Napoli are the new leaders of Serie A after matchday six. The Partonopei beat Spezia 1-0 at the Maradona on Saturday, with Giacomo Raspadori scoring his first goal for the home team. Here are three takeaways selected by Forza Napoli Press.
The Finishing Touch
The problem against Spezia wasn’t breaking down their defence. Napoli had loads of chances and kept the visitors under pressure most of the time, particularly in the first half. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia came close on multiple occasions, but either the Spezia defence or Bartlomiej Dragowski got in the way. André-Frank Zambo Anguissa also had a good shooting opportunity, but he fired straight at the Spezia goalkeeper.
That trend continued in the second half, as Anguissa got an even bigger chance, but his effort lacked the accuracy needed to beat Dragowski. It seemed like Napoli just couldn’t get the ball into the back of the goal on Saturday. Shots were blocked, saved, went past or over, but they wouldn’t go in – the polar opposite to the Liverpool game.
Of course, the late winner by Raspadori was enough for the win. It remains to be seen if this was only an off-day for the Napoli attack, or if the team will struggle to score without Osimhen. It should also be noted that Piotr Zielinski – who scored 2 goals and an added an assist vs. LFC – was rested against Spezia. One thing we can be sure of is that the finishing must be better.
Juan Jesus
After having started every match for Napoli this season, it was finally time to give Kim Min-jae a rest. The South-Korean defender has been one of Napoli’s best players this season, but with a busy schedule, some rotation was needed. Though Juan Jesus and Amir Rrahmani played well together last season, it remained to be seen how duo would perform a year later, and how the Napoli defence would perform without a player who has quickly become a pillar of the back line.
However, the Brazilian centre-back did an excellent job in his first minutes for Napoli this season. To be fair, the whole Napoli defence did, because Spezia hardly threatened during the match, generating only one shot on target.
Along with Leo Østigård, Jesus has proven that he can also be a suitable back-up for Luciano Spalletti whenever the Napoli manager needs to rotate at the back.
Jack as main striker
With Victor Osimhen out for some time, Giacomo Raspadori was chosen to lead the line on Saturday. Spalletti preferred Jack over Giovanni Simeone, who scored on his Champions League debut against Liverpool on Wednesday. Raspadori managed to get his first full game at Napoli versus Spezia.
Although the summer signing scored the winning goal in the 89th minute, he didn’t have a great game. At times, Raspadori looked bit lost up front. His link-up play when he dropped deep to get the ball was good, but in front of goal he didn’t impress. Of course he played a different role at Sassuolo, mostly as the number ten behind Gianluca Scamacca.
When Simeone came on, Raspadori moved to the left side. Shortly thereafter he came close to scoring his first goal for the Azzurri, but Dragowski saved again. The Spezia goalkeeper couldn’t save Jack’s shot a few minutes later, which meant the Italian got his goal after all.
The performance against Spezia suggests that Raspadori might struggle as a main striker. Perhaps the left wing or an attacking partnership with Simeone would be better options for him. One certainty is that he still needs to find his place in this team. It won’t be a surprise if Simeone will be Spalletti’s first choice in Osimhen’s absence.
