Juve stopped by an excellent Goddess, Inzaghi and Pioli extend. That’s why they can stay in front
The ditch dug by the Milanese team after seven days of the championship is bigger than a victory: 4 points. To go and get them back immediately, it won’t be enough to win and hope they fall, now we need more. Talking about escape with 31 games to play and 93 points on the pitch may seem ridiculous, so let’s call it a sprint, but it is a significant sprint. After all, a year ago, after 7 days, Napoli were in the lead and have remained there. A year ago, Milan and Inter had 4 and 6 points less respectively, they have grown. As? Inter in alternatives and awareness. Today Inzaghi has a valuable double at his disposal in every role. Having a Frattesi on the bench who scores a brace as a starter for the national team is an exclusive luxury. For a game that relies so much on the wingers, having replacements of the caliber of Cuadrado and Carlos Augusto is a lot. And then Lautaro: 4 goals in 27′ in Salerno, 9 in 7 days. The world title gave him new confidence. Having the best striker in the league is always a promise of happiness. Codified and memorized lines of play, physical solidity and self-esteem inflated by the final in Istanbul complete the identikit of a favourite.
la le land
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Having bought and changed so much did not help Pioli avoid losing the fifth derby in a row, but paradoxically those 5 slaps helped grow a young team that has learned a new humility and a different tactical prudence. Milan’s optimism is this: they see themselves in the lead and know they have a greater margin for improvement than Inter. Reijnders, Loftus-Cheek and Pulisic are already certainties, but the best of Chukwueze, Musah and Okafor is yet to come. Well done to Pioli for quickly shaping a new identity for the Devil and challenging the turnover with courage to allow the new players to settle in. He had no other choice: only if he becomes longer and more reliable in the alternatives, Milan can wage war on a squad like that of Inter. And then Leao. The derby helped him grow too. After the horror heel, Rafa, in reaction, produced a continuity of decisive plays that he hadn’t had before. Lautaro-Leao: Milan is La Le Land. The championship dances here. Strong sensation.
championship in the pits
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Another sensation: the turnover will weigh heavily, which is no longer a choice, but a necessity of survival, given the crowded calendars and the intense pace of play. Pioli changed a lot in Cagliari and he was right, Inzaghi lined up the starters with Sassuolo and Inter imploded with tiredness, including Lautaro. In Salerno, Simone kept out Toro, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco, Bastoni and, in the first half, he struggled. In the second half, the tune changed with Lautaro and Micky. Moral: turnover is necessary, whoever does it best wins. The technicians will have to be able to reconcile energy recovery and competitiveness. From 22 to 28 October Milan hosts Juve, then travels to Paris and Naples. Inter, from 26 November to 3 December, face three torrid away games: Juve, Benfica, Napoli. Impossible to cross canyons like that with only eleven men. This championship is a grand prize that can also be won in the pits, with the right strategies. Scudetto pit stop.
watch out for the goddess
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The series that awaits Napoli from 25 November to 8 December is also thrilling: away games to Bergamo and Madrid (Real), Inter at Maradona, Juve at the Stadium. Garcia, who will pay a heavy price at the Africa Cup of Nations, cannot afford the Milanese rotations. But he found Osimhen and Kvaratskhelia again and inherited excellent game mechanisms. If he recovers environmental serenity and leadership, he will be able to sit at the championship table. The exemption from the cups is a privilege worth its weight in gold, as Pioli recalled. Juventus needs him to compensate for the lack of play which he also confirmed in Bergamo, despite an excellent team. In the end, Allegri showed the joy of the survivors. Watch out for this Atalanta who yesterday deserved to win and land alone behind the Milanese. The good arrivals of Holm, Bakker and a resurgent Muriel were significant. Scamacca is ready to return. Gasp also stretched the Goddess. He already had game, spirit and experience at the top. He can still surprise. Today Fiorentina, who have problems with goals and spares, are trying to catch up with Napoli and Juve. There is no shortage of competition, but if Milan turns around, they don’t see a terrible opponent. It is this sensation that widens the 4-point gap and makes a shot already seem like a kind of escape.
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