Dybala and Chiellini Killed the Barca!

It's finally time for the amazing match between Juventus and Barcelona for the Champions League Quarter Final first leg. The evening starts weirdly when the news announced that the Borussia Dortmund bus got stopped by an explosion and apparently a player got to the hospital too. The match against Monaco will be played tomorrow. More info about the event will surely come soon.

Let's talk about the match now. Juventus started very well and very aggressive and already have a great chance at 2' but the powerful header by Higuain got stopped by the goalkeeper Ter Stegen that didn't seem very concentrated especially when 2 minutes after he was almost making a huge mistake under the Juventus's high pressing but he cleared the ball on time.

Dybala (Picture taken from Goal.com)

At 7' the zebras already got the lead!! Dybala receive the ball in the box giving his shoulder to the goalkeeper and surprisingly turning around and realizing a fine goal with a precise shot! 1-0 !

The match goes on very aggressive and many fouls and nothing much happened till the 20' when Messi put in the area a superb assist for Iniesta that shoot but finds a miracle by Buffon that saves in corner. At 22' incredibly is again Dybala to put the second mark on the match with a great first intention strike right outside the box and maybe some faults of the goalkeeper but whatever it's 2-0!

The Juventus seemed to be losing some focus making some basic mistakes but nothing much happened till the 33' when Messi and Mandzukic almost started a little fight over a run body against body. The referee brought quickly quietness. Barcelona can't find space until the 39' when they conquer a corner kick that Buffon controls perfectly.

At 44' Higuain shoots without thinking much and Ter Stegen saves in a very bad way but luckily for him no zebras are around to put the ball in. The first half ended 2-0 ! A fantastic match by Juventus till now. Barcelona absolutely poor.

The second half started with a shoot by Messi at 46' but Buffon easily saved it and also the same on Suarez at 49'. Barcelona is pushing forward much more and its now dominating the match but without making much problems to Juventus. At 52' Higuain tried the precise shot from 18 meters but Ter Stegen is well placed this time. One minute after Higuain is face to face with Ter Stegen but he missed to score incredibly. On the corner kick action at 55' something unbelievable happened : the   3-0 arrives thanks to a header by Chiellini! The ghost of PSG comes back for Barcelona.

Chiellini (Picture taken from FourFourTwo) 

At 62' bad foul by Mandzukic over Sergi Roberto and the Juventus' player got booked. At 66' great pass by Messi to Suarez that incredibly missed the goal also thanks to Buffon. At 68' Chiellini touched the ball in the area with this full hand and incredibly the referee didn't whistle the penalty. Very chaotic phase of the match that is getting very aggressive at this point and it's 71'. Many fouls and the match proceed very slowly. Hot moment in the match. We must say that Messi is the only one who's doing something for Barca because Neymar and Suarez are completely out of the match till now. Barcelona very nervous but it's attacking with a very big intensity and Allegri seemed a bit worried because one goal for the Spanish team could change everything. But at 79' the result doesn't change. Only few corner kick for the blaugrana with no dangerous effect. Juventus seems tired.

At 41' dangerous position for a free kick that Messi didn't shoot well and after another try of Neymar the ball goes in corner kick. No danger here. 4 minutes extra-time given by the referee.

Congratulations to Dybala because it seems like is growing up like a real champion and applause as well to the perfect team and tactics used by Allegri. The Juventus was almost practically perfect. All wrong for Luis Enrique and his Barcelona team that really wasn't in the match and the Juventus made this 3-0 result looking kind of easy. Fantastic we simply have no words to describe their match tonight. Juventus seems to have secured already a space in the Semi-Final but remembering what happened to PSG we better wait till the second leg! Great Juventus !!

JUVENTUS-BARCELONA MAKING OFF!

It's almost time for a great event for the European soccer. The Champions League Quarter Final first leg between Juventus and Barcelona is coming ! It's 32 matches that the zebras win while playing at its stadium and this is something that Luis Enrique and his players know very well and think about it.

