Napoli Primavera conceded three goals in the opening 45 minutes en route to a 4-0 defeat to Roma, who temporarily moved up to second in the table.
Lineup
Nicolo Frustalupi made two changes to the squad he fielded against Frosinone.
Matteo Marchisano started over Landry Boni on the right side of the midfield. Meanwhile, Antonio Pesce returned to the starting XI, relegating Leonardo Rossi to the bench.
(3-4-2-1) Boffelli; Hysaj, Barba, Obaretin; Acampa, Gioielli, Alastuey, Marchisano; Sahli, Spavone; Pesce
First Half
With Jose Mourinho in attendance, the fourth-placed side in the Primavera 1 were eager to impress. However, despite the gulf in quality between the two clubs, Napoli were very competitive in the opening quarter of the match.
The visitors earned the first big chance only three minutes into the match. Under pressure from Francesco Gioielli, defender Filippo Missori took a heavy touch on a pass from goalkeeper Jacopo Del Bello. Bilel Sahli recovered the ball and went for goal, but his low shot bounced narrowly wide of the mark.
Moments later, Roma were fortunate to not have a player sent off. As Sahli pressured Brian Silva, the Roma defender stomped on his right ankle. Instead, Napoli were awarded a throw-in.
The Partenopei nearly scored from the ensuing throw-in. Antonio Pesce controlled Davide Acampa’s low cross from the left wing. The Napoli striker teed up Gioielli at the edge of the area. He hit the ball first-time with the instep of his left boot, but the shot curled wide of the far post.
Napoli continued to push forward, with Matteo Marchisano coming close in the 15th minute. Jorge Alastuey launched the ball towards the right wing, where Marchisano flicked a header past Luigi Cherubini. The Napoli right wingback cut in on his left and tried to sneak the ball past Del Bello at the near post but the keeper blocked the shot for a corner kick.
Roma began to take control of the match midway through the half and opened the scoring in the 28th minute. Jordan Majchrzak played a first-time pass at midfield towards the right wing. Acampa was first to the ball but took a poor touch, allowing Missori to break free. The Roma right back played a low cross to Majchrzak at the edge of the 6-yard box. The striker miscued on the shot but the ball rolled through to Cherubini at the second post. The winger, who was left completely unmarked, tapped the ball into the empty goal to give Roma a 1-0 lead.
Roma nearly doubled their lead in the 32nd minute after winning a free kick on the left side of the midfield. Riccardo Pagano played a deep cross towards the second post, where Majchrzak was waiting to head the ball back into the danger area. The match official missed a clear push-off by Silva on Acampa before the defender’s header bounced off the bar, then down off the line and out.
Roma persisted, creating two more chances within the following two minutes. First, Benjamin Tahirović tested his luck from distance, but the shot was always rising over the bar. A minute later, the Giallorossi doubled their lead.
Pagano intercepted Alastuey’s pass in the centre of the midfield and immediately broke the other way. The Roma No. 10 passed to Pisilli at the left edge of the area. The midfielder’s first time tiragiro curled perfectly around an outstretched Valerio Boffelli before tucking into the side netting at the far post.
Napoli responded well, nearly pulling one back in the 43rd minute. Gioielli’s shot from the edge of the area was blocked by Silva. The ball popped up in the air for Pesce to head on target from the second post. Del Bello made the save but spilled the rebound to Alessandro Spavone in front of the goal. The trequartista pounced on the rebound but somehow Del Bello recovered and stopped Spavone’s shot as well.
It looked like Roma would take a two-goal lead into the break, but the home side were gifted a third in the first minute of stoppage time. Daniel Hysaj underhit his pass intended for Acampa. Missori stepped up to intercept the pass before dribbling around Hysaj and rolling his shot past Boffelli.
Second Half
The second half did not start well for Napoli. Only three minutes after the restart, Frustalupi was dimissed after protesting the official’s decision to award Roma a goal kick after Sahli was tackled by Silva in the Roma area.
Three minutes later, Roma nearly scored a fourth after Boffelli passed straight to the opposition. Claudio Cassano slipped the ball into the area for Pagano. The central midfielder turned and shot but narrowly missed the target.
Though Roma were less aggressive in the second half, they still added a fourth in the 57th minute. Once again the play began with a Napoli mistake, as Benedetto Barba played an errant pass intended for Alastuey. Cherubini intercepted the pass and carried towards the left side of the area. The winger attempted to cross the ball into the area but the ball ended up on target. Boffelli went up for the catch but collided with Majchrzak at the first post and the ball bounced into the back of the goal. It appeared as though Majchrzak obstructed Boffelli but the foul wasn’t given and the goal stood.
With the match all but over, both coaches emptied their benches, yet Roma still came close to adding a fifth. In the 70th minute, Majchrzak played the ball out wide to right back Corentin Louakima on the right wing. The substitute dribbled into the area, nutmegged Barba and went for goal, but the shot struck the upright and stayed out.
Meanwhile, Napoli didn’t create their first dangerous chance of the second half until the 88th minute. Substitute Simone Bonavita played an inswinging corner kick towards the first post. Hysaj flicked a header on target but once again Del Bello made an excellent reaction save.
That was the final chance for either side as Roma coasted to a comfortable 4-0 victory. Fortunately for Napoli, Atalanta suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Sampdoria. Milan, Udinese and Cesena all play on Sunday.
The Primavera will be back in action next weekend with a match against 12th-placed Cagliari.
