Giacomo Raspadori scored another brace as Napoli closed the Winter Football Series by Regnum with a 3-1 victory over Crystal Palace. Here are three takeaways selected by Forza Napoli Press.
Back to What We Know
After experimenting with different formations and player combinations in the friendly against Antalyaspor, Luciano Spalletti returned to his preferred 4-3-3 formation against Crystal Palace.
Though Palace led through 33 minutes, Napoli were clearly the stronger side to that point. Spalletti’s men pressed high and constantly forced Palace to boot the ball long, often conceding possession right back to Napoli.
In the possession phase, the Partenopei moved quickly, on and off the ball. To use Spalletti’s terminology, they “spun” (read: “rotated”) the ball quickly, drawing opposition players in and exploiting the space they left behind.
Strikers In Form
Victor Osimhen equalized in the 35th minute with yet another goal that only Victor Osimhen is capable of scoring. The Nigerian has an innate ability to win the ball and maintain possession in the area. The finish was not dissimilar to Osimhen’s strike against Roma earlier this year, but the set-up required more finesse than muscle on this occasion.
In the second half, Giacomo Raspadori scored his second brace in as many matches in Turkey. Three of the four goals were hit with pin-point precision; the other was the result of rather poor goalkeeping from Crystal Palace’s No. 3 Jack Butland.
The goals were welcome with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Napoli’s second-top scorer, easing his way back to full fitness. Napoli’s Georgian wonder kid failed to net in the two friendly matches, his first appearances after missing Napoli’s final three matches before the break due to lower back pain.
Backup Lobo
Prior to the match, Spalletti confirmed that Diego Demme was not injured but would be kept out of the squad for precautionary reasons due to fatigue. The German has been linked to a possible move to Salernitana, which could turn out to be a package deal including Salvatore Sirigu.
With Demme out, Spalletti replaced Stanislav Lobotka with Gianluca Gaetano, a player the Napoli coach has previously noted has the capacity to play in Lobotka’s deep-lying playmaker role.
Meanwhile, Tanguy Ndombele played 83 minutes in the victory. He often interchanged positions with the other midfielders, including both Lobotka and Gaetano, indicating that he could also serve as a backup to Lobotka as a No. 6.
