Championship increasingly Milanese: Inter launched, Milan in the slipstream
Allegri's boys beat Lecce by a narrow margin and try to keep pace with the leaders. Napoli mown down by injuries. In the meantime, the debate between playmakers and resultists rages on
In this increasingly Milanese championship, which is finally coming to a head with Inter in the lead, Milan in the slipstream, and Napoli to be seen, one of those dreadful debates that we would gladly do without is taking shape: that between the players and the resultists, that is, between those who always favour the 'beautiful game' (less so when they lose...) and those who don't care about the beautiful game, worrying above all about the final result.
The charismatic leader of this school is the AC Milan coach, Max Allegri, who, on the strength of his six league titles won, thinks above all about his own business: that is to say, to keep the Diavolo in line, who, even against Lecce, made their fans suffer for almost 80 minutes before ending the evening with the suspected 1-0 thanks to Fullkrug, the new German striker who had entered three minutes earlier. Allegri, who continues to fly low ("Our objective remains fourth place"), had some time ago thrown petrol on the fire with that now-famous provocation inviting fans to go to the circus and not to the stadium.
Instead, the footballers, the emulators of Sacchi and Guardiola, make domination and spectacle a categorical imperative. Except then, as that narcissist Fabregas did after the 3-1 defeat to AC Milan, complaining that they lost despite the many goal-scoring chances produced by Como. Even Spalletti, also a player with a few distinctions (one does not always understand what he is saying), after the defeat to Cagliari, repeated how much Juve had produced ('Unmerited Ko, difficult to explain...') then being mocked by a team that had limited itself to defending well. In fact, as they used to say, they did a good catenaccio.
Shall we tell the truth? The truth is that whoever scores (and wins) is always right in the end. The great thing about sport, and football in particular, is that the result counts in the end. If Spalletti had had a centre forward like Lautaro, it probably would have been different against Cagliari... So let's put an end to the torment of the game produced, of ball possession, of these boring statistics that explain nothing. Inter for example are now playing well, full stop. It's a pleasure to watch. Maybe they win by the skin of their teeth, but they always put in the decisive goal. When it will be weighed down by the Champions League challenges (now comes Arsenal), it will surely have a few more problems, although it has a squad that really makes the difference. Let's look at Napoli who are on the hook instead. Everyone is in the infirmary. And even a narrow victory over Sassuolo is almost worth celebrating. In short, venerable masters of the bench, stop selling us smoke. Politicians, magistrates and so many others we know, including lawyers and journalists, already do. One coach who has so far distinguished himself, for sobriety it must be said, is instead Cristian Chivu. The Inter coach is the only real revelation of this championship in terms of technical and communicative skills. They gave him a Formula One car, fresh from a bad crash, and he got into it driving it better than his predecessor. It's true that accounts are made at the end, but Chivu has already earned himself half a championship title.
Milan-Lecce 1-0. In the end, after a one-sided game, the Rossoneri managed to beat Falcone, Lecce's goalkeeper paratutto, in the 20th minute. To break the tie, as welcome as rain after a drought, was the first goal from Fullkrug, in his second appearance at the San Siro. A precise header, on a fine cross from Saelemaekers, which allowed Milan (46 points) to stay in the slipstream of leaders Inter (49). Apart from all Allegri's dialectical cautions, the Diavolo are increasingly in the running. How it will turn out (the derby takes place on 8 March) we will see, but this championship is certainly becoming very Milanese, with all the reciprocal punishments of the case. Against Lecce, with Modric on the bench, after a first half in a minor tone, Milan practically invaded the Salento area, desperately defended by goalkeeper Falcone. A shot on target that, however, did not break through until the entrance of the German striker, good at being in the right place at the right time. A growing Milan, motivated and determined not to lose any more ground, with Saelemaekers, Pulisc and Ricci to the fore. Alternating current instead Leao, precious in the assists, but not yet at his best.
