With seven points through four rounds, Rudi Garcia’s Napoli is off to the club’s worst start since the 2015/16 campaign. Forza Napoli Press explores three takeaways from the 2-2 draw against Genoa.
Unim-press-ive
Unlike the first half against Lazio, Napoli’s press lacked aggression and cohesion. With Napoli’s front six seemingly not on the same page, Genoa consistently played out of the back and into the midfield, where yet again there was plenty of space to exploit. In fact, Genoa’s press in the first half was far more effective. The Azzurri often looked panicked at the back, launching the ball forward to an isolated and outnumbered Victor Osimhen. The casual fan might have assumed that Napoli were the newly-promoted club. It was only after Genoa stopped pressing and retreated to protect the two-goal lead that Napoli truly took control of the match.
Substitute Performance
While Napoli were a shadow of their former selves for the first hour of the match, Garcia’s substitutes turned the game around and salvaged a point. At the start of the second half, Garcia replaced Eljif Elmas with Matteo Politano. The North Macedonian was cautioned less than 20 seconds into the match and struggled to find a rhythm on Napoli’s right wing. Politano, on the other hand, immediately improved Napoli’s attack and scored a stunning volley to equalize late in the match.
Garcia made his second set of changes in the 58th minute. The Frenchman introduced Mathias Olivera to replace Mario Rui, who couldn’t seem to complete a pass in his first start of the season. At the same time, Giacomo Raspadori replaced André-Frank Zambo Anguissa, facilitating a switch to the 4-2-3-1 formation. Raspadori also improved Napoli’s attack, scoring the Azzurri’s first with a powerful left-footed strike into the top corner. As Garcia noted after the match, Raspadori deserved the goal after a disallowed goal against Frosinone and missed penalty kick against Sassuolo.
Jens Cajuste assisted Raspadori on the goal. The Swede replaced Stanislav Lobotka in the 74th minute and immediately drew a yellow card on Milan Badelj. Cajuste was also involved in the build-up to Politano’s goal. The midfielder played the pass-before-the-pass, laying the ball off to Piotr Zielinski, before the Pole played a perfect chip pass to Politano in the area.
The only substitute that left many scratching their heads, including Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, was the replacement of the Georgian with youngster Alessio Zerbin. Jesper Lindstrom and Giovanni Simeone watched on as the former Napoli Primavera player failed to impact the match, when Napoli had all the momentum to seek a winner.
Fortress at the Ferraris
If any coach had a clear gameplan, it was Alberto Gilardino. The former Azzurri striker set his team up to shut down Napoli’s biggest attacking threats. Osimhen was double-teamed by Mattia Bani and Radu Dragusin for the entirety of the match. Collectively, they negated the Nigerian’s pace with their physical play. Meanwhile, Koni De Winter, who tallied an assist on the opening goal, hardly made a misstep in defense. The Belgian was tasked with marking Kvaratskhelia, who was once again kept off the scoresheet, with the support of Stefano Sabelli, Badelj and Kevin Strootman.
In the attacking phase, Genoa were clinical when given the opportunity, like Napoli’s previous opponent’s. Only Roma have conceded fewer shots than Napoli (and Roma have yet to play their fourth match). Through four rounds, Napoli have only conceded six shots on target, but five of them have found the back of the goal.
