Spalletti and Allegri travel slowly (the Rossoneri very slowly) and put the qualification for the European Championship at risk. What awaits them at the end of a championship they cannot fail…
With different words, but with the same lowered eyes, Luciano Spalletti And Max Allegri they said more or less the same things after experiencing the Sunday of the great waste: Woe betide you if you throw away ten months of work in just a few weeks, letting yourself be lazy in the spring heat that cuts off your legs and head to those who should still be on track. Juventus and Milan are doing everything to throw away the Champions League pass and with it the hundred million euros it brings.
A mortal sin, not a venial one, which risks having repercussions on the present and future of the two teams. Translated into concrete terms, as Allegri himself attempted to do on the eve of Milan’s unfortunate trip to Emilia: It’s one thing to show up on the market in June knowing you can spend that money, it’s another thing not to have it and not be able to commit it. This also applies to Juventus who also have the munificent Elkann family behind them and not Cardinale’s ruthless fund.
Milan, what a collapse: they have been relegated for two months
The alarm sounds loud especially at Casa Milan because the Rossoneri’s collapse is almost structural and not episodic. Having cherished the dream of the Scudetto (8 March victory in the derby) was like getting closer to the sun only to realize that you’re getting sunburnt. In two months the pace of Allegri’s team has transformed into a frantic management of an evident crisis: 7 points in 7 games and series defeats (Lazio, Napoli, Udinese and Sassuolo) where previously there had been draws or narrow victories.
Almost nothing works anymore in Milan. The injury of Modric it’s not the explanation for the blackout also because the Croatian was there until the match against Juventus. The Rossoneri have lost balance and danger, they don’t score (one goal in Verona with Rabiot in the last 5 matchdays) and they don’t shoot on goal. So everything becomes difficult and the calendar is scary because against Atalanta at San Siro and Genoa at Marassi you need to perform to accumulate points before the home match against Cagliari.
How many do you need? Arithmetic says 6 so as not to depend on the behavior of others in the running for the Champions League. Fewer could be enough, but for a team that has been relegated for two months (one point on average per game) even fewer risk being too many. The remaining advantage is in the factor of direct clashes, favorable with Rome and Como.
Juventus, always the same mistakes (but they weigh heavily)
Juventus’ problem, however, is that it always makes the same mistakes. The draw against relegated Verona closely resembled the home draws with Sassuolo and Lecce or even the fall of Cagliari; points burned that today would have made the difference in a sprint in which the Bianconeri maintain a very narrow advantage over Roma and Como. In general, Spalletti’s team isn’t doing badly: they haven’t lost since the end of February (9 matchdays) and since then they have put together 19 points with a pace sufficient to lock down the Europe that counts.
But there were too many gifts and the calendar must be analyzed with the utmost attention: in Lecce the bianconeri will find an opponent in full swing to avoid relegation, then Fiorentina at the Allianz Stadium and the derby with Torino as their last effort. Not three first category mountain grand prix, but not even a straight plain to the finish line with Roma behind them who, after the comeback suffered at the Olimpico at the hands of Gatti (1st March) went through a moment of crisis which led to internal settling of accounts with Ranieri but who are still on the upswing as evidenced by the 7 points in the last three matches.
