Another weekend of Serie A action has flown by and Inter Milan are a point closer to winning their 20th Scudetto championship.
They are 14 points clear of AC Milan with just six games left to play, with the chasing pack failing to capitalise on Inter’s 2-2 draw with Cagliari.
AC Milan played out a thrilling 3-3 draw with Sassuolo, while Juventus’ derby with Torino provided a rather dull goalless match.
Here, Mail Sport‘s ALVISE CAGNAZZO has picked out 10 things we learned…
1 – ALLEGRI’S LAST DERBY WITH JUVENTUS
Juventus’ clash with Torino produced a draw much like the 3-3 between Real Madrid and Manchester City. Yet their goalless draw didn’t appear to have been the same type of sport being played.
A terrible draw for the standings and put an end to a long series of derbies against Torino on the Juventus bench for Massimiliano Allegri.
They have taken just 11 points from their last 11 games – if the championship started now, then the team would be deep in the relegation zone, fighting to avoid the drop to Serie B.
The words of Lapo Elkann and Juventus CEO Cristiano Giuntoli were clear, the new Juventus will have to shape itself on the sporting director’s ideas and it will not be necessary to have a lot of money but a lot of technical and tactical ideas.
Massimiliano Allegri played his last derby with Juventus against Torino in Saturday’s 0-0 draw
Juventus were unlucky against Torino but also tremendously fearful, timid and without a killer instinct in attack, negative characteristics for a club that wants to win the Scudetto again.
Dusan Vlahovic missed a goal with the goalkeeper already lying on the ground and missed all the key plays of the match until he was substituted.
The tactical changes were, as always, wrong by Allegri who decided to remove the two main references to Juventus in attack, inserting Kenan Yildiz too late in the 65th minute. The Turkish boy deserves more time but Allegri is convinced of the principle of rotation and yet as long as he was the starter in attack, the team played exceptionally, achieving great results.
Dusan Vlahovic struggled in attack for Juventus and was substituted after 78 minutes
2 – NAPOLI PUNISHED BY THEIR OWN PLAYER
Napoli’s best striker doesn’t play for Napoli at the moment but instead punished his future team with two goals.
Walid Cheddira’s fate is truly special because the Frosinone hero will return to Napoli in June and will probably remain there as a reserve striker.
The two goals he scored against Francesco Calzona’s team are the result of talent, discipline and above all tactical intelligence.
Since the beginning of March, Cheddira has scored four goals, becoming the most prolific attacker in Serie A.
Walid Cheddira (centre) scored twice against Napoli who he will return to in the summer
In the first goal he was smart to accept the gift from Alex Meret who sensationally passed the ball straight to the opposition, while the second he punished the Napoli defence, similar to how he did against Juventus at the Allianz Stadium.
He is a very intelligent player who reads in advance the movements of the defenders and has scored five goals in the last seven games. He is a true leader of Frosinone attack and has taken away light and attention from both Kaio Jorge and Matias Soule.
The North African center forward has exceptional athletic strength, a great sense of position and, above all, a high regard from Eusebio Di Francesco. The former Roma coach initially didn’t have much faith in him but today Cheddira is an irreplaceable talisman for Frosinone who continues to fight to stay in Serie A.
3 – LEAO IS UNDER PRESSURE FROM THE ITALIAN MEDIA
Rafaell Leao’s performance against Sassuolo was exceptional and the Portuguese talent, as always, did not suffer from the pace of the match, making his team shine after the Europa League quarter-final first leg loss to Rome. A swing in performance that worries AC Milan and their manager.
Stefano Pioli spoke to DAZN to comment on the 3-3 draw between Sassuolo and AC Milan, where he criticised Leao’s mental attitude.
He said: ‘Rafael must learn to manage these pressures and expectations. He is a player with superior quality and talent to the others. In our compliments and criticisms are often exaggerated, he must know that it will be like this for his entire career.’
Rafael Leao impressed for AC Milan even if they failed to beat Sassuolo in Sunday’s 3-3 draw
Every one-on-one from Leao turns into a potential scoring opportunity, every dribble destabilised Sassuolo’s defence and caused the opponents to collapse and they never manage to stop him.
He will need to serve this version of himself on Thursday at the Stadio Olimpico in a difficult but not impossible comeback.
The two goals disallowed for Samuel Chukwueze, both due to millimetric offside decisions with the shoulder, must not be used as an excuse. AC Milan must win these games and try to get as many points as possible to consolidate second place and slow down Inter’s surge to the Scudetto title.
Leao struggled in their 1-0 loss to Roma in the Europa League and must repeat his level of performance against Sassuolo when they play the second-leg at the Stadio Olimpico
4 – ARSENAL DID WELL NOT TO BUY LOCATELLI!
