Serie A, Scudetto fight: Andrea Masala’s comment

All reopened, all at stake. The marathon for the Scudetto restarts with Inter beating Napoli and returning to the leading group. Dzeko puts his signature on it: he makes a big gift not only to the Nerazzurri, who are within 8 of the leaders, but also to Milan, second at five points behind, and Juve at seven. They are still nice margins, but anything can still happen.

Those who pursue do not miss the precious opportunity that the calendar offers. Milan and Juve respect their deliveries. But it was above all Inter that accomplished the feat, with the condemnation of Spalletti’s men to the first knockout in Serie A. For the group led by Inzaghi, the booty is more than double: not only does Inter hang up on the train for the title and return to the Champions League zone, but it regains confidence and awareness in its own means. Napoli is the same who collected 15 points out of 18 in the Cup group: the validity of the opponent gives even more weight to the San Siro verdict.

The turning point

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Inter breaks a heavy taboo: so far they had never surpassed one of the big names, it was about to become an obsession. The Azzurri come out beaten, but give the impression of being on track even on a gray day. It can’t be a fall that undermines the foundations on which Spalletti’s primacy rests. If anything, it will be necessary to bear in mind the unknowns of a particular season: at the rate of one race every four days, everyone will be forced to measure up their strength. Starting from a hot January, which foresees Napoli-Juve on Friday 13. It will be fun…

Here Milan

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In Salerno, the Devil does not give a chance to an opponent who had lost two out of seven at home. Pioli must re-propose the same formation that gave him the Scudetto in May. Giroud should catch his breath, as demonstrated by yesterday’s misfires, but he is still at the center of the attack. The Milan admired in the first 60 minutes of the year demonstrates compactness: organised, practical, sometimes overwhelming. The newcomer from Mexico to Salernitana, goalkeeper Ochoa, deserves an 8. The virtue lies in the middle: Tonali, Bennacer and Diaz give quality and quantity. To enrich the picture, there is Wednesday at Leao’s, irrepressible when ball and chain starts: it is he who signs the restart with the first goal of 2023. To grow and to continue the top race, the Rossoneri carefully review that last quarter of an hour, when they managed to reopen a race that seemed to be already on ice. If the reigning champions manage to prune their performances from similar lapses in attention, they will be bad clients for everyone. And if De Ketelaere wakes up, the Devil’s plans will be easier to carry out. Milan are the team that collects the most goals from open play in Serie A: 27 out of 31 total, including the last 13.

The black and whites

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Juve, on the other hand, to start the second tranche of this bizarre tournament in the best possible way, relies on set piece football, moreover in extremis. To beat the Cremonese who had made the posts tremble twice, a free kick from Milik decides. Unlike Pioli, Allegri starts again with Juve who is the youngest since the beginning of the season, with an average age of 25 years and 9 months. Here too, injuries dictate the line. Juventus in name and in fact: the design should be encouraged, so as not to always live on zero parameters and champions at the end of his career. In the tests during the stop, Allegri adopted the innovative mode, with appreciable results. When we then move from laboratory experiments to the trap of the three real points, the scenario changes, of course. Juve seen at Zini doesn’t enchant anyone, not even the fundamentalists of the result at all costs. Young yes, but ugly and confusing: compared to the releases of last October and November, there is a step backwards in the general tone. However, the short face pays off: from the pittance of only two points in the first six away from home, the bianconeri moved on to the last four away games, all with the prefix 0-1. No one scores more than the black and whites in the second half, that means something. And so comes the seventh victory out of seven without ever conceding a goal. There are five months of gymkhana, the Lady from uptown can resume her habits. Watch out for her too.