Buffon (Picture taken from SkySport) 

Listening to their press conferences We think that Allegri and Buffon showed a bit of worries but also a great concentration and focus on this match and these are 2 very important characteristic in this kind of situation. Obviously the most feared are the magic trio Neymar, Messi and Suarez but on the other hands the Italians know that Barcelona might lack of some defensive skills pointed out as their biggest weakness and it's on this point that Juventus will have to insist in order to win over their opponents. Buffon never got a goal by Messi so definitely Lionel will be even more " hungry " of goals if that is even possible. The 2 teams faced each other few times especially in the recent stories but there are only 2 players that played example the Berlin's final match and also the tactical assets are pretty different now so it's gonna be a complete new match. Dybala and Higuain are the biggest fear for Barcelona plus the amazing defensive abilities of Juventus.

We believe that Juventus can make a positive result in this home match but they must take a lead if they want to have some chances. Being completely honest and also after watching very well the Italian Serie A and Italian cup matches against Napoli and Chievo WE think that Juventus will not make it this time unless they get a good lead in the first match because the bianconeri are very good in organizing an strong defensive line and that is what they could do in the 2nd leg in case.

We will definitely support Juventus as Italian team but we won't be much money on them.
It's also true that Barcelona will face this match right after an awful defeat in the Liga for 2-0 against Malaga but that was probably just an accident. Barcelona is also missing Busquets, Vidal, Rafinha and Turan. Juventus got back Mandzukic and the only doubts are about Pjanic and Dani Alves (that would be a big EX in this match).

Dani Alves (Picture taken from BleacherReport)

It's also true that Barcelona doesn't seem in a great shape but in Champions League the team plays in a complete different way plus they are full of the last european match won against PSG for 6-1. Only even thinking of winning with this result against a team that has players like Cavani, Verratti, Di Maria, Drexler, Marquinhos, Thiago Silva, Pastore, etc.and especially after losing the first leg for 4-0 it was considered as a crazy thing.

This competition is something very hard to make predictions on because it's a completely different kind of motivations that you must put and show here.
Good Luck Juventus !!

Lazio put back at its place: Napoli is just too strong for them!

What a great match last night! Lazio (4th) and Napoli (3rd) closed the Italian Serie A week 31st and it didn't take long to understand how the match was going to be. At the beginning it seemed that the Simone Inzaghi players were guessing again the way to play the match getting few times near the Napoli's box with Milinkovic-Savic and Immobile but with no luck.

The impressive famous ball possessing by Napoli was pretty clear after a while and the 0-1 lead comes as easy as it looked on screens at 25' : Mertens for Hamsik that gave a superb assist to Callejon that only need to push the ball in. The classic goal you probably scored at PES many times!

Callejon ( Picture taken from WorldSoccerTalk)

 Napoli dominate the first half even missing another huge chance with Insigne all alone in front of Strakosha but his shot went out for nothing. No difference in the second half with a Lazio team very passive and you can see that when Insigne anticipated everyone goalkeeper included putting in a very important 0-2 at 51'.

Insigne (Picture taken from Gazzetta.it)

This is the exact moment when coach Inzaghi decided to put on the pitch Keita and things really changes even because Napoli also had to take a breath. Lazio became very dangerous and missing some very important chances with Keita and Immobile that could really open the match again but tonight wasn't just the right night for them.

The killer goal arrived at 90' when Insigne finalizes another great coral move with a precise and  powerful shot and cross by Zielinski. 0-3 well deserved.

Sarri (Picture taken from NapoliFootball.com)

Sarri put in the perfect team and Lazio probably found itself up there in the league thanks to many fortunate matches and of course some skills too anyway. Probably a mistake to put on the pitch the young Murgia since the beginning and also living out of the pitch a player like Keita it was another huge mistake. I guess Simone Inzaghi trusted his luck and his team too much this time. At the end Lazio never really wasn't in for the win you could clearly see they only started to get dangerous on the 0-2 when Napoli's team was kind of safe or at list was having a moment of fatigue especially after two fantastic matches against Juventus. Hamsik was just perfect and indeed he always plays every match. Napoli just need some more quality changes and they will definitely have more chances of winning the title again. Bravi! You are making the all Italian Serie A proud!

