Napoli travelled to Bergamo to take on Atalanta on a weekend where, other than Milan, each of the top 5 played against a direct rival. It was the perfect opportunity to deliver a big hit to the opposition before the World Cup break and that is exactly what Spalletti’s men did (1-2). Forza Napoli Press gives you three takeaways.
Neapolitan Resilience
Napoli were fresh off their first defeat of the 2022/23 season. The Partenopei had already qualified for the knockout stage of the UEFA Champions League when they played Liverpool on Tuesday and lost 2-0. However, Napoli still topped their Champions League group.
Luciano Spalletti’s men were eager to prove that that loss was just a one-off, conditioned by the circumstances – Napoli were guaranteed to win Group A so long as they didn’t lose by more than three goals. They looked to get back to winning ways against Serie A’s second best club heading into Round 13. It didn’t take long for Atalanta to go ahead, scoring before the 20-minute mark. After the VAR alerted match official Maurizio Mariani of a Victor Osimhen handball, Ademola Lookman confidently converted the penalty.
But Napoli showed character, equalizing only four minutes after conceding. Osimhen made up for his handball and headed in a fine cross by Piotr Zielinski. Osimhen wasn’t done there. The Nigerian striker received the ball from André-Frank Zambo Anguissa, but Demiral was draped all over him. Osimhen fought his way through Demiral’s tight marking and picked out Eljif Elmas in front of goal. Elmas steadied himself and found the back of the goal, with the help of a Hans Hateboer deflection. In a little over 10 minutes, Napoli completely turned the game around.
Osimhen’s battle with Demiral was emblematic of Napoli’s play this season – a train that seemingly cannot be stopped.
Worry About the Wings
That Napoli would miss Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was no surprise to anyone. The Georgian superstar missed the match against Atalanta due to a lower back injury. Giacomo Raspadori was expected to replace him in the starting XI, but Spalletti chose Elmas instead. Though the North Macedonian scored, he did not have the best of games, especially in the first half. He often dropped back into the midfield, which countered Napoli’s strength of playing into space. The Azzurri also missed Kvaratskhelia’s courage to take on his man. Doubts remain as to whether Elmas is best-suited to play on the wing, but his work rate must be applauded.
The other wing was occupied by Hirving Lozano, who simply played poorly. He struggled to get past his man and was generally very sloppy. It’s evident that Lozano has difficulty in matches where there’s little space in front of him, because he can’t use his main weapon: speed. Atalanta knew exactly how to take the Mexican out of the game.
With doubts about whether Kvaratskhelia will return against Empoli, Spalletti will have to think about who to employ on the wings on Tueaday. Surely Raspadori is an option on the left, while Politano will likely start on the right.
Meret Shows His Worth
Alex Meret did not look amazing on either of Liverpool’s goals last Tuesday, but he was back at his best against Atalanta. After only three minutes, Meret kicked away the shot from Rasmus Højlund, preventing the home side from taking an early lead.
The Napoli shot-stopper made an arguably more impressive save in the second half. Joakim Mæhle dribbled his way through the Napoli defence and fired at goal from close range, but Meret was able to push the ball away. As a fellow goalkeeper, I can tell you that that was a superb save which made me jump from my seat.
It is great to see Meret finding his form again, as the 25-year-old has everything in his locker to become Napoli’s number one for years to come.
