There Juventus is saved in the finale, the Lazio hope again for the Champions League. Friday’s advances end with a draw for Allegri’s band, the second in a row after the one in the derby with Torino, but also with Tudor’s victory on the Genoa pitch, which brings him to minus 3 (but with two games in more) from Rome fifth. The race for Europe that counts has become more exciting after the conquest of an additional place, with several teams back in the race: Lazio, in fact, and Napoli, expected in the late afternoon from the trip to Empoli.
Cagliari – Juventus 2-2, an own goal from Dossena saves Allegri from defeat
Half a misstep for Juventus, even if the 2-2 of Cagliari, in light of how the game was going, it certainly shouldn’t be thrown away. At the end of the first half, in fact, the Bianconeri were two goals down and the draw seemed like a chimera, while Ranieri’s rossoblu were anticipating a victory that would have had the flavor of salvation. Instead it ended in a draw and the Lady at least avoided a heavy knockout, both for the Champions League objective (definitely closer with the five places) and for the climate around the team, already full of clouds regardless. Giuntoli tried to reassure him with sweet words towards Allegri (“we are happy with him, at the end of the season we will sit down to plan the future”), but it was above all his reaction that saved him from a bad weekend.
Ready to go and Cagliari was already close to taking the lead with Luvumbo, then the same Cameroonian sensationally missed the ball a few steps from Szczesny, also due to a deflection with Bremer’s arm: referee Piccinini decreed the penalty with the help of the monitors and Gaetano converted it into the rossoblu’s 1-0 (30′). Juve felt the pinch and 6 minutes later they also suffered a second goal, again from the spot (foul by Szczesny on the usual Luvumbo), this time by Mina. When in the 43rd minute the VAR annulled a goal by Vlahovic due to Chiesa’s offside by a few centimeters, many thought it was going to be a bad evening, destined to end up even worse. Instead in the second half the Bianconeri found themselves againthanks to Allegri’s move to put Yildiz together with the aforementioned teammates: the front-wheel drive trident forced Cagliari to lower and the Signora first found the 2-1 with Vlahovic (61′, splendid free kick), then the final 2-2 on an own goal by Dossenafavored by a poisonous cross from the Turkish baby.
Allegri: “We didn’t understand the match. Joints? Happy to sit down and plan”
“When you find these teams that jump on you, you have to fight – Allegri’s analysis -. Technically we had some difficulties and we didn’t understand the game, if you don’t get on par with your opponent you come out with broken bones. Understanding the game is essential, also because it’s always difficult in Cagliari, the pitch is thick, the ball stops and it’s complicated to play well technically. We have never won easily here, but we have not yet learned as it has happened to us in other races: if you want to grow and raise the level you have to immerse yourself well in the challenge. If I’m happy to sit for plan the future at Juve? Absolutely yes, at the end of the season we need to make the appropriate assessments, but now there is a Champions League to reach and an Italian Cup final to conquer. Lazio are strong and if we repeat today’s first half it will be even tougher…”.
Genoa – Lazio 0-1, Luis Alberto brings Tudor to within 3 of fifth place
A full smile instead for Lazio, who emerged victorious from the other matchday match against Genoa. The Biancocelesti’s success was heavy, both from the point of view of the standings and the morale of a fragile group, dealing with several cover “cases”. Above all the one relating to Luis Alberto, at the center of the controversy after the farewell sentences pronounced last week. The Spaniard, harshly criticized by Lotito and Fabiani, even risked not being called up, but in the end he chose to think about the collective good, limiting the “hard fist” at the loss of the captaincy. An extremely wise decision, given that it was he who decided the match with the goal in the 68th minute, favored by a good play by Felipe Anderson (another big player at the center of the controversy, in light of his departure on a free transfer) and Kamada.
Lazio took it like this 3 gold points, as well as a nice boost of confidence ahead of the Italian Cup on Tuesday, when they will try to overturn the 2-0 deficit in the first leg against Juventus. It must be said that the first half was Genoa-style, so much so that Gilardino’s team had come close to taking the lead with Ekuban, who was unfortunate in kicking wide instead of serving Gudmundsson. In the second half, however, Lazio gained ground and after finding the goal they no longer risked anything, limiting themselves to managing the precious advantage. With this victory the points gap from fifth place is reduced to 3, moreover on the day of Roma-Bologna, even if the Giallorossi have yet to finish the match in Udine (by the way: the League’s decision to have it played on April 25th irritated a lot the club, which had asked to postpone it to May to better prepare for the semi-finals with Bayer Leverkusen).
Tudor: “We are on the right path, now let’s try to beat Juve with an exceptional match”
“I liked the second half, at half-time I asked to start strong – explained Tudor -. We just played for 45 minutes, after a reviewable approach: I had seen a tense, thoughtful Lazio, then we loosened up, in a field where it is super difficult to win. I see application and participation and this makes me happy, in the last 4 races there have been three victories and this confirms that we are on the right path. It’s a victory that will give us a boost further for Tuesday’s match, I must convey to the whole environment the necessary confidence to try to overturn the 2-0 from the first leg. It will take a perfect, exceptional match, but the beauty of football is the possibility of accomplishing some feat.”
Empoli – Naples (6pm, Dazn)
The 33rd day will continue today with Empoli-Napoli and Verona-Udinese (8.45pm, Dazn and Sky), therefore in the name of Europe and salvation. The Castellani challenge, in particular, concerns both objectives, because the certainty of having an extra place in the Champions League has rekindled some hope even in the Italian home team. Of course, there are still many points behind the fifth (6, with one game more), but if one of Roma and Atalanta were to win the Europa League, the path would even open up to the sixth team. To date these are only hypotheses, but more than enough to try to win the next matches and save the season. Staying out of the cups, moreover, would affect future programs, both in terms of the choice of the new coach and the market, regardless of the money that will arrive from the sale of Osimhen. In short, it is urgent to start winning, but to do so we will need a Napoli that is very different from the one seen last Sunday against Frosinone. Even today, in fact, we will be faced with an opponent hungry for safety points and determined to sell their lives dearly, so the motivations will have to be decidedly high. Calzona knows he has no chance of confirmation, but leaving the club in Europe would still be important for his career, currently linked only to the Slovak national team.
Empoli – Naples, the probable lineups
Empoli (3-4-2-1): Caprile; Bereszynski, Walukiewicz, Luperto; Gyasi, Marin, Maleh, Pezzella; Zurkowski, Cambiaghi; Niang
Trainer: Nicholas
Disqualified: Nobody
Injured: Ebuhei, Ismajli
Napoli (4-3-3): Meret; Di Lorenzo, Ostigard, Juan Jesus, Mazzocchi; Anguissa, Lobotka, Zielinski; Politano, Osimhen, Kvaratskhelia
Trainer: Calzone
Disqualified: Mario Rui, Rrahmani
Injured: Olivera
Tags: Juve saved Cagliari Lazio conquers Genoa today Napolis turn fight Champions League heats