BIG SURPRISE IN THE ITALIAN SERIE A WEEK 31!st

The Italian Serie A just got a great shake! We must start writing about the unbelievable victory of Crotone (18th) against Inter Milan (7th) for 2-1 !!! The calabresi are now only 3 points away from the safety zone represented by Empoli (17th). Even more incredible if you think that Crotone made 2 goals in the first half , something that if you bet on it you can get millionaire but thanks to the very poor game of Pioli's players this is exactly what happened. The Inter Milan simply wasn't even in the pitch and got killed but 2  goals of Falcinelli, the first one from penalty kick at 18' and the other one with a superb delicate lob that went just over Handanovic only 4 minutes after the first mark!
D'Ambrosio was one of the few people that deserved a positive vote and also the one who scored the 2-1 thanks to a header assist by Kondogbia. Second goals in the last two matches for the player. The rest of the team should be just ashamed and get the focus in the next match, the Madonnina Derby against Milan next week!

Falcinelli (Picture taken from ItaliaCalcio24)

Another great result was the away victory of Torino (10th) against Cagliari (13th) for 2-3 ! Very beautiful match that started well for the home team that was leading 1-0 after 19' thanks to the usual Borriello that put in a penalty kick almost saved by Hart. The striker had to leave the pitch at 34' for an injury and while he was practically already out and almost ready to get out Ljajic scored the 1-1 with a wonderful shot from 25 meters or so. At 39' it's Belotti time! The "Rooster" ( Il Gallo ) put in the net a powerful header after a perfect cross from the right by Zappacosta for the 1-2. Acquah closed the match with a nice shot from 20 meters 1-3 at 53'. At 90' there's time for an historical goal: the first time ever a North Korean player scored in the Italian soccer , nice header by Kwang-Song Han at 90' thanks to a cross by Farias. Final result 2-3 for Mihajlovic team well deserved!

Easy win for Milan (6th) against Palermo (19th) 4-0. The milanese team is now even over the Inter Milan in the league table and scored 4 goals against a team that completely given up all the hope apparently. Suso is back in the pitch and into scoring too. He opens the dances with a great and precise free-kick after only 6 minutes. Pasalic (19'), Bacca (37') and a super goal by Deulofeu (70') sent the Palermo team back to Sicily with a very bad and sour taste in their mouths. Montella is turning upside down a situation that was becoming not really great but now only 2 points away from Atalanta and fighting for an Europa League playoff qualification!

Deulofeu (Picture taken from Calciomercatoweb)

Sampdoria (9th) almost got a victory against Fiorentina (8th) that got a dramatic draw goal at 89' thanks to a fantastic strike by Babacar. Bruno Fernandez brought the Doriani in the lead with anotehr great strike from 20 meters but they got reached by the Viola thanks to the FINALLY first goal in this season by Gonzalo Rodriguez that put in a perfect header on a corner kick cross at 60'. Ricky Alvarez gave the illusion of 3 points at 71' scoring the 2-1. "Lucky" Sousa and unlucky Giampaolo even if we must say that 2-2 is a very fair results considering that "Lucky" Sousa's team got 2 posts too!

Gonzalo Rodriguez (Picture taken from Ghanasoccer)

Udinese (11th) demolished a completely lost Genoa (16th) 3-0. The Del Neri team simply dominated the whole match and  - thanks to De Paul (20') with a shoot right outside the box, Zapata (31') with a crazy powerful strike right below the bar from a very close position from the net and an unfortunate won goal by Rubinho (49') ( The ball slipped totally under his legs ) - got 3 points great for boosting the morale.

Great job by Roma (2nd) too in the away fixture against Bologna (14th) that simply couldn't do much against a very nice team like the Spalletti's team. Fazio (25') , Salah (41') and Dzeko (75') give the chance to Roma to keep running for the title still only 6 points away from Juventus (1st). Applause for Spalletti. The team plays very well and it's definitely ready for Champions League.

