Diavolo in disarray: booing at Milan party (Ibra also protested)

Complicated debt refinancing problems which, however, are of little interest to the fans at the moment. The reality they have before their eyes is that of a Milan side out of the Champions League and unable to beat a Genoa side that was cornered from the first to the 90th minute. With captain Teo Hernandez left on the bench and with two youngsters like Jimenez and Liberali as promising as you like but not to be experienced on such stormy evenings. More than a future Milan, it was a confused and unhappy Milan, even unlucky when Morata, from two steps, inexplicably hit the crossbar.

Almost surreal was the final comment by Fonseca, who spoke of 'a good match where only the goals were missing'. Last Wednesday, after the victory against Red Star in the Champions League, the coach had used fiery words: 'Some players are not doing the team any good'), now, in the storm, it's all milk and honey.

It is hard to understand these volatile attitudes, the expression of a coach who seems to have lost his compass and the support of the players. One even gets the impression that, to get out of this shambles, he is doing everything to get himself fired. "You have broken us! We are not Americans, are you leaving or not?" the Rossoneri fans shouted at the final whistle.

It is truly alienating to see a team like AC Milan, with its 125 glory-laden years, floating behind Bologna. And Atalanta, the proud team from Bergamo, which for the second week in a row leads the championship standings with the air of those who feel absolutely no sense of being out of place, indeed, having acquired from the 'Great One' even that thread of cynicism that allows you to win (as it did against Cagliari) even when you don't deserve it.

And Juventus? Who can barely manage a late equaliser with Venezia and get booed by their fans? What is happening to it? It was supposed to be, with Thiago Motta at the helm, the big news of the season. It was supposed to bring play and fun, goals in bunches and victories a go-go. And instead it is there, torn by controversy and bitterness, with Vlahovic, one of the few holding the fort, booed and insulted by the Juventus curve. There is obviously time to get back on track, nine points not even halfway through is not the end of the world, but, as with Milan, a bad feeling hangs over them: that the best is already behind them. That the Scudetto dreams, at least for this season, lie elsewhere. That even Motta is a lost bet, an illusion vanished like a flare thrown into the sea. He is wrong, however, who regrets Allegri. That cycle was over. A new start was needed. Except that in this football, time is a luxury almost never granted. You have to win everything immediately. And in fact then you see the results.

We were talking about Atalanta, which never ceases to amaze. And not only for its tenth consecutive victory in the championship (a new record in the club's 117-year history), but above all because it comes through even when it ends up on the ropes, as happened on Saturday in Cagliari. Without goalkeeper Carnesecchi, the absolute protagonist with at least five decisive saves, perhaps it would have ended differently; just as it would have ended differently if Zaniolo, just two minutes after his entrance, had not unblocked a match that seemed to be forgotten. What can we say? Luck, successful substitutions, a rediscovered Zaniolo, a goalkeeper who discourages the adversaries, are so many episodes that, however, reinforce a basic idea: that La Dea has acquired the pace of the great. In spite of Gasperini throwing water on the fire (but less and less), scudetti are also won in this way. If then Zaniolo, in order not to get himself cautioned, would start to calm down, without ranting like a tarantula for scoring a goal (which would be his job), then Atalanta should really be considered for the title race. For let's not forget that the Nerazzurri were in their sixth game in 22 days, the last one against Real Madrid, not exactly the boys from Scarioni.

Apart from Inter, who play tonight at the Olimpico against Lazio (a good test for both), the other Scudetto aspirant remains Napoli, who in Udine, after the two falls with Lazio, overturned the Friulans (3-1) thanks to Lukaku who, with a goal of his own, put Conte's team back on the board. Not a brilliant victory, but one that brings the partenopei closer to the top of the table, two points behind Atalanta.

It had also started badly, Napoli, with a penalty awarded to Udinese for a hand foul by Lobotka, but Conte's team never disbanded, slowly regaining control of the game. The other interesting news was the excellent performance of Neres, who was inserted as a starter in place of Kvaratskhelia. 'We'll try to satisfy the fine palates,' replied Conte to those who made some criticisms. Let's reiterate: this is not a fairytale Napoli. But it is solid. Plus, out of the Coppa Italia too, it can only concentrate on the championship. An undoubted advantage over its competitors, all engaged on many fronts.

Sunday on the shields for Vincenzo Italiano, coach of Bologna, who yesterday won at the Dall'Ara against Fiorentina (1-0), the team he led for three years. A long-awaited challenge for the coach. He cared about it so much that during the week he had spared the starters in the Champions League in Lisbon. Fiorentina, beaten after eight consecutive successes, was shaken on the eve of the match by another piece of bad news - the death of Palladino's mother - which forced the coach to leave the leadership of the team to his deputy Citterio. For a time the Viola held up well. In the second half, however, after Odgaard's goal, the red and blue took the lead and even came close to doubling the score.

Roma also returned to their troubles, defeated 2-0 by Como, who scored in the second half (Gabrielloni and Nico Paz) but were masters of the pitch throughout the match. It was a performance in stark contrast, that of the Giallorossi, after the victories in Lecce and Braga. For Ranieri it was an unexpected cold shower. The road to redemption is still a long one. And behind it looms those fighting for salvation.