Juventus vs Bologna: Can Bianconeri shut down Scudetto race?
Juventus will be looking to effectively shut down the Scudetto race for good as they take on Bologna at Allianz Stadium on Saturday.
The Bianconeri sit four points clear of Napoli with just three games to go. At one point, they thought that the Partneopei had forced their way back into title contention after losing 1-0 in Turin. However, Juventus clawed their way back after beating Inter 3-2 in an exciting Derby d’Italia, and thanks to Napoli’s surprise capitulation to Fiorentina, which saw Giovanni Simeone net a hat-trick, Maurizio Sarri’s men have slipped four points behind once again.
So is it game over? Not yet, but it could be at the end of this weekend. For if Juventus, as expected, win, and Napoli lose to Torino, Juventus will be crowned champions of Italy for a seventh straight time.
Napoli have thrown everything into trying to win the Scudetto. It could be a gamble that could have backfired. Fans have seen how Roma have tried to balance things and it nearly paid off. The Giallorossi have been simply stunning in the Champions League. Once they realized they didn’t have much of a shot at matching Juve in Serie A, they decided to shift their focus to doing well in Europe and made an impressive run all the way to the semi-finals, and were just a whisker away from making it to the finals, and as a result, will get an impressive share of prize money for their efforts. And in addition, they didn’t neglect their Serie A responsibilities, doing just enough to ensure they solidly remain in the top four to make sure they can compete in the Champions League yet again next season.
Napoli will also be there again as well, but without a share of serious prize money after being dumped out early after failing to clear the group stage in a group they really should have gotten through. They also failed to go far in the Coppa Italia – a tournament they could have potentially made to the final given the kind of squad they had to at least win one piece of silverware, but Sarri was only focused on on thing: the Scudetto. Even the Europa League could have been a more realistic proposition – they could have been potentially taking on Atletico Madrid later this month in Lyon as one certainly can’t say they have an inferior squad to Marseille.
Will their Scudetto obsession cost them? One will know by the end of this weekend if Juventus will slam the door on what has been a very interesting Scudetto battle.