We are just waiting for the very important big match between Lazio (4th) and Napoli (3rd) that will tell us how far these teams can go this season! Let's see !

How was the Italian Serie A week 31st Begin ?

The first match very important regarding the relegation area was the one between Empoli (17th) and Pescara (20th)  The two team clearly showed their limits even if they played a nice soccer for about 50'. Zeman probably shouted the hell out of his players especially Caprari that even if he scored one goal ( he did actually a lot even to miss that one) the striker missed other chances that a Serie A player shouldn't make. The Empoli got the lead thanks to El Kaddouri which is always the best and positive note of the Empoli team. The match gave both teams only a point, 1-1 that it's only good for Empoli. Pescara missed another chance to hope for a miracle. Still the maths doesn't kill them so they will fight till the end. Still 21 points available!

El Kaddouri (Picture taken from IamNaples.it)

3 points lost for Atalanta (5th) that only made a draw in the home fixture against Sassuolo (15th). The final result was 1-1 and actually for the first half let's say that Sassuolo fully deserved that.  The Di Francesco's team was actually leading for 0-1 for almost the whole match but surety thanks to an awful mistake by Caldara at 36' that practically gave the ball and a huge space to run all alone to Pellegrini that easily past Berisha and scored the goal. We must say that the bergamaschi really had so many chances with Papu Gomez that was a bit unlucky in this match and also got booked so he will miss the next important match against Roma but he also made a great assist over a free kick to Cristante that put the ball in with a nice header. Fantastic match by El Papu anyway. A bit disappointing was Petagna even if he played a strong match for the team but still it is not enough because to be a striker you have to score goals and he's not good at it. Needs to work on this. Well done by Sassuolo that showed us that without many injured people they can be a team too. Berardi is getting back in the great shape we knew him but he still needs some time. We will probably see the real him next year who knows wearing which shirt? We will see!

Pellegrini (Picture taken from CalcioNews24.com)

Juventus (1st) got the 3 points against Chievo (11th) at the Juventus Stadium instead but it wasn't as easy as a 2-0 might sound. It's true that Juventus wasted so many occasions especially with Higuain that still managed to score two goals anyway but he could have score four at least. Everyone is talking high about Dybala but not us. Not really. People seem to be blind about him. he's a very strong player and also got a bar with a nice shot from out of the box and gave a superb assist to Higuain for the first goal plus putting his foot in the second goal action before Lichtsteiner gave the assist to Gonzalo, but still... too many wasted balls, a lot of mistakes in passing and precision, things that a true champion won't at least not so many times in a match. So you be blind but not us. He might end up to be one like Cassano, genius but just a genius not a special one. Well done by Allegri anyway that really wanted these points and didn't do much turnover but we must say that Maran's Chievo did a very positive match and had at least 3 important chances to score wasted by Inglese and Pellissier but always gave us the feeling that they could get back into the match so applause for them! We must say the referee made a lot of small mistakes that surely helped Juventus in some critical situation. Coincidences ? We hope for the sake of soccer that the answer is yes.

Higuain (Picture taken from SkySport)

BETTING TIPS : ITALIAN SERIE A WEEK 31st AND PREMIER LEAGUE WEEK 32nd !

Here you can find our NOT EXPERTS betting tips for this week in Italy and England ! Check them out:

PREMIER LEAGUE WEEK 32nd

TOTTENHAM - WATFORD  GOAL
WEST HAM UTD - SWANSEA CITY   1
W.B.A. - SOUTHAMPTON OVER 2,5
STOKE CITY - LIVERPOOL  2
MIDDLESBROUGH - BURNLEY OVER 2,5
MANCHESTER CITY - HULL CITY  GOAL
BOURNEMOUTH - CHELSEA  NO GOAL
SUNDERLAND - MANCHESTER UNITED  UNDER 3,5
EVERTON - LEICESTER  X2 / GOAL
CRYSTAL PALACE - ARSENAL GOAL

ITALIAN SERIE A WEEK 31st

EMPOLI - PESCARA  GOAL
ATALANTA - SASSUOLO  OVER 2,5
JUVENTUS - CHIEVO GOAL
SAMPDORIA - FIORENTINA  1
UDINESE - GENOA  X2
CROTONE - INTER MILAN  OVER 3,5
MILAN - PALERMO 1 / UNDER 3,5
BOLOGNA - ROMA OVER 2,5
CAGLIARI - TORINO GOAL
LAZIO - NAPOLI  X2

TOWARDS ITALIAN SERIE A WEEK 31st !