Is Manuel Locatelli the same magnificent player as the one that helped Italy win the European Championship? No.
What role does the Juventus midfielder have? Even today it is undefined.
How much time will still have to pass before we consider him a top midfielder? Too much for a top club that needs to win immediately.
These are the three main question marks that make Arsenal a very lucky club in not having bought the player following a losing battle with Juventus.
Against Torino, the Juventus midfielder missed a sensational goal as well as numerous vertical passes. He also slowed down the team’s play without ever being decisive.
He is not the heir of Miralem Pjanic but apparently he is not even such a strong player as to deserve to be an immovable starter for Juventus and the Italian national team.
Mikel Arteta and Arsenal will be glad they lost the battle to sign one of Italy’s Euro 2020 stars
He is certainly a good guy, a person with great moral values but technically it is clear why AC Milan decided to sell him to Sassuolo without regrets.
Locatelli failed in his approach to both AC Milan and Juventus, proving that he is not an important player but simply a good athlete to increase the number of alternatives on the bench.
In the middle of the pitch he always gives the feeling of being late, of being scared with the ball at his feet.
For over half an hour he plays hide and seek but he should be one of those who make the difference by fighting for the whole match, but that’s not the case.
It remains a mystery why Massimiliano Allegri never wanted to trust Hans Nicolussi Caviglia, insisting on Locatelli even in moments of physical and technical downturn.
Manuel Locatelli (right) has struggled to live up to expectations since he joined Juventus
Locatelli pictured at the bottom of an Italy celebration after scoring a goal in a group game with Switzerland on their way to glory at Euro 2020
5 – Dressing room issues at Lazio
Lazio hadn’t scored four goals in a single Serie A match for 444 days and the victory against Salernitana is a breath of fresh air for the team who are seventh in the standings.
Yet the climate is rather turbulent with the team coached by Igor Tudor which is starting to lose appeal on its leaders within the locker room.
Immediately after Friday’s 4-1 victory, speaking to DAZN, Spanish midfielder Luis Alberto declared that he wanted to ‘resolve to terminate the contract with Lazio’ and that he no longer wanted to ‘burden the club not even for a euro’.
President Claudio Lotitio defined the player’s request as inadmissible, reiterating that he will have to bring offers from clubs that are potentially interested in him.
Lazio midfielder Luis Alberto revealed his desire to leave the Serie A club at the end of the term
It is a surreal situation that demolishes the enthusiasm following their 4-1 victory over Salernitana, and poses new management problems for Tudor.
The Croatian coach did not like the Spanish player’s statements and will now have to try to limit the damage by mending the rift between Alberto, the dressing room and president Lotito.
At the end of this year there will be a revolution but today the climate inside a dressing room that would have ousted Maurizio Sarri even before his resignation is already starting to be unsustainable.
Alberto’s words are proof that there is an internal communication problem, considering that Tudor knew nothing of his player’s will.
6 – NDICKA’S COLLAPSE WAS A TERRIBLE SCARE
Roma’s clash with Udinese was prematurely brought to a stop after Evan Ndicka collapsed on the pitch in the 72nd minute, complaining of chest pain.
Christian Eriksen’s accident during the last European Championship is immediately remembered by the fans and the whole stadium fell silent.
Referee Pairetto and the players immediately called the attention of the stadium’s medical staff who rushed to him with a defibrillator.
The player gave the entire stadium a thumbs up indicating ‘OK’ as he was taken to the locker room.
Roma’s match with Udinese was suspended after Evan Ndicka collapsed, though he has since been released from hospital
Daniele De Rossi ran into the locker room asking for the match to be temporarily suspended. The coach asked the referee to delay the resumption of the match after being close to the player and the match was suspended at the request of the Giallorossi and Udinese coaches amidst applause from the public.
De Rossi, filmed by DAZN cameras, told the referee: ‘The players cannot play after what happened, they are not calm.’
It was a terrible scare that tells of the fragility of a beautiful sport that for a moment experienced the fear of yet another serious illness on the pitch that in the past took away numerous players.
To underline the great sportsmanship and the applause of the Udinese public who accompanied the exit of the two teams from the field with long applause after the match was suspended.
7 – SKORUPSKI AND DI GREGORIO DESERVE TO PLAY FOR A TOP CLUB
The match between Bologna and Monza featured two of the best goalkeepers in Serie A – Lukasz Skorupski and Michele Di Gregorio.
Both deserve to have experience at a top club and both trained a lot before achieving their excellent results this season.
Skorupski was destined to become Roma’s number one but the club never fully believed in him, letting him leave too quickly.
Today, he is one of the Italian goalkeepers with the best performances in Serie A and if all goes well next year he will be able to listen to the refrain of the Champions League music on the pitch as a protagonist.
