Juventus, Di Maria and Chiesa for the assault on Napoli

Juventus will exhibit the first real “hit” of January also at the Maradona. One is South American and World champion, the other is European champion. It will not yet be the team planned in the summer, in the transfer market, but while waiting for Pogba (zero minutes in the season) and the other injured players (Vlahovic, Cuadrado, Bonucci, De Sciglio), the bianconeri will go to Naples on Friday with Angel Di Maria and Frederick Church. For Fideo and his son in the art it is not the absolute debut, but in some ways it is a bit like it was. Massimiliano Allegri managed to climb the rankings, from eighth to second place in 85 days and with the World Cup in between, but so far he has been able to use little or nothing the immense class of the former Paris Saint Germain player and the power of the blue. Di Maria stopped at the goal in his August debut against Sassuolo and at the flashes of champions shown between one muscle injury and another: just 11 appearances between the championship and the Cups, 457 minutes in all. Chiesa, recovering from the serious knee ligament injury twelve months ago (9 January 2022), is finding his best form through performance. After the three clips before the break for Qatar, here are the encouraging ideas from Cremona and the assist for Danilo’s goal against Udinese (5 appearances for the former viola, 122 minutes in all between the league and cups). A play, the one with which the Brazilian served into an empty net (stop with the chest and immediate touch in the center of the area), which was worth the price of the 40 thousand Allianz Stadium ticket at least as much as some of the magic of the visionary Di Maria.

The first “shots”

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At Maradona, in the stadium named after the great Diego, Allegri will start from his two “spaccaNapoli” to try to deal a blow to the Scudetto race. It won’t be decisive – and it probably really is, given that there are still too many games and too many points left between now and June – but it is certainly a great opportunity for the Bianconeri. Danilo and his teammates recovered 3 points against Napoli, 5 against Inter and 7 against Milan thanks to their last 8 consecutive victories, all gained without conceding goals. Leaving Maradona with a triumph would mean completing “phase 1” of the comeback having more than halved the gap from the leaders: the 10 points of October are now 7 and in the event of Juventus’ success they would become 4. The championship, at that point, would be much more than reopened.

The plan under study

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Allegri is a pragmatist and does not venture into such thoughts. “We have to keep a low profile”, he has been repeating for days. More than thinking about how the standings would change in case of victory, “Count Max” is studying how to play the direct match. From the starting eleven to the changes, increasingly decisive in the latest outings, to the best possible employment for Di Maria and Chiesa. The final decision will be made in extremis, probably after Thursday’s finishing touches at the Continassa, but the feeling is that Allegri won’t immediately drop his two aces on the table. Di Maria could start as owner, paired with either Moise Kean or ex Napoli Arkadiusz Milik. While Chiesa could split the game in the second half with his tears, perhaps starting wide in the 3-5-1-1 as in the last two outings. Everything (or almost) will depend on the condition of those directly involved (Di Maria, against the Friulians, went out with cramps in the second half after 4′ of living together with Chiesa) and on the type of match Allegri will imagine. The simultaneous use of the World champion and the European champion cannot be excluded a priori, even if in that case Count Max would have one less weight change to spend in the second half. Doubts never so blessed after months of choices often forced and imposed by the infirmary.

The flexibility of Faith

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Massimiliano Allegri enjoys the growth of Chiesa, his mix of technique and tears and the ability of the former Fiorentina player to be able to make a difference in different ways and positions. A little like second striker, as per pre-World Cup performances, but more and more fifth in attacking midfield in the 3-5-1-1 formation of the autumn turning point. Federico darted to the right against Cremonese, sending the Grigiorossi alarm system into a tailspin several times, while against Udinese he packaged the decisive assist for Danilo from the left. Without forgetting the option of being able to deploy him as a winger in the event of a switch in the running to 4-3-3 or 4-4-2.