It's that time of the week again. The next few months are going to be great for Soccer worldwide but let's focus on what's coming up in the next Italian Serie A fixture.
Empoli (17th) against Pescara (20th) will probably tell us if the relegation zone is already set up or if almost everything could potentially change at least for the last 4 teams in the table. If Empoli wins they will probably be safe for this year even if there'll be still other 7 matches but well this is what WE believe. With all the estimation we have for Zeman but we think it will be very hard for him and his team to make points in this match. The magic season of #GoAtalantaGo might keep going on if the Gasperini team will confirm the Atalanta (5th) splendid form against Sassuolo (15th). The bergamaschi must win in order to keep hoping in an historical Europa League or even Champions League qualification which is not as impossible as it might sound. On the other hand the Di Francesco team is hungry of winning matches even if they are well far from the relegation area and can finish the season very quietly. As always Papu Gomez and Berardi under the lights. Might be a match full of surprises and goals.

Allegri (Picture taken from Footylegends)

The first in the league, the zebras Juventus (1st) will face a tricky home match versus Chievo (11th). Allegri must be forced again to make some turnover and maybe also a heavy one because of the upcoming Champions League Quarter Final match against Barcelona next week! Players like Bonucci, Khedira and maybe also Higuain might rest and Mandzukic is injured and probably rested for trying to bring him in against the Barca. Chievo will surely do their match as always. A team that almost never gives up. Dybala and company should be able to go through this but if not the Serie A could completely change. Only +6 over the Roma team and they still have to play against each other again! Let's see!

Sampdoria (9th) is in a very unexpected position at least for what they shown us in the first part of the season. The Giampaolo's team is now in great shape especially having a difficult match to face at home against Fiorentina (8th) and coming back from 3 points taken against Inter Milan in the past week. The Sousa players are in a great positive row coming from 3 victories for 1-0 but still the team is not really convincing so this is a very unpredictable fixture that might lead on a draw even if We think that Schick and Quagliarella can be very dangerous now.

Apparently not much going on in the match against Udinese (12th) and Genoa (16th). Del Neri's team is well and doing a quiet season without too many expectations so maybe the match is much more important for Mandorlini since his team is in a total black out right now and probably would be in the relegation area right now if those 4 teams didn't so so bad for the entire first part of the season. Only a victory can change the desperate mood for Genoa, we hope for them but Udinese is a very solid team right now. Jankto and Pinilla will not play because they are both banned for this match (Pinilla for 5 matches after incredibly insulting the referee).

Mandorlini (Picture taken from Calciomercato.com)

Maturity test for Inter Milan (6th) in the away fixture against Crotone (18th). If Pioli doesn't get 3 points in Calabria the milanese team can probably say good bye to the European qualification which means that the Inter Milan season will be negative. 3 points might give enough strength to the players to get the end of the season achieving a vital place in Europe. Crotone must think of getting 3 points too because if they don't start making more points they can give up the idea of playing in the Serie A even next year. Very hard but they are trying hard. The other milanese team Milan (7th) also hungry of a place in European competitions must win in the home match against Palermo (19th) that seems to have given up any hope for this season. Montella will probably be in danger in case his team doesn't start to roll again soon. Critical match. Can they make it? Suso is back so he might be the X factor to get the 3 points.

Suso (Picture taken from BleacherReport)

Bologna (14th) will face what WE think is an impossible match to get points from against Roma (2nd) even if the bolognesi are playing home. This match just like all the other ones are too important for Roma that still have chances to get the 1st place plus they must secure the 2nd position for the direct Champions League access. WE think Roma will win very well this match. Surprisingly interesting and beautiful can be the match between Cagliari (13th) and Torino (10th) where we will see the bombers Borriello and Belotti one against the other! Rain of goals of boring draw ? We tend to believe the first option!

