The Nerazzurri and Bianconeri proved to be stronger: good play and a golden bench are Inzaghi’s weapons, courage and the lack of European cups are those of Allegri
– Milan
The Milan derby has cast a suspicion on the championship: that the scudetto will be an Italian Derby. That is, a race between Inter and Juve, who together amass 45% of the titles awarded: 36 for the Bianconeri, 19 for the Nerazzurri. The deposit of the first 360′ of the tournament was clear: Inzaghi’s team, first with 12 points and Allegri’s, second with 10, proved to be the strongest and showed solid guarantees of durability, while Napoli, who changed technical leadership; Milan, which has changed its engine; and Lazio, who have already fallen three times, have problems that go beyond accidents.
What game
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In the derby, Inter gave an impressive show of strength. In Inzaghi’s third year, the playing lines are as safe and recognizable as a 5-lane highway. The Nerazzurri today take them on with greater conviction and with the self-esteem that a Champions League final gives you. Management maturity has grown. On Saturday, 40% possession was enough to demolish Milan who left the ball for a long time without worrying too much. He took it back when it was time to push and scored 5 goals. And at 5-1 he was still pushing. A constant search for dominance that it did not have in the recent past, often reassembled due to exaggerated speculation. The credit goes to the wise government of Calhanoglu and Mkhitaryan who reached a perfect agreement. There are no better midfielders in Europe, City included. In terms of effectiveness, quality and interchangeability of functions, Barella-Calhanoglu-Mkhitaryan are close to the former Real trio, who made history: Modric-Casemiro-Kroos. The sum of the assists places the Dumfries-Dimarco duo at the top of the position rankings in the top 5 European championships.
golden bench
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Even Lautaro, strengthened in personality by the world title, at the age of 26, has completed his training course. He is already the top scorer of the tournament (5 goals), but now he is a team man beyond the goal obsession. In the derby he contributed to 3 out of 5 goals. Toro has found a partner in Marcus Thuram who exalts him. The Thu-La risks illuminating more than the Lu-La, because the Frenchman not only plays the part of Lukaku, deep panther, but also that of Dzeko, distributor of banks and assistance. If the scudetto ends up being an Inter-Juve fight, it will be curious to guess the feelings of father Lilian who once wore black and white. But Inter made the real leap in quality on the bench. Frattesi is the best first sub in the championship. On Saturday he came in and started hammering away, contributing (even with a goal) to crushing the Devil’s last ambitions. Cuadrado and Carlos Augusto allow us to keep the pressure on the wing high. Said with respect, Bellanova and Gagliardini were other changes. Today Inzaghi has a double in every role, next to the starter. This makes it much easier to manage the cups and last 38 days.
Modernity
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Juve made the leap in quality in the game. The constant aggression, until the end, against Lazio, despite the double advantage, is an absolute discontinuity compared to Allegri’s last two years. Having done it against one of the best dribbling teams is not trivial. Juve had already impressed in their debut in Udine, when Chiesa had celebrated: «This is modern football. We must always play like this, pressing high.” It seemed that Allegri had decided to give up his wooden rackets and play with metal ones, like his colleagues. Then, in Empoli, a short-faced regurgitation and the usual Juve running away to close behind. Saturday a new, promising, return to the future. It is no coincidence that we saw “Chiesa at his best”, as Max said. If he doesn’t have to move up the entire pitch, but the pressing team supplies him near the goal, Fede will be more lucid when shooting. And if Vlahovic will always be surrounded by the maneuver and continuously supplied like on Saturday and not reached by the long throws of his defenders, as in recent years, Dusan will also give his best.
Max’s treasure
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With the new game, without nostalgic repercussions, with Vlahovic and Chiesa at full capacity, with a well-equipped squad (Kean, Weah, Cambiaso, Milik and Fagioli entered on Saturday), if the quality of the midfield, currently lower than that of the ‘Inter, Allegri can very well fight for the title, because he has a unique treasure: weeks of work without cups and without the risk of injuries. If Max’s colleague who quantified the advantage of not playing in Europe at 6-8 points is right, the Lady is already on the run.
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