On Saturday, Lazio ended their two-game losing streak with their second consecutive victory at the Maradona, handing Napoli their first defeat of the season. Here are four takeaways selected by Forza Napoli Press.
Proverbial
Napoli’s first defeat of the season was the proverbial tale of two halves. The home side dominated play in the first half, pressing high and forcing Lazio to turn the ball over. After Lazio scored on their only chance of the half, Napoli responded immediately with the equalizer – Piotr Zielinski’s first of the season.
However, the Azzurri fell apart in the second half, particularly after Lazio regained the lead with only their second shot on target. As Rudi Garcia suggested in his post-match press conference, his players might have been too eager to equalize. With plenty of time remaining, Napoli did not need to take as many risks as they did, pressing very aggressively. That gave Lazio’s speedy wingers acres of space to exploit. The home side looked very disjointed in the second half, perhaps affected psychologically by Lazio’s perfect conversion rate.
Inaccurate
Only four of Napoli’s 22 shot attempts hit the target. Victor Osimhen led all players with three scoring chances but was uncharacteristically inaccurate, failing to test Ivan Provedel with any of his five shots. Piotr Zielinski accounted for three of Napoli’s four shots on target, scoring the loan goal and stinging the palm of Provedel in the second half. The Lazio shot-stopper contributed to Napoli’s offensive struggles, making two key saves in the match. In the first half, the Italian international did well to get a hand on Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s powerful strike from distance as the ball swerved towards the top corner.
Though the Partenopei created 15 scoring chances, their xG was only 1.3 (per Football Reference). In addition to the low shot accuracy, Napoli’s xG was affected by poor decision-making and low-quality passing. Stanislav Lobotka’s decision late in the first half to cut the ball back rather than take what appeared to be a free shot from close range was but one example.
Lazio also constributed to Napoli’s low xG. The visitor’s blocked 10 of Napoli’s attempts at goal. Surely Napoli’s expected goals would have been higher had those shots hit the target, even if they were stopped. Meanwhile, the Biancocelesti outperformed their xG of 0.6, scoring on both of their shots that hit the target.
Out-Coached
Napoli dominated the first half but Maurizio Sarri ultimately got the better of Rudi Garcia. The former Napoli coach set up to defend the centre of the park, knowing Garcia’s teams tend to attack through the middle. The Tuscan was happy to concede possession, asking his players to strike on the counter-attack, when Napoli’s midfielders were tired and fullbacks were caught too high.
Sarri also got his changes right, while Garcia did not. Two minutes after entering the match, Matteo Guendouzi assisted Mattia Zaccagni, but the goal was disallowed by the VAR for offside. Four minutes later, the substitute thought he opened his account with Lazio, but once again the goal was chalked off. Another VAR review showed that Zaccagni, who was once again in an offside position, interfered with Giovanni Di Lorenzo’s ability to defend the play.
Meanwhile, Garcia replaced Mathias Olivera with Mario Rui. The Portugal native might have been a better first-choice matchup for Felipe Anderson, who often got the better of Olivera. At the same time, Garcia replaced one of Napoli’s biggest threats, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, with Giacomo Raspadori. After the match, Garcia confirmed that Kvara, who made his first start of the season, didn’t have 90 minutes in his legs. However, Raspadori failed to make an impact. Surprisingly, Garcia introduced Jesper Lindstrøm in the 75th minute, only four days after the Dane’s arrival in Napoli. Finally, Garcia’s worst substitution was perhaps the one he didn’t make. A struggling and fatigued André-Frank Zambo Anguissa was allowed to play the full 90 minutes, while Eljif Elmas watched on from the bench.
Defensive Woes
For the first time this season, the absence of Kim Min-jae was noticeable. Luis Alberto opened the scoring with a clever backheel flicked as Amir Rrahmani, Anguissa and Juan Jesus watched on, hoping someone would pick up the run of the Spaniard. Though Rrahmani and Jesus were solid in the first half, both struggled in the second half. The centre-back pairing was often hung out to dry, with both full-backs attacking simultaneously and the midfielders too tired to track back. As Garcia noted after the match, Napoli defended poorly as a team, from the front line to the midfield to the defense.
