Lucio returns to dancing in Europe as well. Spalletti couldn’t wait: ‘I needed to reconnect with the field,’ he said after the first league victory. Time spent at home, for a coach of his caliber, can become torture. The Juve challenge is fascinating but also full of uncertainties and pressure, as the coach himself admitted after the three points obtained against Cremonese. The first goal is to get back into the Scudetto race, but tomorrow it’s already time for the Champions League, and there’s a lot to fix there too. Zero wins and two draws in the big Cup, a track record not befitting Juve. With Sporting Lisbon at home (9 PM), it’s the right opportunity to reverse the trend. Doing better than Tudor should be simple: before his dismissal, the former coach had three consecutive defeats, the last victory dating back to September 13. Luciano hasn’t experienced those European emotions with a Serie A club since he was on Napoli’s bench, the last time being against Milan on April 18, 2023. An eternity. It was another Cup; the single group didn’t exist. The Bianconeri are in 25th place, and if the maxi group ended today, they wouldn’t even qualify for the playoffs, a disaster for a team built to advance. In his debut, Spalletti did without Yildiz’s genius (he trained with the group yesterday): a decision agreed upon with the boy to preserve him for the Champions League. So far, the choice has paid off because the three points with Cremonese came anyway. Another on the road to recovery is Kelly, but he’s still blocked by lower back pain.
The other test on the bench will have to be faced by Antonio Conte. His path in Serie A is for the Scudetto, in the Cup for elimination. Managing the two competitions has never been easy for the Salento native, and then a series of injuries have reduced the squad’s potential. The 6-2 loss at PSV’s home was very painful, the draw against Como has sounded an alarm that can only be turned off by winning tomorrow against Eintracht at home (6:45 PM), a team going through a difficult time. Napoli could recover Spinazzola, while Lobotka is playing for the chance to return as a starter after the three minutes played against Como. The Italian Champions League day will close on Wednesday with Inter and Atalanta, who will face the Kazakhs of Kairat Almaty and Olympique Marseille, respectively. Few worries for Chivu, who has the chance to extend further after three wins out of three. More complicated is Juric’s match, who has totaled four points so far and will clash against the French led by De Zerbi and fresh from a victory against Auxerre. For everyone, except Inter, it’s already a crossroads: Juve needs to lift their heads, Conte seeks answers, Atalanta wants confirmations. Don’t miss the international clashes Liverpool-Real Madrid, PSG-Bayern Munich, and City-Borussia Dortmund.
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