Maxime Lopez’ 51st minute red card allowed Napoli to coast to a comfortable 2-0 victory over Sassuolo on goals from Victor Osimhen and Giovanni Di Lorenzo. Here are three takeaways selected by Forza Napoli Press.
Another Leader
While Giovanni Di Lorenzo deservedly wears the armband, another leader continues to develop in the Napoli locker room. Victor Osimhen scored his league-leading third goal of the season (tied with Olivier Giroud and Lautaro Martinez), converting a penalty with conviction in the 16th minute.
Osimhen could have increased his goal count to four when Napoli were awarded a second penalty kick at the hour mark. Instead, the young striker allowed Giacomo Raspadori to take the penalty. Osimhen was hoping for the ex-Sassuolo forward to score after having a goal disallowed against Frosinone and hitting the upright less than a minute into the match. Unfortunately for Napoli, Raspadori hesitated too long before blasting the ball over the bar.
Kreativity
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia made his 2023/24 debut as a 61st minute substitute, replacing Matteo Politano. Three minutes later, the Georgian drifted into the middle of the park, made a quick turn towards the goal and slipped the ball through to Di Lorenzo, assisting the club captain’s first goal of the season.
Prior to entering the match, Piotr Zielinski was the only source of creativity in the Napoli attack, which is far more direct under Rudi Garcia. Kvaratskhelia provided balance, with Napoli attacking predominantly through the right wing prior to Kvara’s introduction. Politano won the first penalty kick while Di Lorenzo recorded his third goal contribution, after tallying two assists against Frosinone.
Dreadful Sassuolo
For the second consecutive round, Sassuolo registered an xG of less than 0.5. Aside from a 35th-minute header from Ruan Tressoldi that narrowly missed the top corner, Sassuolo created nothing in attack. The Neroverdi have missed Domenico Berardi dearly. The winger, who has not featured in either of Sassuolo’s matches, was a top-2 goal scorer in each of Sassuolo’s last six seasons.
With Andrea Pinamonti getting very little service, Armand Laurienté remains Sassuolo’s only attacking threat, and even he seemed highly unmotivated. On the odd occasion that Sassuolo got forward, they ran into Napoli’s two central defenders, who were both solid at the back. The visitors weren’t helped by Maxime Lopez, who was shown a straight red card and is likely to face a 3-match ban for insulting comments directed towards match official Antonio Giua. As a result, Napoli finished the match with 67% ball possession.
