Between the Derby Della Madonnina madness, Juventus’ stumble and Fiorentina’s individual brilliance, there were more than enough talking points to go through in what’s already been a brilliant Serie A season.
By Matteo Bonetti, US Serie A expert
Derby Della Madonnina madness
This was one of the games that makes you pinch yourself as a commentator. Milan vs. Inter rarely disappoints, but in recent seasons we’ve finally seen both teams elevate themselves to a place where they’re competing for the same things domestically, and fighting in the Champions League against Europe’s best. As a result, the overall quality on the pitch has increased from what we saw in the 2010s from both. The incredible choreography from San Siro’s Curva Nord (Inter) and Curva Sud (Milan) set the stage for what would be a thrilling game with all the ingredients necessary for a terrific derby – intensity, aggressiveness, skill and drama.
The intensity was on display from the start, as Theo Hernández and Denzel Dumfries continued their fight from last season and locked horns in the eighth minute. The skill was provided by a world class performance by Rafael Leão, who completely took over the match and looked unplayable.
Simply put, he torched an Inter defence that had perhaps their worst performance of the last three seasons. Alessandro Bastoni and Stevan de Vrij were a disaster in this game, looking lost both positionally and with their man marking – Olivier Giroud’s goal was inexcusable, left alone inside the box with the Inter defence ball watching. Leão’s second goal, where he chops the ball inside and goes by Inter’s defence like they’re traffic cones, was even more troubling from a Nerazzurri perspective. How could such a strong defensive unit suddenly look so disinterested and unorganised? After last week’s poor performance against Lazio, Inter have even more questions to answer after getting beat in the most important game of the Serie A season.
Juventus far too passive
Once again we saw Juventus revert back to the most negative version of themselves against Fiorentina, sitting back on a 1-1 draw in the second half, and seemingly looking content to protect it. While Fiorentina is the team with the highest average defensive line in Serie A – a testament to the highly offensive nature of their manager Vincenzo Italiano – Juventus also let them play their game. The Bianconeri sat back in a low block, often going for an ultra defensive 4-5-1 in their own final third. There was very little attempt to press as a unit and actually force Fiorentina into a quick decision when they were in possession, so the majority of the game was Fiorentina getting the ball out wide (because the centre was so clogged up), and crossing it in with little success.
It’s another disappointing match from a Juventus perspective, as the criticisms from last season have surfaced once again. Most notably, it’s how passive and negative Juve can look when the game is tied up. You’d think that a team expected to challenge for the Scudetto wouldn’t be content to settle for one point against Fiorentina – a side that will struggle to finish in a European position this campaign. This all goes back to Max Allegri, who employs a tactical style that is becoming rarer by the year in European football. When you look across the top five leagues, how many managers can you think of at the top clubs who are that pragmatic and defensive? Atlético Madrid’s Diego Simeone comes to mind straight away, but other than that, its mostly teams led by managers with a more expansive brand of football.
The burning question at the moment is this: Was Juve’s provincial mentality against Fiorentina the result of them not knowing how to attack, or purely based on the manager’s directions?
Udinese 4-0 Roma… What just happened!?
Udinese’s 4-0 win at home against Roma was easily the most shocking result of the season. Roma’s defense had some embarrassing moments, whether it was Rick Karsdorp headed assist for the opposition, or the howler from the goalkeeper Rui Patrício on the long distance shot by Lazar Samardžić, it simply wasn’t good enough from all angles. This is nothing new however, as Mourinho has likely gone to a back three because he just doesn’t trust one of Chris Smalling’s defensive partners alongside him. It also feels like Roma suffer when going down an early goal and are exposed on the counter attack. For a team with Paulo Dybala and Lorenzo Pellegrini starting, you’d expect better control and more chances that what we saw.
José Mourinho was quick to move on from the performance by saying he’d rather lose 4-0 in one game than 1-0 in four different games, and wants to look forward to Thursday’s Europa League match against Ludogorets. If there’s a way to look ahead with a glass half full, Roma had another complete meltdown last season, losing 6-1 to Bodø/Glimt in the Conference League, only to go ahead and win the tournament at the end of the season.
The hope is that this game against Udinese is a rare stumble, one that won’t be remembered at the end of the season if they finish in a top four position.
We can’t end this review by not praising Udinese, the team led by new Serie A manager Andrea Sottil. Sottil finally got the chance to manage in the top flight after surprising everyone in Serie B by bringing Ascoli, a side that the bookies thought would get relegated, all the way to the playoffs. Udinese look solid as a whole – a team with a mostly young, dynamic midfield that utilises the wings better than most.
The 19-year-old left wingback Destiny Udogie is quickly becoming one of the most interesting players in his position, which is why Tottenham snapped him up this summer and kept him on loan at Udinese so he could continue developing. Up top, Gerard Deulofeu (who just had the best season of his career) and Beto is a very good partnership for a provincial side. With the team quickly adapting to Sottil’s tactics, it looks like they could very well be the surprise team in Serie A this season.
(Images from IMAGO)
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