Serie A comment Agresti: “Incredible goal from Dimarco, like Garcia’s substitutions”

Dimarco’s wonderful left-footed shot, a small masterpiece necessary for Inter to defeat the only Serie A team that has always lost and never scored, Empoli; Osimhen’s terrible penalty, which ruined Napoli’s chances of success in Bologna, and above all his sensational outburst against Garcia at the time of the substitution; the exciting long-distance duel between Zapata and Lukaku, a confrontation between great center forwards who have branded Turin-Roma and whose events in the summer were curiously intertwined on the transfer market. These are the cover images delivered to us on Sunday of the championship, after the Saturday of AC Milan’s relaunch and Juventus’ collapse.

Image number one: Dimarco. Inter are tired, unable to break the deadlock in Empoli’s game straight away – who have just taken seven from Roma and have changed coach – so much so that a bit of nervousness, almost anxiety, emerges among the Nerazzurri: do you want to see that we really have a problem beating small teams? The fan-turned-footballer takes care of taking away the fear, the way he hits the ball is extraordinary, the angle at which he places it is incredible. Inzaghi flies away, is on the run, joins three coaches who won their first five championship games at the helm of Inter: Herrera, Mancini, Conte. None of them went on to win the championship in that same season, but history was made to be changed. There is a negative episode in Inter’s Sunday: Arnautovic’s injury. Observing his reaction when he noticed the muscle problem, one can assume that his absence was not short. Inzaghi loses the powerful center forward that he wanted at all costs, even if the Austrian was not the first name on the wish list, but above all Inter’s attack becomes poor in terms of numbers. Three remain up front: Lautaro, Thuram, Sanchez. Few for a team that has to play every three days: if there aren’t the men, you need ideas.

Image number two: Osimhen. It’s never nice when a replaced player publicly takes issue with his coach, even worse if there are two (Kvaratskhelia is already in the second episode of the dispute). But if the best players on the team react in the same way towards those who lead them from the bench, it means that something isn’t working there, and this regardless of the judgment that everyone has on Garcia’s choices. On which our idea is clear: without prejudice to the legitimacy of the coach to decide as he wants, it is incomprehensible the reason that pushes him to remove his best scorers when he is desperately looking for a goal. What is the technical rationale for these substitutions? We find no trace of it. Or perhaps Garcia simply wanted to demonstrate that he is in charge at Napoli? It would be a double mistake, because in this way internal disputes would be mixed up with training decisions, in a potpourri that would risk calling into question the position of the coach himself in the locker room and – in the long run – also in his relations with the club. From this point of view, don’t be misled by De Laurentiis’ positive message: in a moment like this, it is the only possible one.

Image number three (double): Lukaku and Zapata. From the series: great centre-forwards, when they exist, must be left on the pitch (right Garcia?). It was them, Romelu and Duvan, who signed the one-to-one match between Turin and Rome, a match of great intensity, which both teams tried to win until the last moment. The stories of Lukaku and Zapata touched on during the summer: if the Giallorossi had managed to get the Colombian, they would not have attacked the Belgian. The Granata club managed to close the failed operation of Roma’s general manager Pinto, and Juric benefits greatly from the presence of such a strong striker. Although – it must be said – the use of the two center forwards by their respective coaches is different: Mourinho relies all his game, or almost, on Lukaku, the ball goes to Romelu and we’ll see what happens; In Turin, Zapata is integrated into a team that works regardless and for which he represents added value, not the only point of reference.