Napoli is like Marco Mengoni in Sanremo: they don’t take him back

The results of the 22nd day of Serie A

Verona-Salernitana 1-0 32′ Ngonge
Sampdoria-Inter 0-0

Milan-Turin 1-0 62′ Giroud
Empoli-Spezia 2-2 25′ penalty, 31′ Green (S), 71′ Cambiaghi, 94′ E. Vignato
Lecce-Roma 1-1 7′ auto. Ibañez, 17′ penalty Dybala (R)
Lazio-Atalanta 0-2 23′ Zappacosta, 65′ Højlund
Udinese-Sassuolo 2-2 1′ Udogie, 6′ Matheus Henrique (S), 28′ Bijol, 45′ +2 aut. Perez (S)
Bologna-Monza 0-1 25′ Donati
Juventus-Fiorentina 1-0 34′ Rabiot
Napoli-Cremonese 3-0 22′ Kvaratskhelia, 65′ Osimhen, 79′ Elmas

The Serie A standings after 22 days

Naples 59; Inter 44; Atalanta, Rome and Milan 41; Lazio 39; Turin and Udinese 30; Juventus (-15), Monza and Bologna 29; Empoli 27; Lecce, Fiorentina and Sassuolo 24; Salerno 21; spice 19; Verona 17; Sampdoria 11; Cremona 8

Because Napoli is like Marco Mengoni, straight forward without setbacks

The football championship and the Sanremo Festival were the two all-encompassing passions of the Italians, equally distributed between the sexes. Now that Serie A is marking time (how sad the half-empty bleachers are), only the week of flowers and songs remains in vogue: however, where the leitmotiv is the same, someone who gets off to a great start is then difficult to pick up on. Luciano Spalletti’s Napoli, just like Marco Mengoni, has been at the top since the first day and has never seriously suffered any scratch or siege: of course, they lost an important match with Inter, and were eliminated in the Coppa Italia from the last in the standings, the same he then easily settled on Sunday. But his triumphal march knows no stops. What can we say about Inter, who started as underdogs due to the squad, and then unable to keep up, until they equalized with crumbling Sampdoria? He is more Ultimo than Giorgia, comparable instead to Milan, owner of the Scudetto and recovering after the tactical adjustment. Blanco can instead be approached at Juventus, although not in the match, but penalized for out-of-regulation performances. Great calm, there are also positive surprises: the good championship of Monza, the rediscovery of Udinese and Turin, the game of Empoli and Lecce are near Lazza, Colapesce and Dimartino, Madame, Tananai. And who knows what music the national team will play in June final four of Nations League.

Because a player makes a team, even if he doesn’t score and needs few assists

An often overlooked reason for Inter’s weakness in matches not won lies in the long absence of Marcelo Brozović. If it is true that outgoing starters Milan only sold Franck Kessié (without giving a dimension to the effects of Mike Maignan’s long and decisive stop), the Nerazzurri team – despite changing a lot – has shown that they cannot do without the Croatian playmaker, also out of action for a long time. Yet he doesn’t score much, even the number of his assists is average for any good midfielder: but Hakan Çalhanoğlu’s adaptation as a central lighthouse hasn’t had the desired effects in the end, nor has the young Kristjan Asllani been launched with confidence, who pays perhaps the error in front of the gate in Barcelona. Result? A more anonymous game than it could be, especially in the openings towards the flanks: only Henrix Mkhitaryan, the always available filler, could not fill all the gaps like the plumber in Zucchetti’s advertising from the 1980s. Sure, Inter are still in pole position to grab second place, the Scudetto for non-Martians: but great calmbecause the quarrel between Romelu Lukaku and Nicolò Barella on the pitch in Genoa is a bad sign.

Because Hellas Verona has reopened the fight for salvation thanks to the winter market

Cyril Ngonge it’s the championship flavor of the month. The Belgian striker, school of Anderlecht and Bruges, is Hellas Verona’s extra weapon, virtually doomed until Christmas and then able to score three wins and three draws in seven games: tracked down by the return of ds Sean Sogliano and handed over to the strange couple Zaffaroni-Bocchetti, Ngonge is now immovable together with the other new signing, Ondrej Duda, taken from Cologne and author of a capital performance in midfield against direct rival Salernitana. In the biorhythms of the tournament, Spezia is now falling and the Campanians are struggling, even though they had received positive grafts from the January transfer market: therefore great calmnot for all the additional negotiations in January and the introduction of new elements, above all with the departure of others, are capable of having the desired effects and of consolidating positions in the classification which are starting to get worrying.

Because the World Cup did well for Inter, Atalanta and Roma, badly for Udinese and Fiorentina

In football bulimia, the world championships in Qatar are now just a memory. Of course, not for the Argentines who won them, and who perhaps tried to bring some of that spirit into their club teams: this is how Lautaro Martínez drags Inter to the second most effective performance after the elusive Napoli – 14 points against 18 earned in 2023 – and so Paulo Dybala in Roma, with a similar increase compared to the last pre-world match played on November 13, 2022. A speech that does not apply to Atalanta (great calm), without Albiceleste internationals in the squad, but also +14 from the end of last year, while in comparison, Ángel di María’s Juve – like the surprising Monza – would virtually follow by one point less, which without disqualification would make it the second in ranking together with Simone Inzaghi’s team. On the other hand, those who have recorded the worst performance, after the final in Doha, are Cremonese who have scored just one point since January, practically condemning themselves to Serie B. But also Fiorentina, Udinese and Salernitana themselves are scoring the step since then: and the effects in the standings, especially for the viola, are visible.

Because if the Under 21 national team mirrors the championship, the future is cloudy

The Under 21 national team has always represented not only a reservoir for the major selection, but also a source of pride for the game, the results and the champions it assembles in empathy. From the rounds of Azeglio Vicini to those of Cesare Maldini, up to the choices of Paolo Nicolato, the Under is in the heart of the Italian men and women like the older brothers; and in some periods, maybe more. It is a pity that in the current Serie A championship there are only three starters, among those who have been called up for the last match (in November against Germany, which they won 4-2): Marco Carnesecchi in Cremona, Nicolò Rovella in Monza, Lorenzo Colombo in Lecce. Others enter the rotations, for example Lorenzo Pirola (Salernitana), Matteo Ruggeri (Atalanta), Filippo Ranocchia (Monza) and Emanuel Vignato, who scored with Empoli. The Tuscan team is one of the most prolific, including also Nicolò Cambiaghi, Jacopo Fazzini and that Tommaso Baldanzi who will soon be called up among the big stars by Roberto Mancini. Who had already debuted Giorgio Scalvini, Fabio Miretti and Samuele Ricci, perhaps on loan to the Under 21 for official appointments. If Diego Coppola has just returned to the field from a long injury, Nicolò Fagioli’s explosion should open up the next doors for him. But every weekend Raoul Bellanova, Giacomo Quagliata, Filippo Terracciano, Edoardo Bove, Matteo Cancellieri languish on the bench – author of the brace against the Germans of the same age – as well as Christian Volpato who chose Italy, and the baby Simone Pafundi already awarded with the debut in the first team: if they played more, as happens abroad, the coach’s job would be easier. Otherwise great calmit will be for the next generation.