Closing game will be a superb one. Lazio (4th) against Napoli (3rd) will tell us everything we always wanted to know and be sure about these two teams. Does Lazio really deserve to be up there and in the Italian Cup Final as well ? Is Napoli really as strong as it seems to be ? This is the match that will tell us all! We can't wait to watch this one!

Feel free to interact with us on Twitter : @Actually_Soccer !
Have a nice soccer weekend !

Sampdoria lost his president ! At least on papers !

The Sampdoria club just lost his president Massimo Ferrero. He's a very crazy character with a very strong personality that you can clearly see during his tv appearances and interviews with soccer jounralists. Always laughing, flirting with beautiful tv host girls and to be honest he always looks so high ! Well you never know ! Anyway one of his company , precisely the Livingston airline, failed in 2010 and he has been condemned because of it but he never told to the FIGC about this. So apparently this fact goes against the Noif's art 22 bis . Ferrero doesn't have to sell the club but he just can't be officially the president so probably he will be replaced but another family members. That's pretty classic in Italy! Good Luck Sampdoria!

Massimo Ferrero (Picture taken from TheWordly)

Great week 31st for the Premier League !

Great mid-week fixture for the Premier League. Let's have a quick look at the matches !
Antonio Conte's Chelsea (1st) got probably the most important 3 points of the season. After incredibly losing the past home match against the Crystal Palace (16th)  for 1-2 some people were starting to doubts the power of the team but the 2-1 victory against Manchester City (4th) probably put an end to all the negativity ! Hazard got the blues in the lead after a good strike touched by a defender that got Caballero disoriented and the ball went in for the 1-0 after 10 minutes. The Guardiola's team found the 1-1 thanks to a very bad launch by Courtois intercepted by David Silva that shot but the ball is saved by the keeper that didn't keep the ball and Aguero was free to score (26'). 9 minutes after Hazard first missed a penalty than scored after the keeper save for the final 2-1. 

Hazard (Picture taken from TalkChelsea)

Leicester City (11th) got the 6th win in a row beating 2-0 the almost relegated Sunderland (20th) thanks to the classic Vardy's signature and Slimani even if it took 70' minutes to make the first goal. Same result for the Mazzarri's team Watford (10th) (still, because apparently the coach is risking the position because of his awful English that makes things complicated for the team and club understanding ) that won 2-0 against the W.B.A. (8th) thanks to the ex-Milan player Niang and Deeney.

Vardy (Picture taken from Ghanamma) 

Another disappointment for Mourinho and his Manchester United (6th) that was definitely hoping something more than a 1-1 draw in a home match against Everton (7th) especially because the away team got the lead for the whole match since the 22' when Jagielka scored the 0-1 with a strange yet great move that completely surprised De Gea. The Red Devils have been very unlucky getting the woodwork in couple of occasion but they got the 1-1 at the end of the match for a very clear penalty kick given at 93' when Ashley Williams (red card) thought he was a goalkeeper. Ibrahimovic scored the penalty.

The Hull City (17th) finally got out of the relegation zone thanks to a great collective victory for 4-2 against Middlesbroough (19th) a rain of goals that started with Negredo that finalized a sort of shoot on goal/cross from the right after only 5 minutes. The tigers found the 1-1 goal thanks to Markovic and got the lead at 27' thanks to a powerful action by Niasse for the 2-1. The 3-1 is made by Hernandez after a nice coral action by the team. Huge mistake by the referees that didn't disallowed a header by Marten de Roon that was very clearly in off-side at 46', 3-2 only in the first half. Hull City killed the match thanks to its captain Maguire (70') that put in a great header after a superb free kick cross by Robertson.

