Football. Ua analyzes the situation in the Italian championship.
Serie A comes to the home stretch: there are only four rounds left. To your attention - five intrigues of the main Italian division. We enclose the calendar of the remaining matches and the results of the key personal meetings - with equality of points they come to the fore.
Championship 1. Juventus - 84 points. Torino (d), Roma (g), Crotone (d), Bologna (d) Juventus - Roma - 1: 0; Juventus - Napoli - 2: 1, Napoli - Juventus - 1: 1 "What's the intrigue?" - you ask and will be absolutely right. Juventus won the championship when he acquired Higuain with Pyanic, leading players of potential competitors. However, even without these transfers, the result of the race for gold was predictable, the very current Juve, which is superior to other Italian clubs, not only by selecting players, but also by the work of management. This scudetto will be for Bianconeri the sixth consecutive that it will be a record of the Italian football. We are waiting for the inevitable in the next two rounds, a beautiful gesture will be the design of the title at Olimpico.
Place in the group of Champions League 2. Roma - 75. Milan (d), Juventus (d), Chievo (g), Genoa (e) 3. Napoli - 74. Cagliari (d), Torino (g), Fiorentina (e), Sampdoria (g) Napoli - Roma - 1: 3, Roma - Napoli - 1: 2 Here the intrigue is much more! Second place is given not only by silver medals, but also by a ticket to the group stage of the Champions League. For Italian clubs, this is more than critical: Roma and Napoli managed to get burned in qualifying. In August, Kaczo still wakes up, so avoiding key matches of the season during this period is a task of strategic importance.
Just last week, Roma's chances were more preferable. She had a head start in four points, ahead of the derby with a more modest Lazio, and Napoli went on a visit to Inter. The result of the last round - the collapse of the "wolves"! Neapolitans confidently won their match, while Roma, despite a number of judging decisions in their favor, lost to fellow countrymen, and Strootman, in addition to the title of "actor of the year" was disqualified for the next two matches. Accurate on Milan with Juventus! The situation is exacerbated by the fact that the team of Luciano Spalletti unsuccessfully plays the key confrontation: guest victories over Lazio and Napoli remained last year, but home defeat from them, flights from Lazio from the Cup and from Lyon to LE fresh in the memory. The advantage over Neapolitans in personal meetings is a weak counterargument.
Calendar of Napoli is easier. A certain difficulty is the departure to Torino, dangerous in its field, but Neapolitans in turn are good at guests. Unpredictable is the match with the crazy Fiorentina, jumping from 5: 4 with Inter Milan before the Palermo. Napoli should cope, there are special hopes for the enraged Insigne. Another reason is the stability of the club. De Laurentiis praises Maurizio Sarri, sharp criticism from the president remained in the past. In Roma, on the contrary, the era of change: Monchi only came, Totti completes a player's career, and whether there will remain Luciano Spalletti for the upcoming season - is unknown. In addition, there are questions on the game leaders: Fazio, Nainggolan, Dzeko - they all show not the best football.
Everything remains in Roma's hands, but a combination of factors must outweigh. Second place will be Napoli.
Places in the Europa League 4. Lazio - 67. Sampdoria (e), Fiorentina (d), Inter (d), Crotone (g) 5. Atalanta - 64. Udinese (d), Milan (d), Empoli (g), Chievo (e) 6. Milan - 59. Roma (d), Atalanta (g), Bologna (d), Cagliari (g) 7. Inter - 56. Genoa (g), Sassuolo (e), Lazio (g), Udinese (e) 8. Fiorentina - 55. Sassuolo (g), Lazio (d), Napoli (g), Pescara (d) Atalanta - Lazio - 3: 4, Lazio - Atalanta - 2: 1; Milan - Atalanta - 0: 0; Milan - Inter - 2: 2, Inter Milan - 2: 2; Fiorentina - Milan - 0: 0, Milan - Fiorentina - 2: 1; Inter - Fiorentina - 4: 2, Fiorentina - Inter - 5: 4 Three places - five applicants. Lazio and Atalanta should not lose their. These original teams earned a ticket to the European Cup, both scored a decent form and can compete on an equal footing even with more classy rivals. Not even the most convenient calendar is unlikely to become a hindrance - a handicap makes it possible to make even a few misfires. Plus, Lazio will have a chance in the Cup.
