Juve sinks Milan and Naples conquers Bergamo: very heavy victories for the Champions League and the Scudetto and today Inter-Empoli

The Saturday of Juve and Napoli. The victories over Milan and Atalanta they are worth double, both for reasons of ranking and morale, given the importance of the 3 points obtained, from all points of view. Head-to-head clashes, as we know, can shape a season and yesterday’s clashes are certainly no exception, indeed they have every appearance of being pretty darn heavy. Conteas well as sending a strong and clear message to Inzaghihe cut Gasperini of the title race, Thiago Motta he took over the Champions League zone at the most delicate moment, bringing the Devil to his knees Conceição. Today Between and Latium committed respectively against Empoli (20h45) e Verona (18), they will have to win at all costs, otherwise they will complicate, perhaps even permanently, their seasonal objectives.

Juventus – Milan 2-0: Motta takes fourth place, Conceiçao collapses

The direct clash in Turin was won by Juventus, who climbed to fourth place (but Lazio still has to play) thanks to the 2-0 scored by Mbangula and Weah. It’s late at night for Milan, forced to face the harsh reality: eighth place, net of Bologna’s recovery, perfectly reflects the value expressed so far and yesterday’s performance certainly does not allow optimism. Thiago Motta returns to the path of victory after almost a month of draws (three) and the defeat in the Super Cup against the Devil, bringing a little serenity to an environment that awaited him. His Juve tried to play the game from the start, while the Rossoneri chose a more wait-and-see tactic, based on defense and sudden verticalizations. These gestures paid off, in the sense that both could have scored. The Bianconeri had opportunities with Mbangula, Koopmeiners and Yildiz, Milan with Reijnders and Leao: the 68% of possession of the ball in favor of the Lady seemed superfluous, but it was rather the indicator of what was going to happen in the second period. Motta’s team entered the field with a completely different attitude and after almost taking the lead with Weah (who replaced the injured Yildiz) and Koopmeiners, they found it with Mbangula, although the goal was due to less to be shared with Emerson Royal, who was decisive in the match. Deviation which caught Maignan on the wrong foot (59th). Not even time to assimilate the blow that Juve doubled with Weah (64′), this time because of Tomori (who knows if Giuntoli will still be convinced to invest 30 million for him) and the match, in fact, took a well-defined direction. rotating. Conceiçao’s Milan, until yesterday a specialist in returns, had to face the facts, especially since the absences of Pulisic and Morata (as well as those of Chukwueze and Okafor) prevented them from carrying out changes capable of reversing the situation. It will now be up to the club, if necessary, to intervene in the market to breathe new life into the team, because since last night the next Champions League, already complicated, has moved away in a very dangerous way.

Thiago Motta: “I thank the team, it’s the reward for hard work”

“We work every day to win, in every training – underlined Thiago Motta -. It takes a lot of work to play a match like this, we had an excellent performance, matches like this are won with a lot of daily effort. I thank these guys, they are improving because they work with a lot of commitment, overcoming the many difficulties we encountered, victories like these are a good reward. In the last match against Atalanta we made some technical errors, the kind that give confidence to the opponent, but this time we played with great quality. This helps psychologically, because the opponents understand that they are facing a team that plays good football. We wanted to be aggressive, not give Milan any playing time and limit the calm of their goalkeeper who knows how to think and find the free man. The boys did it well with a lot of energy, I’m happy because in the end it went well.”

Conceiçao very harsh: “There is neither desire nor hunger, so we cannot go anywhere”

“In the first half it was a balanced match in which we had more opportunities, then in the second half they had more desire to win, more hunger – sighed Conceiçao -. I’m worried because you always have to want to grow and improve to do well, but it’s me who has to change the attitude and mentality of the players. If we miss goals or if others are better than us, that’s fine with me, even when I coached less technical teams, the spirit of the game, the desire to win and fight for every ball never lack. We’re not looking for excuses like fatigue or anything else, other things are missing and I’m having trouble understanding. But I’m the one in charge, I have to change the situation… We can’t always put everything on the shoulders of Hernandez, Leao or Maignan, we have to look each other in the eyes and understand how we can do more, because that it is not true that we are not at the level of the other big names in the championship. However, if you don’t have the right desire, which for me is the most important aspect, you won’t get anywhere. For me, that’s what’s missing.”