Maguire (Picture taken from goal.com)

The Spurs Tottenham (2nd)  keeps chasing the Chelsea with a thrilling 1-3 in the away match against Swansea City (18th)  that actually lead the match for 1-0 since the 11' thanks to Routledge. Incredibly the home team managed to get 3 goals in few minutes from 88' till the end  by Dele Alli (88') , San-Heung Min (91') and Eriksen (94') ! The great story of Soccer! Everything can happen !
Liverpool (3rd) got stopped in a 2-2 match against Bournemouth (13th)  that scored an early goal with Afobe at 7' when the Liverpool defenders made an incredible mistake. Coutinho made the 1-1 finalizing perfectly a superb assist by Firmino at 40'. It's an header by Origi that put the red team in the lead 2-1 at 59'. The away team ruined the party with a goal by King at 87' for the final 2-2.

The Hammers West Ham United (15th) got "hammered" by Arsenal (5th) in a 3-0 match where all happened in the second half thanks the goals by Ozil (58'), Walcott (68') and Giroud (83') -very nice and precise shot-. Southampton (9th) got 3 points against Crystal Palace (16th) that even without the ex-Napoli striker Gabbiadini still injured they managed to score 3 goals after the guests scored the 0-1 thanks to Benteke at 31'. The home team coming back comes at the end of the first half 45' thanks to Redmond and the victory goals happened in the second half at 83' with Yoshida and at 85' with Ward-Prouse both after wonderful and fast passing actions, 3-1. The Stoke City (12th) suffered a loss in the away match against Burnley (14th) for 1-0 thanks to Hendrick at 58'.

Keep you posted about Premier League soon!

No surprises at San Paolo! Juventus goes on!

The San Paolo stadium looked like the Hell for Juventus after the "lesson" the zebras got from them in the Italian Serie A fixture ended up with a unfair 1-1 draw. But that was another match. Last night Napoli had to get back on track and recover a 3-1 from the Italian Cup Semi-Final first leg in order to get Roma for the future final. It has been another great match by Napoli but as always not enough.

Again many useless talks about Higuain and bla bla bla even a silly Napoli supporter that got into the field just to bother the start of a great match and quickly kicked out. This time the "fat guy" - talking about Gonzalo and the social media jokes about him  - punished them.

Napoli started very well as always with great coral actions, ball possession and a great feeling between Milk, Insigne, Hamsik and Callejon that have been very spectacular in few occasions but always finding a great Neto on their way at least in the first half.

The Pipita silenced the San Paolo at 32' when he stroke a powerful and precise shoot on the right side of Reina that got surprised by it. 0-1 that already put a black mark on the partenopei's hope especially because this is how the first half was.

HIGUAIN (Picture taken from Thethao ) 

The second half is another story because finally the Napoli's offensive players seemed to getting shoot in targets much more and at the 53' Marek Hamsik put in a great strike from right outside the penalty box and there was nothing to do for Neto , 1-1 and Napoli smiled again. Didn't last much! 5 minutes after that Cuadrado put a fast low ball in the box finding a great coming by Higuain that powerfully scored the 1-2 that secured the Final qualification even if there were still more than 20 minutes to play.

Hamsik (Picture taken from Zimbio)

Napoli did its best to recover the desperate situation and they actually made it. 3 minutes after Higuain's second goal, Sarri put Mertens on the pitch and he practically scored immediately taking advantage of a huge mistake by Neto that slipped the ball from his feet. Fantastic run by Mertens and congrats to him for believing that the keeper could have made a mistake. Great Intuition and it's 2-2.

At this point the home team is attacking like a military tank force over a field of flowers and they even found the 3-2 at 67' with Insigne! It didn't seem impossible to score 2 more goals at that point and incredibly Napoli actually had 2 big occasions both wasted by Pavoletti, the first one again thanks to an almost mistake by Neto - very distracted in the second half - and the second one the unluckly striker shot went over the bar for centimeters! 

Allegri and Sarri (Picture taken from RadioGoal24)

Allegri and company can smile and being happy to have reached the Final against such a powerful team like Napoli. Sarri can still see a lot of positive signs out of the match but still a very sour taste in his mouth. Juventus has been beaten but not completely because they will be the ones who will play the Italian Cup Final against Lazio!