On Saturday, Napoli traveled to Lecce and, for the second consecutive match, scored for goals en route to a comfortable victory ahead of a big Champions League match against Real Madrid. Here are three takeaways selected by Forza Napoli Press.
K-O Punch
Though Napoli opened their 2023/24 Champions League campaign with a victory, Rudi Garcia was criticized for closing the match with five at the back. Against Lecce – a team who already have two impressive come-from-behind results this season – Garcia was far less pragmatic. Three of Napoli’s four goals were scored by second-half substitutes Victor Osimhen, Gianluca Gaetano and Matteo Politano.
Osimhen replaced Giovanni Simeone at the start of the second half, when Napoli’s lead was only one goal. After only six minutes on the pitch, the Nigerian scored his fifth goal of the season, temporarily equaling Lautauro Martinez at the top of the goal-scoring charts. Osimhen linked up with his favourite strike partner, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who picked him out with a perfectly weighted cross curled towards the second post.
With a two-goal lead, Garcia gave Gianluca Gaetano his first appearance of the season, and the 23-year-old made the most of his seven minutes of play. In the 88th minute, the Napoli native let the pass from Giacomo Raspadori (another substitute), roll across his body before thumping the ball past a helpless Falcone. The youngster wasn’t done there. In the fourth minute of stoppage time, Gaetano blocked the clearance of Ylber Ramadani before drawing a foul in the Lecce area. Matteo Politano stepped up and sent Falcone the other way, scoring his fourth goal of the season.
Greater Intensity
Somehow, in spite of all the off-the-field controversy (or perhaps because of it, Garcia found a way to motivate his players. In the first half, Kvaratskhelia regularly tracked back to help defend on Lecce’s right wing, frustrating Pontus Almqvist and Hamza Rafia in the process. Likewise, though Simeone struggled to keep possession, he was certainly willing to fight for the ball when he lost it. Nevertheless, Cholito showed that he doesn’t need many chances to punish his opponents, narrowly missing the target in the dying minutes of the match.
Ready for Real
Napoli appear to have found their form and fitness at the perfect time, ahead of their Champions League match against Real Madrid on Tuesday. After scoring eight goals and conceding five over their first five league matches, the Partenopei have scored eight goals and conceded only one in their last two.
With feedback from the squad, Garcia appears to have struck a healthy balance between the mesmerizing Spalletti-ball of last season and his personal philosophy of playing direct. Playing more compact against Udinese and Lecce enabled Stanislav Lobotka and André-Frank Zambo Anguissa to return to form. Only Ylber Ramadani covered more ground than Anguissa, whose heat map showed the Cameroonian covered the entire pitch.
Meanwhile, Napoli fans have quickly forgotten about Gabri Veiga given Piotr Zielinski’s outstanding start to the season. Above all, Napoli’s recent success coincides with the return to form of last season’s MVP. Over his last three matches, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia has earned two penalty kicks, scored one goal – his first since March – and tallied two assists.
Garcia rotated his squad, starting Simeone and Jesper Lindstrøm over Osimhen and Politano, respectively. The Napoli coach also removed Kvaratskhelia in the 58th minute, Lobotka in the 76th minute and Zielinski in the 83rd minute, giving some of his regular starters additional rest ahead of the Real Madrid match.
As a result of Garcia’s tactical adjustments, Napoli’s shot creation and selection have both improved, resulting in more shots hitting the target and more balls finding the back of the goal. Through the first five rounds, only 23 of Napoli’s 74 shot attempts hit the target (31%). Over the past two matches, the Azzurri’s shot-on-target rate increased by 11%, with 16 of 38 attempts hitting the target. Granted, Udinese and Lecce are not exactly the most difficult opponents. Tuesday’s home fixture against Real Madrid will be a good gauge as to whether the improvements in recent performances truly reflect Garcia’s adjustments or were simply the result of playing against weaker opposition.