The struggle for the rest of the ticket will become a most curious spectacle! It is claimed by two Milan clubs. Their ambitions are sky-high, but in fact the results of both teams are not a cause for pride. Inter, defeating Atalanta 7: 1, paradoxically collapsed: two points in six matches, confused Stefano Pioli and mysterious methods of fixing the situation like a five-day gathering at the base. The affairs of Milan seemed to go better, but Rosso Neri showed an allergy to the basement of the table. Draws with Pescara and Croton, home defeat from Empoli ... Perhaps, with the higher Roma and Atalanta will be easier?.
For Milan - three points odds, a more positive attitude of players and a stable position of Montella, in contrast to Pioli, who is already wooing in China. For Inter - a strong set of performers, relatively easy calendar and good goal difference (+20 against +13 for Milan, for personal meetings they have equality). While the chances of Rosso Neri seem a little more preferable, they do not have a safety margin. The fate of the race can be solved by one successful match of Inter, which will give him confidence - potentially this team must fight for medals.
Fiorentina? Shadow candidate in case Inter Milan openly break through the bottom. Calendar and personal meetings do not speak in favor of the Violets, who in summer are scheduled serious reshuffle.
The struggle for survival 16. Genoa - 30. Inter (e), Palermo (g), Torino (d), Roma (g) 17. Empoli - 29. Bologna (d), Cagliari (g), Atalanta (d), Palermo (g) 18. Crotone - 25. Pescara (d), Udinese (d), Juventus (g), Lazio (d) 19. Palermo - 19. Chievo (g), Genoa (d), Pescara (g), Empoli (d) Genoa - Empoli - 0: 0, Empoli - Genoa - 0: 2; Crotone - Genoa - 1: 3, Genoa - Crotone - 2: 2; Empoli - Crotone - 2: 1, Crotone - Empoli - 4: 1 Pescara has already departed, Palermo - in fact, too. There remains the struggle between the modest Croton, who occupied the 17th place of Empoli and the crisis Genoa. The Genoese came to the end: only one victory this year and one point scored in the last seven games! The leadership of the club went on a desperate step, returning to the coaching bridge dismissed after 0: 5 from Pescara Ivan Jurich. Spill reserve, it seemed, made it possible not to worry about the table, but at the end of the season the inhabitants of her bottoms were roused.
Crotone - an outsider, leaving positive emotions. The team without the stars, before the championship looked like an occasional guest of the elite, issued a five-match unbeaten run, beating Inter and Sampdoria. This jerk from the depths woke the fallen asleep Empoli, who instantly brought six points from the "double" Florence - Milan. Empoli is above class in comparison with Crotone. Goalkeeper Skorupsky, defender Pascual and playmaker Omar El Kaddour must save Tuskans from relegation. The calendar also favors.
This is not a reason to despair for Croton: six points in the matches with unmotivated Pescara and Udinese - and they will beat Genoa if she continues a series of setbacks. The key game - the departure of the Genoese to Sicily. If the Griffins gather and beat Palermo, then the cute Croton will return to Serie B.
Top scorer Andrea Belotti (Torino), Edin Dzeko (Roma) - 25, Mauro Icardi (Inter) - 24, Gonzalo Higuain (Juventus) - 23, Dries Mertens (Napoli) - 22, Ciro Immobile (Lazio) - 20 Gourmet dish. Bombardier race in Serie A is more interesting than ever: six players have pounded 20 or more balls! For comparison: in the Premier League and League 1, only two, in the example and the Bundesliga - three.
Another pair of tours back favorite race looked Dzeko - a real machine for scoring goals. Now the disposition has changed: Dzheko became nervous, broke on Spalletti during the replacement with Pescara and held an unsuccessful derby. Mini-crisis Bosnian - a chance for the rest. A good candidate - Ikardi. He is unstable and often dips moments, but he knows how to shoot with doubles or even hat-tricks, which this year he did twice already. Immobil with Mertens should perform feats to enter the leaders, and the problem of Higuain is that he can be kept in the championship on the eve of the two finals. We risk putting on Belotti: the calendar for Torino is not easy, but Gallo scored Juventus and Napoli in the first round, and the team does not have any incentives except to provide their leader with the title of capokannonere.