Pioli’s team squandered a two-goal lead against Roma and saw Napoli slip away in the standings.
A league:
The big match of the day in Italy pitted Milan against Roma. The rossoneros had cut three points from Napoli the previous day and received Mourinho’s team knowing that Spalletti’s men had won their match. After half an hour, Milan took the lead with a goal from Kalulu. The game passed relatively calmly, with a Roma that was not capable of disturbing the Milanese goal. In minute 77 Pobega took advantage of a counter led by Rafael Leão to make it 2-0, which seemed definitive. Nothing is further from reality. First Ibañez, in a corner, and already in discount, Tammy Abraham, tied the game for the romanista ecstasy. The puncture causes Milan to lose second position in favor of Juventus, who won their game. He did it, like the previous weekend, in the final minutes, this time with a goal from Danilo. Without making noise, with little shine and some luck, the bianconeros have accumulated eight consecutive victories in Serie A and have gone from being outside of Europe to being the closest team to Napoli in the table. The Neapolitans recovered from the defeat against Inter last day with a good game in Genoa against Sampdoria. Oshimen opened the scoring with a nice collective move and Elmas closed the game with a penalty in the second half. The one who did not win was Inter, who visited Berlusconi’s Monza and suffered a bitter disappointment. After a crazy start in which they took the lead, tied them and went back in front, Inzaghi’s men played with an advantage on the scoreboard for more than seventy minutes, until, at the last breath, Dumfries put the ball into his own goal in a strange header. The tie leaves Inter in fourth position, ten points behind Napoli.
Lazio showed that they have not come back fine from the World Cup break, as they were once again unable to win against a team from the lower half of the table, Empoli. They went so far as to take the lead by two goals, the work of Felipe Anderson and Zaccagni, but a goal from Caputo in minute 83 and another from Marin in the last breath deprived Sarri’s men of victory. Despite the puncture, Lazio still has options to reach the Champions League positions, which remain at the same distance thanks to Inter’s draw. The day closes tomorrow with two games, Hellas Verona receives Cremonese in an agonizing duel for salvation, while Atalanta visits Bologna hoping to overcome their losing streak and get closer to the European positions.
FA Cup:
After the Christmas binge, the Premier League rested this weekend, but not its teams, which played the thirty-second final of the most traditional competition in English football, the FA Cup. The big game in this round faced Manchester City with Chelsea just three days after seeing their faces in the league. City came out with a very strong eleven despite the fact that both Kevin de Bruyne and Erling Haaland were not in the game. Chelsea, on the other hand, lined up a more alternative eleven, especially in defense. From the first minute the difference between the two teams was abysmal and City went to half-time winning 3-0. The second half was similar, the blues weren’t even able to disturb the citizen goal and saw how Mahrez completed the win with a penalty in the final minutes. These are bad times for the London team, which has not won in its last ten games in the different competitions of the country. The result: eliminated from both cups and in tenth position in the Premier, eight points behind Europe. After the defeat against City, his fans remembered Thomas Tuchel, inexplicably fired at the beginning of the season.
As usual in the FA Cup in these first rounds, several games ended in surprises. Possibly the biggest was the elimination of Unai Emery by Aston Villa at the hands of Stevenage, from League 2. Emery’s men played with a recognizable eleven, went ahead in the first half and seemed to have controlled the match until the penalty and the expulsion of Dendoncker in 85 caused the tie and spurred Stevenage, who achieved a historic goal in 91 to certify the pass. The other big surprise was the elimination of Newcastle at the hands of Sheffield Wednesday, a classic of English football that now plays in League 1. They went ahead by two goals against the magpies and despite the fact that Eddie Howe’s men closed the gap with a goal from Bruno Guimaraes failed to force the replay. Who did it was Leeds, who trailed by two goals at half-time against Cardiff, but managed to tie the game at the last minute and will have another chance to get through. Among the greats, Manchester United beat Everton 3-1 while Tottenham narrowly defeated Porsmouth, with a goal from Harry Kane. Liverpool, for their part, drew against Wolves, and will have to play another game to the despair of their coach, Jurgen Klopp, who has always been highly critical of the excessive number of games on the English calendar. The only game that remains to be played is that of Arsenal, who will visit Oxford United tomorrow.
