right away. Knife between the teeth, great compactness, total unity of purpose, it will be another moment of difficulty in which we will exalt ourselves. I could withdraw Vidal, or dust off Stellini (his field assistant, ed) and let him play… ”. A good joke, to defuse an evening that is anything but funny.