Di Gregorio, on the other hand, is the typical expression of the reliable Italian goalkeeper. He has the physique of Angelo Peruzzi and the courage of the best tradition of Italian goalkeepers.
Lukasz Skorupski deserves to play for a top team but is destined to become Bologna’s next captain
He has strength in his legs and an innate sense of position. Juventus are concretely thinking about him as a replacement for ‘Tek’ Szczesny and at the moment he is probably the fittest Italian goalkeeper in Serie A after Andrea Carnesecchi.
The Polish goalkeeper has a valuation of around 20 million euros (£17m) but is unlikely to leave Bologna because he is destined to become the captain of the future in the event of Lewis Ferguson’s farewell.
It is a different story for the Italian goalkeeper who grew up in Inter’s youth teams as for him, Monza is willing to let him go for an offer of no less than 25 million euros (£21m).
Di Gregorio will be one of the protagonist goalkeepers of the next summer transfer window.
Michele Di Gregorio (right) could be available to teams for as much as £21m this summer
8 – INTER MILAN ARE HUMAN
Inter cannot win every match, they cannot win the Scudetto already in mid-April and they cannot pretend to be a team without emotions just a few steps away from Scudetto number 20.
The 2-2 draw at the ‘Meazza’ stadium against Cagliari demonstrates how Serie A can still reserve surprises despite Inter having practically already won the Scudetto, devouring the competition and imposing a pace that is difficult to sustain.
It is difficult to criticise a team that killed the champion without ever questioning the final result, always maintaining at least one point ahead of Juventus – who are currently third in the standings – obtaining almost 95 per cent of the points available.
Simone Inzaghi’s side are cruising towards the title but showing signs of tiredness
Inter have a very robust structure and although Marcus Thuram has appeared to be in physical decline in recent weeks, against Cagliari he was the disruptive player of the first part of this season, returning to score after 58 days of starvation.
The draw is certainly an unfair result but it offers a highly real vision of the tiredness accumulated over the course of the season.
Simone Inzaghi managed the team impeccably without ever losing contact with the top of the Serie A table, eliminating risks and offering an intensity of football to which the Italian championship was not accustomed.
A pace so high that it makes Inter a team with a strong European profile. The countdown towards victory in Serie A has just begun and despite the draw against Cagliari, which was as physiological as it was difficult to metabolise, Inter is ready to celebrate.
Inter are 14 points clear at the top of the standings with six games left to play
9 – PRESSURE GROWING ON CINDERELLA SIDE BOLOGNA
Bologna’s second consecutive draw slows down the race towards third place and makes the ground crumbly under the feet of the Emilians who now have to pay attention to what happens with Roma and Atalanta in hot pursuit.
The 0-0 draw against Monza certifies a moment of physical and psychological crisis after having become the Cinderella side of Italian football.
The feeling is that the team has given well over 100 per cent of its concentration, physical strength and tactical discipline for many months and that today it is substantially lacking in enthusiasm to improve its ranking.
Fear is starting to be the main feeling of the team coached by Thiago Motta with the historic goal of obtaining a place in next season’s Champions League edging ever closer.
As against Frosinone, Bologna seems to be in decline but obviously we must not forget the merits of Monza.
The coach is probably also in a panic phase and forgets Giovanni Fabbian on the bench who has a nose for goal and can break the deadlock in the final minutes.
Riccardo Orsolini is unable to turn on the light as he would like in the middle of the field and on the right wing, alternating insidious plays with errors typical of those who play with too much anxiety.
Bologna’s draw with Monza gives Roma and Atalanta a chance to close the gap on the side sitting fourth in Serie A
10 – JUVENTUS’ WORST ATTACK IN 25 YEARS
Juventus’ performance in attack strongly reflects coach Massimiliano Allegri’s defensive obsessions.
According to Opta data, Juventus has the worst number of goals scored in Serie A at this point of the season in the last 25 years, given that in 1998-1999 the goals were only 38 against the current 45, the same as in the 1999-2000 season.
A negative situation that demonstrates the new team’s difficulty in constructing scoring actions and in having an attacker who can score even when Dusan Vlahovic blocks himself in front of the goalkeeper.
Juventus have scored their fewest amount of goals after 32 games of the season, as they have in any campaign in 25 years – with Moise Keane failing to net at all so far this campaign
Behind the Serbian center forward Moise Kean has had an embarrassing performance with 0 goals in Serie A this season, Arek Milik certainly did much better and this aspect weighs heavily on negative opinions on the Bianconeri.
If Vlahovic, who has not scored in the Italian championship since February 25, fails to net, the team will suffer tremendously. In the following six matches, two of which he missed due to suspension, Vlahovic remained dry, scoring only against Lazio in the Italian Cup.
Also Read More: World News | Entertainment News | Celebrity News
