The curtain rises on the new one Juventus. Thiago Motta's team will close the first day of the championship by hosting the Como (20 pm), thus completing the picture together with Lecce-Atalanta (18pm). These will not be two trivial challenges, also because August is always full of pitfalls: he knows something about them Napoli of Conte, even humiliated at that time Verona (3-0), but also the Roma by De Rossi and the Bologna of Italiano, stops on the draw from Cagliari (0-0) and Udinese (1-1), just like Inter e Milan in advance on Saturday. No surprises, however, from Lazio-Venice, with the Biancocelesti victorious with a clear 3-1: an exception in this summer football with points up for grabs.
Verona – Napoli 3-0, Conte: “I apologize to the Azzurri people, the problem is serious”
The most sensational news of Sunday therefore comes from Verona, with Conte's Napoli literally humiliated by Zanetti's Hellas. The final 3-0 illustrates a much more complex situation than expected, because if it is true that the market is certainly not helping the coach's work, it is also true that leaving the Bentegodi with a deficit like that (moreover after the half-assed performance on Saturday last against Modena) is not eligible. The Azzurri have objective difficulties and there is no doubt about this, given that in addition to the attacker he also passed away kvaratskhelia, stopped at the end of the first half for a fatigue muscular (uncertain recovery times), but the excuses are not enough to justify a crash of this magnitude. The team assimilated nothing of Conte's determination, limiting themselves to suffering Verona's second half (after a soporific first half) without mounting any type of reaction. Anguissa's crossbar was the only sign in the middle of a worrying 95 minutes, difficult to explain with the market's failures alone. And so Hellas, once they realized the possibility of winning, did it in a big way thanks to the goal by Livramento (50') and on Mosquera's brace (75' and 94').
“We melted like snow in the sun, I humbly apologize and I assume all responsibilities towards the Neapolitan people – he declared Tale -. There is a lot of work to do, we will do it, this performance is unacceptable, I am available to help the club in any way. Kids don't respond to difficulties: it's a serious problem. As many as the club wants can come from the market but the problem must be resolved upstream. I never speak randomly. Osimhen? We need to ask the club about the exclusion, he trained well in retreat from the start."
Cagliari – Roma 0-0, De Rossi: “If Dybala leaves we will have to be good at replacing him”
Also the Roma De Rossi fails to "wet" his debut with 3 points. The draw on the field of Cagliari it is not comparable to the Napoli debacle, but it still leaves a bitter aftertaste, especially since the market prospects are anything but rosy. The Giallorossi people don't want to separate themselves from Dybala, considered the highest quality element of the entire squad, the only one capable of switching on and deciding matches at any moment. Actually Soulé e Baldanzi they may be young people with great prospects, but today they are not comparable to Joya: proof of this is the greatest opportunity he had yesterday, born precisely from his enchanted left foot. The assist for dovbykit was practically perfect, it's a shame that the Ukrainian, who had been underserved up until then, sent it over the crossbar with a close-range header. In short, 21 minutes of play were enough for Dybala (he came on in the 69th minute in place of Zalewski) to bring the 3 points to the capital, a flash of light in a thorny match, against Nicola's combative Cagliari. It must be said that shortly afterwards it was the Sardinians who came close to scoring Marine, stopped on the crossbar from an excellent one Silker, therefore the draw is absolutely fair.
“We did better in the second half – commented by The Rossi –, before the break we were struggling to get going again and given the very dry pitch I asked the boys to play less with the ball on the ground and more vertically. In the second half I definitely saw better things. Dybala? I don't want to talk about this situation. The team as it is is fine, if he leaves we will have to be good at replacing him with functional and strong players. I'll talk about the transfer market in September, in the meantime I'll work with the players available."
