Victor Osimhen and Giovanni Di Lorenzo scored at the Deutsche Bank Park, putting Napoli in a commanding position heading into the second leg, which Eintracht Frankfurt will play without their top scorer. Here are four takeaways selected by Forza Napoli Press.
Relentless
After weathering the early storm, which was undoubtedly fueled by the energy of the Frankfurt faithful, Napoli settled down and took control of the match. From the 20th minute onward, Napoli were in complete control and they were relentless in attack.
While Luciano Spalletti was pleased with the result, the Napoli coach might rue not having put the tie to bed in the first leg. From Hirving Lozano’s strike off the upright immediately before Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s missed penalty, to Victor Osimhen’s second goal ruled out for a narrow offside, to Kevin Trapp’s brilliant save on Kvara, to Anguissa’s backside effort, Spalletti’s side easily could have scored five or six goals.
Instead, Frankfurt are very much alive in this tie, even if the odds are now heavily against them.
Penalty Can’t
Napoli have many strengths, but taking penalty kicks is not one of them. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia became the third Napoli player this season to have a penalty kick stopped in the Champions League, after Victor Osimhen and Piotr Zielinski failed to convert against Liverpool and Rangers, respectively.
Three of Matteo Politano’s four goals in all competitions have come from the penalty spot. However, the winger was rather fortunate to convert against Milan and his penalty kick against Sampdoria hit the upright and stayed out.
Napoli’s poor conversion rate does not bode well for a club that could well find itself in a penalty shootout. Napoli are 0-for-1 in penalty shootouts this season, losing to Cremonese in the Coppa Italia Round of 16. Stanislav Lobotka missed the entire goal on that occasion.
Resurgence
André-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Hirving Lozano each had their best match of 2023 on Tuesday. After an excellent first half of the campaign, Anguissa hadn’t quite looked like himself since returning from the World Cup break. Against Frankfurt, the Cameroonian appeared to be everywhere. When he lost his footing, he popped back up to his feet and maintained possession. Anguissa even came close to scoring (from his backside, no less) after tripping in the area in the second half.
Meanwhile, Lozano continued his 2023 resurgence. Neither Lozano nor Matteo Politano were particularly impressive in the first half of the season. However, the Mexican has now started in five of Napoli’s last six matches in all competitions. He only rested for the Sassuolo match in order to be fresh for Eintracht Frankfurt match.
Whether he’s playing well because he’s playing regularly, or playing regularly because he’s playing well, Lozano is enjoying his best run of form of the entire season. Philipp Max and Tuta struggled with Lozano’s pace, while Evan Ndicka was victimized by his crosses, which were delivered with pinpoint accuracy. Though he did not score, Lozano played so well that he was named Man of the Match.
Unlucky, But Correct
Eintracht Frankfurt were forced to play the final half-hour of the match with ten men after Randal Kolo Muani’s sending off. Frankfurt’s leading goal-scorer was slightly late to the ball and inadvertently stomped on Anguissa’s ankle. Though unfortunate, in the sense that there was clearly no mal-intent in the tackle, a straight red card was certainly warranted.
With 15 goals and 14 assists in all competitions, Kolo Muani is a huge loss ahead of Frankfurt’s trip to the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. However, his likely replacement, Rafael Borré, is certainly no slouch. As Eintracht Frankfurt’s No. 9 last season, the Colombian scored 12 goals and tallied eight assists across all competitions, including scoring the equalizer in the Europa League Final.