Atalanta – Naples 2-3: Conte conquers Bergame, Gasperini returns

The other big score on Saturday was that of Naples, able to conquer Bergamo with a 3-2 full of emotions and twists and turns. The “removal of the Gewiss Stadium” is worth a temporary +6 on Inter, even if the Nerazzurri have two games less: the one against Empoli this evening and the resumption of the 14th day against Fiorentina. The feat of a vigorous Naples remains, after winning its sixth consecutive victory on the field of a very tough opponent, undefeated in the league since September and leaving with their heads held high, very high indeed. The Azzurri, however, had the merit of not being discouraged after Retegui’s balancing goal (16′), immediately finding the equalizer with Politano (27′) and taking the advantage before the break thanks to McTominay, who knew how to take advantage very well. from Anguissa’s decisive pass. Atalanta did not give up, in fact at the start of the second half they immediately scored the 2-2 point with Lookman, author of a superb goal after an action triggered by Retegui and concluded with the usual surgical left foot (55′). . The match thus enters a stalemate phase, in which the draw now seems settled: nothing could be more serious, because in the 78th minute, the inexhaustible Anguissa sprinted down the left and delivered an inviting cross to the center which was reckless from Lukaku. , for the lead in the final 2-3. Gasperini spent the final minutes shouting in an attempt to wake his team up, but Napoli were not intimidated, managing the advantage until the final climax. In words, Conte, as we will soon see, tried to keep a low profile, but his celebration, combined with his gestures to arouse the joy of the visiting sector, perfectly explains the importance of this victory, which launches him definitively into the championship . duel with Inter are the reigning champions.

Conte: “We are at the top and we have no desire to come down”

“The match was organized very clearly, we didn’t always want to go after them when they had the ball – explained Conte -. I think that was the key, even compared to the first leg. These are matches that are played at very high intensity, we were able to beat a team that has been working this way with Gasperini for years, they are masters. We are “students” trying to improve ourselves, so that one day we too can master the pressure phase. This is a team that has made clear improvements, making its own journey. I also heard Gasperini talk about his journey, but he has been here for seven years, with me only six months have passed in Naples, and in this journey we have also lost important players… We are going too fast, but no, we intend to take our foot off the accelerator. We have to make hay on the farm for our return to Europe, so we know very well that we are up there in the ranking and we don’t want to go down, but it’s not just our will, there are teams strong for faces like Inter, Juventus, Milan and Lazio who can bother us.

Gasperini: ‘Defeats like this give you the right to start again’

“We played an excellent match, sometimes even extraordinary, the defeat bothers us, but we come out stronger from this type of match – thinks Gasperini -. Against Juventus we took a point, but we had a better match than Theirs is still very fresh, it’s even less here than on Wednesday, but it’s football and we have to accept it. It’s been like this for a while, but we’re starting again and we’re already thinking about it. next match They are top opponents. level, both as a team and as a player However, we are always aware of having created problems for him, probably even with this small difference which does not allow us to be higher. actually, we picked up so many points unexpectedly Okay, I’m sorry for the boys, but when you play like that, he has the courage to do it again.”

Inter – Empoli (20h45, Dazn)

Attention turns to Sunday’s matches, starting with the San Siro match between Inter and Empoli. It goes without saying that Inzaghi has victory as the only available result, otherwise he will lose ground against Conte’s very fast Naples, capable of conquering Bergamo in yesterday’s direct clash. The mission, at least on paper, should not be so complicated, both due to the enormous technical difference and the current situation of the Tuscans, which is far from that at the start of the season. D’Aversa’s team has not won a match since the 4-1 victory against Verona on December 8: since four defeats (the last last weekend against Lecce) and a draw, with the logical consequence of a increasingly worrying ranking. In short, the Nerazzurri are the big favorites, despite a lackluster moment, both in terms of results and injuries. The numerous absences highlighted the poor performance of the second lines, who found themselves in the dock after the 2-2 draw against Bologna: Taremi, Zielinski and Asllani, in particular, should have been additional starters, but the difference with the others are obvious. Tonight, Inzaghi will be forced to abandon Calhanoglu again, but the return of Mkhitaryan and Thuram is already a guarantee, especially since the Champions League will also take place next week. The possibility of responding to Naples exists, provided that we face Empoli with a straight head: the enemy with a “full stomach” seemed to have been defeated after the first leg of the derby; instead, he came back out the door in early 2025, challenging leadership that seemed established.

Inter – Empoli, the probable compositions

Inter (3-5-2): Sommer; Pavard, De Vrij, Carlos Augusto; Dumfries, Barella, Asllani, Zielinski, Dimarco; Taremi, Lautaro

On the bank: Martinez, Calligaris, Palacios, Acerbi, Darmian, Frattesi, Mkhitaryan, Buchanan, Thuram, Arnautovic

Coach : Inzaghi

Unavailable: Di Gennaro, Correa, Bisseck, Calhanoglu

Disqualified: None

Empoli (3-4-2-1): Vasquez; Goglichidze, Ismajli, Viti ; Gyasi, Maleh, Grassi, Cacacé; Pezzella, Esposito; Colomb

On the bank: Perisan, Seghetti, Marianucci, Cacace, De Sciglio, Falcusan, Tosto, Bacci, Henderson, Sambia, Zurkowski, Konaté

Coach: D’Aversa

Unavailable: Anjorin, Solbakken, Brancolini, Sazonov, Ebuehi, Haas, Pellegri

Disqualified: None