Lazio – Venezia 3-1, Baroni: “Nice evening, this team has important margins”
Everything as expected at the Olimpico instead, with the Lazio victorious over the newly promoted player Venice. Of course, the start was nothing short of shocking given the Venetian lead after just 3' (great goal from Andersen), but the Biancocelesti were able to manage the blow well, thanks to their enormous technical superiority and a rather interesting tactical score. The feeling is that Baroni's game is aimed at exalting Castilians, best on the pitch by distance: the Spaniard immediately put things back on track by finding the equalizer (11', defensive madness by Svoboda), after which he got the penalty converted by Weather in Zaccagni (44'). Before and after many opportunities to double the lead (including a post that is still shaking) and also had a hand, albeit indirectly, in Altare's own goal, who made a kamikaze slide to anticipate it. In short, El Taty on the shields, reassured by the departure of Property and stimulated by competition from Day, but in general it is all of Lazio who have convinced, even if definitive promotion will require more convincing tests.
“I have to thank the boys, they were good because in these matches we are not at our best and the results demonstrate it, but the attitude must never be lacking - the analysis satisfied by Baroni -. We went down after an error, then we were good at managing the dribble well, even if we can improve. We know there has been a change, but the team is prepared and there are important margins. We have seen young guys who have shown the first signs, we must support them. I found participation from the group and important sharing, this is an accelerator that allows you to reduce time".
Juventus – Como (20pm, Dazn)
The roll call is still missing Juventus of Thiago Motta, expected from the home match against Como. There is a lot of curiosity, even if the Bianconeri are still a work in progress: between entries and exits, in fact, the puzzle is very far from completion. The Italian-Brazilian coach will have to live with all this for a couple more weeks, in the hope that Joints manage to give him Koopmeiners (closer given the agreement between Atalanta and Udinese for Samardzic), NicoGonzalez (contested by the Goddess herself), Francisco Conceicao(you have to convince Porto to accept the loan) e Rabbit (the player's response is awaited), as well as thinning out a squad that has five redundancies (Chiesa, Arthur, Kostic, Tiago Djalò and De Sciglio, the reinstated McKennie and Rugani, who has now moved to Ajax, have left the list) . It is logical, therefore, that this evening's Juventus is very far from the final product, but Thiago will have to find a way to beat Como and start off on the right foot straight away: a misstep, in fact, would create big problems for him and for the club. Fabregas' team is obviously the underdog, but should not be underestimated given the investments (even if Varane, the most prestigious signing, will be out for a long time) and the enthusiasm of the square. Furthermore, the Lady is coming off a negative summer in terms of results; So, it's time to fire up and start the race.
Thiago Motta: “We only think about Como, not the market. Church? Nothing has changed..."
“We can't wait to play the game, compete against the opponent and get to our goal – the thought of Thiago Motta -. We want to put in a great performance and ultimately get the result we need. In life, as in football, nothing comes for granted. We have to deserve it and be focused on ourselves and on the match, we will be facing a team that has risen from Serie B, which means that they have won many matches to get to this moment. It certainly brings with it great enthusiasm, with great respect we will give our best to compete and to achieve the result we want. What's new on the market? We are working hard and well to create a competitive team. Even if you don't like talking about the match much, we're only focused on that. Has the situation of the Church changed? No, we talked about it internally and it is a sign of respect towards the player."
Juventus – Como, the probable lineups
Juventus (4-1-4-1): Di Gregorio; Cambiaso, Bremer, Gatti, Cabal; K. Thuram; Weah, Locatelli, Douglas Luiz, Yildiz; Vlahovic
On the bench: Perin, Pinsoglio, Danilo, Rouhi, Savona, McKennie, Fagioli, Mbangula, Cudrig, Mancini
Coach: Thiago Motta
Unavailable: Miretti, Milik, Adzic
Disqualified: nobody
Como (4-2-3-1): Reina; Cassandro, Goldaniga, Dossena, Moreno; Braunoder, Baselli; Strefezza, Cutrone, Da Cunha; Belotti
On the bench: Audero, Vigorito, Barba, Sala, Abdilgaard, Baselli, Kovacic, Engelhardt, Verdi, Gioacchini, Gabrielloni, Cerri
Coach: Fabregas
Unavailable: Varane, Kone, Mazzitelli
Disqualified: Iovine