In the Champions League it is already the night of Villareal-Juve, while Napoli have just missed out on the chance to go first. The Tuesday that we are about to experience still has the echo of Serie A, in the light of what happened in this crazy weekend which seemed to be able to change things and which instead left everything unchanged, but it already breathes a European air, daughter of the second Champions League round of XNUMX wave.
Villarreal-Juve (21pm): lineups and pre-match
The match at the Estadio de la Ceramica, Villareal-Juve, is very interesting, but above all balanced and difficult to predict. Regardless of the names, in fact, two face each other teams with similar philosophies, little inclined to the show and a lot "results”. Atalanta knows something about it, eliminated in the group by the Spaniards, at the end of a match in which the players from Bergamo created many chances and were punished on the counterattack. Therefore, it is better not to expect too many goals, even if football has taught us not to have certainties of any kind, Juventus' seasonal score, however, has rarely seen more than two goals, in perfect "short-faced" style.
“It will be a very difficult match, against a concrete, cynical, very well trained team – he confirmed Allegri at a press conference – It is not a discounted eighth, we have a 50% chance of passing. They come from a very good period like us, they are experienced and have a coach who doesn't give any advantages. We'll have to pay attention to the details and bring the episodes on our side, we need to have an orderly and patient race, our goal is to go through but qualifying can't be decided here".
The Tuscan coach knows what type of match Villareal-Juve will be, therefore it is legitimate to imagine a Juve waiting, especially since the away goal, however important, is worth less than before. However, many of the Juventus fans are starting to turn up their noses at this philosophy of play, which first of all puts the attackers in difficulty. Vlahovic, after his debut goal against Verona, not only failed to score, but didn't even have the chance to do so, showing that the team's offensive problems are still there.
“Dusan is a boy making his debut in the Champions League, he cannot have all the responsibilities – he cut short Allegri – I have to protect him, it's normal to be like this, when he has 60 or 70 appearances in Europe he will be another player ”. Maybe, but rather than pointing the finger at the Serbian, it would be better to ask yourself the reason for these difficulties, especially as they also concern the other strikers, above all Morata and Kean. This evening then there will be no Dybala, injured in the derby, which is why the much-publicised trident will be archived.
The Juventus coach then continues to have problems in defence, given that Chiellini and Rugani are in the pits and Bonucci has recovered only for the bench. The black and white 4-3-3 for Villareal-Juve he will thus see Szczesny in goal, De Sciglio, Danilo, De Ligt and Alex Sandro in defense, Zakaria, Arthur and Rabiot in midfield, Cuadrado, Vlahovic and Morata in attack.
“Facing Juventus always requires respect for its coat of arms – the thought of Emery – It is one of the best Italian teams, with great experience in the Champions League and a very strong striker like Vlahovic, capable of scoring 17 goals for Fiorentina. They are definitely favourites, but we won't give up: we are capable of beating teams of this level and we will do it again this time”.
The Spaniards, sixth in La Liga three points behind fourth-placed Barcelona, will rely on the usual 4-4-2 for Villareal-Juve with Rulli between the posts, Foyth, Albiol, Pau Torres and Pedraza in the back, Trigueros, Parejo, Iborra and Chukwueze in midfield, Danjuma and Lo Celso as an offensive duo.
Cagliari-Napoli 1-1, the analysis of the match
Also the Naples, dopo Milan e Inter, the appointment with the victory fails, leaving the ranking, in fact, unchanged from a week ago. Sure, considering how the game went, Cagliari's draw is still something, also because it's right to remember the long list of injured/bruised Spalletti had to deal with, but the bad taste in the mouth of the lack of success remains. Three points yesterday would have meant first place together with Milan, leaving Inter in third place (always with one game left) to wonder about the reasons for this difficult moment. Instead the 1-1, moreover reached in the final, confirms that the blue one, despite being an excellent team, tends to melt in the key points of the championship, almost as if the pressure becomes too much to be managed.
It should also be said that Cagliari made an excellent match, closing all the gaps in the first half and striking in the second: the only comment that can be made to Mazzarri is that he failed to double up, which almost certainly would have ended the match. Once he took the 1-0 from Pereiro with the kind collaboration of Ospina (who, however, redeemed himself later), Spalletti was forced to let osimhen and Fabian Ruiz, left on the bench due to some physical ailments that made them not recommended for use. The effects, to tell the truth, were not seen immediately, indeed Cagliari came close to 2-0 several times with Deiola, Baselli and Marin, but in the long run they proved to be decisive, with the Nigerian capable of finding the definitive 1 -1 with a nice header a few minutes from the end (87').
Spalletti's words
“Cagliari deserved something more, we struggled, it happens to everyone after cup matches, we've never had the game in hand so in the end we have to be happy with the result – admitted Spalletti with great honesty -. To say that winning would have been very important is trivial, it would have given the city and the fans enthusiasm, but we weren't able to take control of the game and we have to accept it, we didn't show our quality also thanks to Cagliari. It was necessary to know how to adapt and we did it very little”.
There is no need to make drama, but it is clear that not having taken advantage of the missteps of the Milanese leaves a lot of disappointment in an environment that dreamed of leaping to command, and which instead will have to continue to pursue.
