After Mathias Olivera headed in his second goal of the season, Napoli appeared to be heading towards their third ever league title. However, Salernitana had other plans. Boulaye Dia spoiled the party, curling in the equalizer with only six minutes of normal time remaining. Here are three takeaways selected by Forza Napoli Press.
Spalletti’s Substitutions
Luciano Spalletti made his first substitutions at the hour mark, replacing Hirving Lozano and Piotr Zielinski with Giacomo Raspadori and Eljif Elmas. The double-change, which facilitated a shift in formation to a 4-2-3-1, appeared to be another stroke of genius from the Napoli coach. After three of Spalletti’s substitutions combined to score the late winner against Juventus, Raspadori assisted the go-ahead goal minutes after entering the match.
However, Spalletti might have outcoached himself with his next change. In the 82nd minute, he replaced left back Mathias Olivera with left-footed central defender Juan Jesus. Two minutes later, Jesus was amongst a number of players who failed to step up on Boulaye Dia before the Salernitana winger curled in the equalizer.
That said, there was a certain logic behind the change. Olivera was given a yellow card for a professional foul on Dia in the 70th minute. The Uruguayan was somewhat fortunate to avoid a second yellow for a rash tackle on Lassana Coulibaly eight minutes later. With Mario Rui not available due to injury, Jesus was the logical replacement.
April in Contrast
After dominating in Serie A and the Champions League for 7.5 months, the Napoli machine began to sputter in April. The Partenopei dropped seven points over their last five league matches, compared to 10 points dropped through the first 27 rounds. Napoli’s struggles were directly correlated with an inability to find the back of the goal. The runaway league-leaders in goals scored (68) only managed to find the back of the goal four times in April.
By contrast, Salernitana didn’t lose a single match in April. In fact, they didn’t lose a match in March either. The Granata’s last defeat was on the 26th of February against Lazio, which was Paolo Sousa’s first match in charge. Since then, the they have earned two wins and seven draws, including positive results against Milan, Inter, and now Napoli. With Boulaye Dia’s late equalizer, Salernitana have scored at least a goal in seven consecutive matches.
Silver Lining
Despite a difficult month, Napoli stayed true to their identity. They were the protagonists, playing quality football against clubs (big and small) who knew that their only hope of earning a positive result (read: avoid defeat) was to defend in a very low block. Though they scored only one goal for a third consecutive match, Napoli fired 24 shots at the goal and hit the target eight times.
Unfortunately for the Azzurri, when they did hit the target, they ran into an excellent goalkeeper in Guillermo ‘Memo’ Ochoa. The Mexican made at least three fine saves to hold Napoli to only one goal. Midway through the first half, Ochoa reacted quickly to push aside Victor Osimhen’s powerful header from a set piece. Shortly before the end of the first half, Ochoa parried away André-Frank Zambo Anguissa’s viciously-struck volley as it swerved towards the centre of the goal. Finally, in the second half, Ochoa stopped Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s curling effort after the Georgian broke free on the left side of the area.
However, Ochoa’s heroics only delayed the inevitable. With Juventus dropping points to Bologna, Napoli could win the Scudetto before even stepping on the pitch at the Dacia Arena on Thursday. If Lazio drop points to Sassuolo on Wednesday, the Scudetto race will mathematically be over. If Lazio win, Napoli would need a draw or better to clinch their third ever league title.
