Inter-Juve: Inzaghi is wrong, Allegri is not. Andrea Di Caro’s comment

The rotten icing on Inter’s damaged cake in the championship was placed last night: ninth defeat, third at home, and moreover against Juve. On the eve of it Inzaghi had teased Allegri who considered himself virtually second with 53 points (38 points plus the 15 removed): “I only look at the current standings and it says that with 50 points only Inter are second”. After yesterday’s game there are no more discussions. And not because Juve’s virtual advantage goes from +3 to +6, but because in the ranking that Inzaghi reads Lazio is now second with 52. Inter are third.

Inter’s gap from Napoli is increasingly humiliating (-21 points, -18 goals scored, +15 goals conceded). The passage of the round with Porto, returning after 12 years in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, was certainly a great merit, but Inzaghi, who at the end of the match celebrated himself and the group calling him “fantastic” because “he had written a page of history”, it seemed to many exaggerated, both for the match played, and recalling the history of Inter, and evaluating the current performance in the championship. Since last night those words appear even more exaggerated.

Juve deservedly won at San Siro, showing excellent team spirit. After Kostic’s goal (inter disputed by a touch of Rabiot’s arm in the action) he had many opportunities to double. The Bianconeri, strong in their lead, played a careful, tricky game, without ever giving up on hitting the restart. Inter also had its opportunities, but the most sensational, in the spaces left, were the black and white ones. Great credit must be given to Juve, after a moment of heel following the -15, for having continued to score points even though they no longer knew what to really fight for.

Even with the 56 points won on the field, the championship cannot, in any case, be judged exciting. That is an adjective that belongs only to the wonderful Napoli which, after yet another victory signed by Kvara-Osimhen, has 71 points (15 more than the 41 + 15 for the Bianconeri). You can’t celebrate, having never fought for the title and being the only one of the four Italians not to pass the Champions League group stage. But Juventus, which almost never gave a great show, has its extenuating circumstances between injuries, absences, off-field cases, changes in top management and penalties.

The Rome derby confirms how difficult it is to judge two-sided teams: convincing in the Cup and disappointing in the league and vice versa. Lazio exited the Conference League (after being eliminated from the Europa League) replicating the 1-0 of the first leg and winning the second derby of the season like 11 years ago. Mourinho, who came from the next round against Real Sociedad, instead collects the third knockout in four Capitoline matches with Sarri, once again missing the opportunity to overtake Milan and Lazio and even finish second with Inter.

The match was very tense, conditioned by the expulsion of Ibanez in the half hour, who for the third time in the derbies paved the way for Lazio. The numerical superiority was decisive, above all for the attitude of Roma who practically gave up playing, setting up a bolt from other times, lowering the center of gravity and all the men a few meters from Rui Patricio. The renunciation of Dybala in the second half also psychologically delivered the Giallorossi to their opponents. Come on and come on Lazio, who have always tried to play even in equal numbers, found the 1-0 and only then did Roma try to do something to equalize by having a goal disallowed for offside. In 10 against 11 you can lose, do it by deciding for 70′ just to defend yourself without ever setting up an action but it takes you back many, too many years. Lazio deserved the victory because they sought it by trying in many ways to undermine Mou’s wall.

Sarri’s career in the Cups, unlike Mourinho’s, is lacking, but in the league Lazio, with a lower squad in terms of wages, quality and replacements compared to their opponents who are fighting for the Champions League area, is so far taking advantage of the unfortunate season of Milanese players and the penalization of Juve. For Sarri often without Immobile, the only center forward available to him, and with Milinkovic subdued for a long time, hitting a place in the Champions League would be a great result.

Who is wasting the great opportunity is Roma who, with 3 points in the last 4 games, are the formation that has scored the fewest points among the top 13! The Giallorossi numbers in Serie A (eight defeats, eighth attack, two derbies lost) clash with the sold outs and the passion of the fans. After the break, Milan will face Napoli away, Roma at Samp: another favorable round to hope for an overtaking that would be worth fourth place.